So at the meat counter...

We found a small grocery store less than a mile away from the house that we really like. The people that work there are very very friendly and remember you when you walk in which is actually really nice. Now shopping took some getting used to here... a perfect example would be picking fresh veg and fruit. You have to put on a pair of plastic gloves before you touch any produce..it's considered rude and unhygienic not to...you then pick what you want, note the number on the sign and weigh it, then a little sticker is printed out for scanning at the checkout or at the store we frequent there is someone to weigh and tag it for you all you do is hand them the bag/s.

Anyway,the meat counter is situated smack in the middle of the store so most times we go in the butcher talks to our daughter (Italians adore children) when we walk past him or slices off some meat and brings it to us where ever we are in the store so we can try it. He literally walks up with a single slice of something and hands it to us to try...I swear he sees us coming in the door because we can be in the milk isle and he will be there bearing meat before we can blink! The meat counter is actually pretty amazing, I have never seen one like it, all the fresh meat, smoked meat, deli meat etc you could possibly want. We have always passed by and looked but never bought anything...So the last time we went in the butcher comes up to us with a small piece of pork and hands it to me to try...it was REALLY good so R and I decide to go over to get some to take home, we tell him how much we want, he weighs it out then puts a little extra in before wrapping it up...cool thanks!...Then he starts slicing off various pieces of meat and handing them to us to try...we weren't even asking but he was obviously trying to get us to buy more... I tried a couple of things until it got to where I wasn't sure what it was he was cutting off, then I point to the fresh sausages and say to R those look good do you want some for breakfast in the morning? (I think he was getting tired of trying things at this point..judging by the look on his face) The butcher then actually pinches off a piece of the RAW sausage meat and hands it to R to try..pointing to me saying I couldn't taste it because I am pregnant...I must admit it took everything I had not to show my repulsion and R kindly declined to taste it at which point the butcher put it into his mouth and eats it..exclaiming at how delicious it was!! I was actually shocked by this, I mean I was always told never NEVER eat uncooked meat due to the bacteria and whatnot, and if I can't have it due to being pregnant that should tell you something..right?? I think that was it for us at that point so with the end of our tasting adventures over we thanked the man for allowing us to try so many different things and went off giggling in disbelief over the whole thing...I suppose this is another cultural difference we are simply not used to since it's not something you "do" in the US or UK.