Market day is always a fun way to experience local culture. Walking around a market in an open square, you can learn how the locals live, by what they eat and what they buy.

Today (Monday) was the local market in Prato. (Prato is about a 40 minute bus ride from the villa we rented, and the nearest “big” town.)

We hopped off the bus, and we were greeted with racks upon racks of clothes, some with funny sayings.

Piles of prosciutto

And beautiful cheese.

And the best part? Everything had a price tag on it. That was something that Jonathan and I have not experienced (with the exception of New Zealand) in 20 months. We knew that we would be paying the same price as everyone else.

After the market, and a quick bite of pizza, we went into Prato’s city center to take a look at their cathedral.

It was a great afternoon spent with family. Especially after not seeing them for 407 days.