Canals, gondolas, St. Mark's Square...oh look! A grocery store! Yes. This was me walking around Venice with my husband back in June. I dragged him through a Coop, and made him endure me shooting street vendor photos on the sly, because I'm the Store Check Junkie.
I honestly didn't expect to find an actual grocery, but upon further reflection I don't know why. There's a perfectly functional Rouses in the French Quarter in New Orleans. As touristy as that place is, people still need saltines and bottles of water for a reasonable price. Don't ask. I speak from experience.
The Coop we found was larger than I expected, with a large assortment of everyday produce items, and more grab-and-go options than I saw at other Italian grocery stores on the trip, including salads, fixed weight cherries and tomatoes, chilled cut watermelon and clamshell grapes.
Click below to see the slideshow.
And what trip to an old town district in Europe would be complete without some street retail? I snapped a few photos on the sly because these guys generally want a donation or for your to buy something if you take a picture of their fruit stand. I especially liked the stacked cherries, fruit cups and figs.
Surprisingly, there were no trimmed artichokes like I saw in Verona last fall, but that probably tells you more about the clientele than anything. This is a tourist area and the foods they offered (including a big selection of candied fruit and ginger) were hand-to-mouth snacks more than anything.
Click through the slideshow below.
