buona pasqua (belated)

I bought these greeting cards at Porta Portese in Rome. I buy antique and vintage cards whenever I see them, and I always try to get a whole bunch and negotiate the price down. I use them to decorate the top of the mantel, place them in a little tray on the table, or enclose them in gift packages.

Porta Portese is a flea market, not an antique market. It's quite different from all the other markets I've seen, even different from the great Porta Palazzo Market in Turin. I am tempted to write "You can find everything there but a kitchen sink," but the truth is that I did see a kitchen sink being sold! (In case you're curious, it was an old one.)

You have to be a local market junkie like I am to enjoy Porta Portese -- I had to bribe my husband and son with a gelato and a cold bottle of sparkling lemon water -- but I thoroughly enjoyed the racket that is Porta Portese. It is great fun to see how the locals truly live.