2nd week so far

Well for those of you who are world-wide weather buffs, you already know that it has been in the low to mid-60s and rainy all week for us here. For those of you who don't, it has been rainy and in the low to mid-60s all week. So what do two American females do when it rains besides sit in the 2 room apartment and watch Italian tv? Shop!
On Tuesday Francesca and I ventured to the edge of Jesi to an "centro commerciale" where there is a good sized grocery store and some stores. One of them is the Italian version of Home Depot. They have pre-made outdoor wood burning ovens and I am ever so tempted to determine how much it would cost to send one back to Charlotte. The next time we venture by there, I'll take pictures. This would be a great asset to our pizza and bread making--there is nothing like wood-fired pizza.
Two of the other stores we found were very similar to Old Navy and Famous Footwear. Needless to say, Francesca got a new dress, baseball cap, and sandals (she really needed new sandals since we hadn't made it to the store for those prior to our departure).
I have been watching the Italian women and their fashion and it is quite interesting. Western style boots are huge here. Not only that but low cut jeans with maybe 2-3 inch zippers--even the grannies are sporting them. Yesterday (Wed.) Francesca and I went to the main street in the town center and I ended up going into a store calls "mad's" and purchased some "Euro-jeans" since it is cold and I didn't bring any long pants and a shirt. I like low-cut pants but I'm not used to pants being this low. I'll get a picture up soon.
In terms of the television, we have been enjoying some shows that we normally see in the US but are dubbed in Italian--Power Rangers, The Flintstones, Happy Days, and Sponge Bob. There have also been some intersting Italian shows. Hopefully all of this viewing will help us with our Italian language abilities 8-).
We have continued our visits to the Gelateria. Ciro & Pio is our favorite and the people who work there recognize us. I think we confuse them since sometimes Francesca is the only one partaking in this wonderful dessert. Last night she had hers alone and instead of a cone ordered a cup. The lady must think we're crazy to give our child daily gelato, oh well.
Joe gets back tonight, he has enjoyed his trip to the Trentino, plus he visited an artisanal beer maker on this trip and will be bringing me a present (can't have too much or those jeans won't fit).
My sister Melissa arrives on Sunday and we plan to rent a car for the week. One place that she has requested we visit is San Marino--a small principality (i.e. tax free zone) on the northern border of the Marche region. It is about an hour drive. We also plan to explore the Conero Penninsula that is not accessible by train. There is at least one historic site where Napoleon's forces blockaded the British.
Other than that it is open. For those of you who are reading and have questions, please email them or post them.