Italy week two. As a gal who loves the farmers market, there's nothing I enjoy more here than doing my weekly shopping in Florence. The Mercato di Sant'Ambrogio Market simply puts large chain grocery stores to shame.

Shopping at this lovely indoor marketplace, which has been here since 1873, is sumptuous, romantic, and genteel. It has 12 to 15 individual stalls with fruits, vegetables, specialty items, and fresh fish. This is where the chefs shop! While there are items we can’t find here that we can easily find at home, there are other items we can’t find at home that we have happily found here.

Often the staff behind the counters are wearing a uniform: a white chef’s coat and white cap. Each food purveyor looks so dignified. Not only is it the best place to get what we want for the week, it’s a lovely and dignified way to shop.

There’s a beautiful stall that just sells mozzarella, buffalo mozzarella, and unsweetened Greek yogurt.

There are a number of butchers, and typically what they offer is different from what we might even be looking for, so while finding lamb chops may not be possible, lots of wonderful veal, beef, and pork are available, cut to order right in front of you.

There's an amazing vendor selling various cheeses plus mortadella, prosciutto, marinated olives, artichoke hearts, and peppers.  The only thing they’re missing are my Marinated Onions!

Since everything is in Italian, when we can’t figure something out, we use Google translate. We try our best to communicate with the vendors and let them help us make decisions. It's always a bit of an experiment, and it's so much fun!

The only person who loves this kind of shopping more than I do is Roy, and when we plan to go into town together for an hour to pick up what we need, at some point we realize we've spent three hours going round and round the stalls! Outside, there are still more purveyors who offer fruit, vegetables, and everything fresh and green.

It is the definition of real food shopping. If you're staying at a hotel, you’d just pick up lunch or a snack, but since we're cooking a lot, it's a magnificent field trip and one of our favorite things to do.

The best method is to experiment! I love to eat local, try new foods, and take in the truly delicious shopping and eating experience.

In this episode, I sit down with Crumble Joe Grande @joe_gran, who interviews me! We go well behind the scenes in a conversation that illuminates the fundamental aspects of who I am, including my bond with our @nocrumbsleft community, my year of health, my diet history, how I make the journey fun, and how I don’t “stay in my lane” on social media. I reflect on what Joe calls “the Teri personas,” like Vacation Teri, Teri Unplugged, and Teri After Dark. Plus, you certainly won’t want to miss the lively after show with my own @heyimseptember, because we go deeper into my relationship with Roy and our family life from September’s perspective.