Buying local

David's cousin sent me a bunch of pictures from their visit to the Wilds of Eastern Europe. Included were two pictures of me doing some local shopping.

I love roadside stands. I love to see what people out in the countryside are selling and making. On our way back into the city, we stopped at this roadside stand to buy the local honey. The woman had numerous flavors, and offered samples and explanations,  "This honey is collected by bees with the first spring flowers." I tasted it, and it was the lightest, sweetest honey. It tasted like sunshine. There was one group of jars with honey that was much darker than the other. The seller explained, "This honey was harvested in a stand of fir trees." It had a very rich taste, with undertones of pine sap.  The flavor still haunts me. I wish I had bought it, but at the time I thought it would be too strong for David and Bee.  The honey I chose was mint honey.  It is a dark honey, with the scent and taste of mint. For most of my life, honey was something that came in a plastic bear shaped bottle and tasted like nothing special.

In the foreground of the picture you can see stacks of local cheese. I bought one while in countryside this weekend and it is also delicious.  The bottles on the lowest shelf of the stand are fruit syrup.  We bought a bottle of raspberry syrup and you can add it to coffee or pour it over ice cream.  

The second picture is much more banal, me getting ripped off by a little old lady selling flowers. I am a sucker for little old ladies selling things. I hate to haggle, and I'm not very good at it, so they are always happy to have me as a customer!