Virtual Shopping Tour 1
A day in the life of a personal shopper in Rome

A Shopping spree with three friends in Rome

It all started with an email. I received a request from Dorothy who was arriving in Rome from Australia. She was meeting two friends who were arriving from London to help her celebrate her birthday.

She had visited my web site and decided to give herself a special present, an entire day dedicated to shopping with her two dear friends.

The day before we were to embark on this shopping tour of Rome, I met with all three of them at in my apartment Campo dei Fiori. We started planning out the itinerary for the following day. This is where I try to determine what the client is looking for, how much time they have at their disposal, their budget, and I get to know their personality, their style as well as their desires.

We decided to meet the next day at 10am in a well-known café in the center of Rome for a cappuccino to get the day started. In this case, the clients did not request a car and driver as we would be remain in Rome, so I picked them up with my car.

And here was the first surprise of the day. Stephie's husband was joining us. So we were Dorothy, the birthday girl, Chrissie, Stephie, Jhonn and myself. With five of us in the car it was a bit cramped, but no one seemed to mind.

The day before, Chrissie had mentioned that she wanted to make a very important purchase...a fur coat! So I had already made an appointment with shop in the center specializing in high fashion and fur coats. This shop is one of my "hidden treasures", meaning it is not easy to find if you don't know about it since it is on the 1st floor of an older building off the beaten path.

The director welcomed us to his shop and after trying and retrying it was decided that the best solution would be to have something made to measure. We looked at model, at various types of furs, measures were taken, and on her next trip to Rome, she'll pick up her new fur coat. Chrissie tells me that is was exactly what she was looking for and the price is fantastic.

She had already looked around a bit on her own and found that the prices were much higher. In fact she had given up on this dream. But now it was coming true.

Now we are ready for our next appointment...another one of my "top secret" shops, hidden away on the back streets of Rome with excellent prices.

We have by now become friends and the three of them loosen up and start trying on everything in sight. "Here try this." "I'll take that. And that. And that." They are not new to shopping and realize right away that this is excellent quality for the price. We leave loaded with shopping bags.

And here Jhonn surprised me again. He had, at first, just come along for the ride. But somewhere along the line he caught the shopping bug and ended up joining in on the fun. Even he left carrying his own shopping bags.

It is now time for a break. I took them to a small, trendy restaurant in the center of Rome where we had lunch and relaxed. We were now ready for more shopping.

At this point, Jhonn had to leave us, as he needed to get to the airport. So now it was just "the girls".

Our next mission was to find handbags, both for themselves as well as to take back as gifts. I decided the best thing would be to take them shopping at the Bulgari outlet just outside of Rome, and this turned out to be a very good idea. They were able to get 40-50% discounts on purses, scarves, sunglasses, wallets and belts. I had to drag them out of the shop!

It is by now 6pm. And I'm starting to notice signs of tiredness. But we vowed to shop 'til we dropped, and we weren't ready to drop yet. So we went back to the center to visit some boutiques that always have the latest fashions and unusual items.

Dorothy wanted to buy a linen tablecloth for her new home south of Perth at Margaret River, but this is a very large table so standard sizes will not work. I made a few phonecalls and managed to find just what she was looking for. Dorothy was delighted.

We have dinner reservations at 9pm and it was already 8. We have just enough time to get changed and get to the restaurant. And we are exhausted. We had initially planned to go to a piano bar after dinner, but that is looking difficult.

We had a wonderful time at dinner and chatted as if we were old friends.

We remained at the restaurant until quite late, talking, gossiping and before we knew it, it was 1am. We said good night and I promised to go by their hotel the next day to see them once last time before they left Rome.

What I enjoyed most was to learn that even though they were not new to shopping in Rome and often come during the winter and summer sales, this had been like discovering Rome for the first time. And with what they were able to save, they can return soon!

Dorothy invited me to Bali in March where she is throwing a big party with her Australian friends. I've already purchased my tickets!

I'd like to conclude with a consideration that comes spontaneously: find your personal shopper and you've found a friend.

Natalia