I've known that Esselunga delivers groceries to people's apartments in Florence. I've been wanting to try it for a long, long time, but each time I thought of it, we were just about to go on a trip and we didn't need any groceries. But, once we got our new apartment, I was determined to give it a try.
We live on the terzo piano senza ascensore (fourth floor without elevator) and the thought of dragging up packages of six 1.5 liter bottles of water doesn't thrill me. So, last week I filled up my on-line shopping cart and waited to figure out when it would be best to get the food delivered. We had originally thought we wanted them to deliver yesterday, but by the time I was able to finalize my order, the only time available was today between 6PM and 10PM.
I paid for the order on-line, selected 6PM-8PM as the desired delivery times, received my receipt by email, and that was it.
I was especially excited about ordering from Esselunga because I found out that they sell pecans, maple syrup, oatmeal, and iceberg lettuce. I think we've only had iceberg lettuce once since we've been in Italy. I especially like it to make chopped salad with.
I wasn't home for the delivery, but Dave said that one guy rang the doorbell outside and he buzzed him in. The delivery guy carried all of the groceries in a few blue and yellow bags and dropped them off inside the apartment. Then, he went back down and carried four packages of six 1.5 liter bottles of water on his next trip.
He handed Dave something to sign and then handed him the receipt. Within a few minutes, it was all done. The only small incident was that the delivery guy broke a few eggs, but it wasn't a big deal.
I'm so happy with the service that I'm definitely going to be ordering them every week! A girl I met recently told me that the delivery guys wouldn't carry up our groceries if there's no elevator. I was a little surprised because what about all the elderly people who can't manage alone. Besides, we pay almost 7 Euros for delivery, so it makes sense that they deliver it all the way to the apartment no matter what.
I can't wait to make my next order now that this one went so well. I was hoping that the Coop would deliver too, but they don't. Besides, the Coop doesn't have pecans, maple syrup, oatmeal, or iceberg lettuce, so now Esselunga is my absolute favorite grocery store.
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