11 Dec Household goods and tools
From grease nipples to gas barbecues -
You can get practically anything at Vanoli!
Yes, we brought our Case tractor from Germany to the lake because we have some heavy things to move on our heavily wooded property. The tractor needs to be lubricated regularly. It’s a shame when the most important grease nipple dissolves in the middle of a job and falls out. Where on earth are we supposed to find a replacement? Without much hope, we drive down to the village to the Ferramenta Vanoli.
An elderly gentleman stands behind the counter in the crowded store. Somewhat grumpily, he asks – in Italian – what we want. We actually manage to explain to him what we need with zero knowledge of Italian – we’ve only been here for a few months. The gentleman grumbles again, this time a little more indignantly, and disappears. Okay, I guess that wasn’t the right word after all… Oh yes, here he comes again. With a ladder, which he sets up in front of one of the high cupboards and climbs up – swearing even louder. It sounds a bit like “Those funny foreigners, they definitely don’t want a grease nipple. They just don’t speak Italian. And I’m probably climbing up here in vain.” Then he climbs back down the old wooden ladder with a small cardboard box. “Grumble grumble!” Probably means “Here, see for yourself if this is what you’re looking for.” My best husband ever finds the right grease nipple with a practiced eye, fishes it out of the box and holds it up triumphantly. Grandpa puts the lid back on the cardboard box, climbs back up the ladder, stows the box away and comes back puffing away. “That’s 35 cents!” Okay, no wonder he wasn’t thrilled. But we were!
The next time we needed a small cash box. This time it was an elderly lady who served us. When we asked her for a small cash box, she disappeared into the back room of the store and came back with three cash boxes in different sizes.
A few days ago we needed a 45cm, i.e. really long, wood drill bit in 8mm thickness. Not even OBI has these in stock all the time. With little hope, I drove down to Laveno to Vanoli. I was well prepared, knew what a wood drill means in Italian and my language skills are now pretty good – thanks to Brigitte! This time it was a middle-aged gentleman – I later found out he was Grandpa’s nephew – who helped me straight away. “How many do you need?” Excuse me? I probably hadn’t expressed myself properly. It couldn’t be that he had this unusual type of drill in stock. But yes, they were there! And to be on the safe side, I bought three of them. You can never have enough of them! And because I was in such a shopping mood, I also picked up a plastic coffee filter with matching paper filters, a thermos flask, a pair of scissors and a couple of dessert bowls.
As he was paying, another customer came in: “I need a stove for my garage.” But even that doesn’t shock Roberto. “Well, why don’t you come with me? Would you prefer a smaller one or something bigger?” The two of them disappeared into the back room and I left happily with my purchases.
Contact: Ferramenta Vanoli
Via Labiena 38
21014 Laveno
Tel. 0332 – 67267
Mail: ferramentavanoli@virgilio.it
Unfortunately there is no website. Just go there and be inspired.
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