Flea Markets to Massimo Dutti

Saturday is the big day to shop in Stuttgart, so I took Tay first to the weekly Flohmarkt (flea market) in Bismarckplatz. Tay really enjoyed looking at the selection of junk and treasures and ended up picking up some old prints. He spent a long time in the stall, carefully picking out the ones he wanted. When he finally settled on one, he beckoned me over and quietly asked me if I could negotiate on his behalf: the print he wanted was priced at 18 euros. He had only 12 euros on hand. I said I would take a stab at it. I told the shopkeeper that Tay liked the piece, but that he had only 12 euros, and would that be an acceptable price? The shopkeeper drove a hard bargain. He sold it to us for 10 euros, so that Tay could use the remaining two euros to buy himself a cup of coffee. Oh, Germany!

We took our two Euros to Cafe Planie, which has good ambiance, the best cakes in town and the worst service. A few tables away from us, there were soldiers in piked helmets still waiting for their check. Anyway, we all got coffee and cakes and then we decided that since I had forgotten my blue blazer in Oklahoma that we should go jacket shopping. It is a good thing we all like to shop.

So we ran around for a few hours, popping in and out of various stores, and I found some places and pieces I could wear. Tay ended up picking up some new shoes at "Maximum Duty." Lastly, we stopped by the grocery store, where I picked up some live mussels for dinner.

I cooked up the mussels in an easy and traditional butter and wine and cream recipe, and we ate them with french bread for dinner. Tay packed up, and we all got a little shut eye until 4 AM when I woke everyone up so we could say goodbye. I called Tay a cab, hauled down his 66 pound suitcase, and sent him off to the airport.

I really miss him. Just today, looking at a bunch of graphic tee shirts at UNIQLO, I thought, you know, Tay would love this place. We went once, to the London store, but they didn't have anything like these ones. And Tay is not really a graphic tee guy. But still.