All For Naught Wrought Iron?

After having seen a friend's Italian wrought iron fruit bowl with a built-in banana hanger, it jumped to the top of my list of desired Neopolitan souvenirs. (Of course, I'm still learning about all my options!) It is handmade in Italy, decorative, holds a ton of fruit in the bowl, and saves space while keeping the bananas separate from the other fruits to prevent spoilage. Maybe it's the dietitian in me, but I knew I had to have one! (That huge yellow fruit is an Italian egnazio hybrid melon...it's white on the inside, but tastes much like a honeydew melon.)

So, finally, even when my veteran friends couldn't make it as planned, I was determined to find Ciro's and Luigi's wrought iron stores. Melissa was game to be co-pilot, and even taught me how to plug in the GPS coordinates that Linda had serendipitously provided just in the nick of time that morning. And after a major run-in with some branches on a narrow road (sorry, honey), and after safely driving through the busiest Italian intersection I've driven through yet, we made it to the stores!

Rumor has it Ciro and Luigi are brothers who don't get along, hence their stores are side by side and not one and the same. Ciro speaks some English, has more simple designs (his description, not mine), sells mostly by order, and is generally less expensive. Luigi speaks no English, has more of a selection, brings his stuff to the NEX now and then, and is more expensive. Ciro doesn't make fruit bowls. Luigi does. Ciro was open that day. Luigi was not. Oh well, at least we know where we're going for next time!

So, this week, we returned again, determined--even though I had to bring along my littlest shopper (which I try to avoid at all costs). Luigi was open that day. And Luigi had one fruit bowl. Check. Plus three decorative demijohn stand sets on order. Check, check, check.