Dignity is Expensive

I have learned a valuable lesson here in Italy, and that lesson is that dignity costs, sometimes too much. 

Stacey and I are on a tight budget, so of course I'm trying to scrimp as much as possible, especially on food.  Well, one thing that really peeves my jeez is that stupid pane/coperto (bread & cover) charge at restaurants.  Basically, you have to pay 2 euros per person to sit and eat.  I would skip the bread basket, but then I would be paying just to sit.  Today, I struck back.  I had Stacey distract with a colorful map of Cinque Terre, and I scooped that bread basket right into my backpack (minus the actual basket). 

Also on the peeve list is the charge for water.  You know the old money saving trick, "oh, we'll just have water to drink"? Hm. Not working here.  It's 2 euros for a liter bottle of water.  Last night at dinner, I'm drinking like a camel, hoping to finish my half of the water so we don't waste any, and as we're leaving, I notice that Stacey has a full glass in front of her.  "Are you gonna finish that?"  She said no.  Not gonna fly.  I reached over, grabbed her glass, and chugged it.  Can't be wasting that water==I paid for that!  As we walked back to the train, I thought I was going to burst harder than the Hoover Dam.  This camel was past the breaking point, but hey = those restaurants didn't pull a fast one on me.

Tonight?  I'm carrying my leftover pesto trofie home in a plastic food supply bag, wrapped in a napkin.  Hello, tomorrow's lunch.