Retire Early Lifestyle
Retirement; like your parents, but way cooler

In 1991 Billy and Akaisha Kaderli retired at the age of 38. Now, into their 4th decade of this financially independent lifestyle, they invite you to take advantage of their wisdom and experience.

Grocery Shopping in Gaeta, Italy

Billy and Akaisha Kaderli

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Billy is a trained French Chef.

We owned a restaurant in the coastal town of Santa Cruz in California for a decade.

Due to both of these things, one of our Geeky and lusty pleasures is to go grocery shopping.

I know.

You are impressed.

But seriously, we are in Italy, and grocery shopping is a very different experience.

Take a look below.

Mozzarella store

Mozzarella is an iconic Italian food.

Traditional mozzarella is made from the milk of water buffaloes or cows and this store makes their own.

The cheese is usually brined to enhance flavor and to preserve its freshness, and is best enjoyed fresh - ideally within a few days of its production.

Stored in its liquid, mozzarella can last for a few days in the refrigerator.

It's great on pizzas because it melts so wonderfully, and its creamy, moist texture is a plus on sandwiches.

Cheeses, Prosciutto ham, salamis

We stopped by this store because we wanted to order some sandwiches to take home for lunch. Unfortunately, the kitchen wasn't open, so we purchased some items to make our own.

Here you see a variety of Prosciutto hams, salamis and cheeses. There is a roll of Provolone up in the left hand corner of the photo.

The woman at the counter sliced our meats and cheeses and we purchased a ready-made blank Italian Biga dough pizza so we could make one at home.

Various other deli options

The choices are great. In the center you see grilled eggplant, grilled zucchini, and a fresh Caprese salad all ready to take home.

In front is a choice of olives and fresh soft cheeses and the top row shows fresh mozzarella in its liquid and a grilled eggplant-and-tomato dish ready to eat.

More hams and fresh milk for sale

Hams, hams, hams.

I have to tell you I'm not a big ham fan - or at least I wasn't until we got to Italy.

All the varieties of Prosciutto that were offered made me a believer, and the tastes were so exquisite and different than what I have known.

There are bottles of fresh milk in the upper left hand corner of this photo.

Salamis and Prosciuttos

Boy, we sure learned about Prosciutto!

For instance, Prosciutto Cotto is a pork hind leg that is brined, seasoned, and then cooked or steamed. This process turns out a tender, moist ham that is ready to eat. Using it for a sandwich, it is generally sliced thicker than Prosciutto di Parma.

Now, Prosciutto di Parma is made from a specific breed of pig raided in the Parma region. The hind legs are salted and cured typically around 12 to 24 months. It is produced exclusively in the Parma region of Italy and carries the coveted European Union Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) label.

This ham is dried and sliced so thin it is almost translucent.

Truly, this is like a taste of heaven.

Savory pies

Here we have fresh savory pies, fresh pasta and miscellaneous other yummies.

One can simply walk into these shops and virtually pick out "anything" and not be disappointed.

It's a ready-made lunch, dinner or snack.

Ottimo store

Just down the street from our apartment in Gaeta was this Ottimo store. While not huge, it had a terrific deli / salumeria inside along with selling other essentials like wine, cookies and crackers, toiletries, yogurt and cleaning supplies.

Sample of pricing

Here you see a grocery flyer advertising the sales of the day.

In the center of the photo are 8 small cups of different fruit yogurts for $2.49Euros which makes each cup about $0.35US cents.

More sample pricing

You can see that a kilo of Barilla flour sells for $0.89 Euros and La Molisana semola pasta for $0.89Euros.

Vegetable section

Leeks, onions, tomatoes of different kinds, zucchini with their flowers still on them, red peppers, fresh herbs.

I also want to mention that the flavors of these herbs and vegetables were spectacular.

One could simply drizzle Italy's amazing olive oil over something and Voila!

Deliziosa!

Wine sold by the liter bottle

Now this little place, also just down from our apartment, sold wine by the liter.

Stored in these stainless steel vats one simply brought their own liter bottle (or purchase one there) and filled it up.

Merlot in the vat

This merlot is priced at $1.80Euros a liter or just under $2USD.

The wine was pleasing and it was a "daily table wine." Gentle and easy on the palate it reminded us of French Beaujolais.

While in Italy, we never worried about having food - either already prepared and we would simply heat it up, or the prime fresh ingredients to make meals on our own.

With ubiquitous stores and affordable pricing, it was a joy to go out and shop around!

Italians love to eat, and the selections available showed us why!

Retire Early Lifestyle appeals to a different kind of person – the person who prizes their independence, values their time, and who doesn’t want to mindlessly follow the crowd.

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