O bei, o bei

That's the name of the famous market in the center of Milan that occurs in the beginning December. I started at Castello Sforzesco ('bout halfway into the market) and took a right turn. And walked for two whole hours..! On top of that, after about 1 hour into my walking tour of it all, the market actually ramified and continued in opposite directions. Crazy!

But the thing is, it's not a flea market as we Americans know this sort of thing to be-- this sort of "mercato" (market) is definitely not cheap. It's more of an artisan market (but that's not to say there's not total junk too, because there is plenty of it!) So after 2 hours and having just bought some black roasted olives (common in Sicily, not so common in northern Italy), I decided that was enough for me. Anyway, here are some photos from this all-out, complete assault on the senses. So many sights, sounds, and smells... the touch factor, of course, is also included gratuitously, since market-goers like to play bumper cars, just without the cars:










What the hell indeed.




Henna-decorated lamps.




Spices.


Gosh, they just make them so good you just can't tell if it's real or fake anymore!










Marzipan. *gag*


Chestnuts on a string.




I got yelled at for taking a pic of these. Hehe!





And just when I thought I had seen the markets of all markets....wait 'til you see what's coming in the next post! [south park] Jaaaaaaazusss Kwiiiissst!!!!! [/south park]