Uh-oh... you caught your jacket on a fence and ripped a hole in the seam....

Or, you've arrived at your hotel and have started unpacking. You discover you forgot a hairdryer and your room doesn't have one...

Or, you forgot your plug converters...

Or maybe the kids are getting cranky and need a new distraction for tomorrow's long car ride...

Or the batteries in your camera/watch/remote control just died. What to do?

What do you do when any of these or other little annoyances occur during your trip? You don't want to waste too much of your precious vacation time doing errands, and you don't even know where to go to do them.

(  Continued...  )

Worry no more. Tucked away on an interior corner in the historic center of Stresa is what I call Stresa's General Store. D&Y Shopping has been here a few years now, and I've become more and more used to going there for any small need, saving myself much time and effort. And I've not once been disappointed, even when I was in search of a particularly unusual bulb for a light fixture. 

There is an amazingly diverse inventory here and many of the items are very small. The store is incredibly organized, as a store like this must be, but to find something on your own may be difficult. It's best to ask for what you're searching for, or if it is a replacement for something, such as my bulb, bring the original with you if possible.

Don't have the right shoes for something, but don't want to spend a lot? They also have a rather large selection of shoes and sneakers, and two very long racks of clothing. 

Umbrellas, scarves, socks... for everyone in the family... pretty much anything you need is here. From the outside, given the way the portico covers the windows, which are set back a bit, and with the unassuming sign, you might not even notice this shop or give it a second look. And fine. It's not a shop that you're going to go into to admire the local handicrafts, or taste some local delicacy, or try on Italian designer shoes. But you should know that it's here, so that when you need a pair of flip flops because yours just broke, you can buy them quickly and continue admiring the local handicrafts, tasting the local delicacies.... and so on...

The map below shows the general location of D&Y Shopping in Stresa. I've noticed that the Google map has many places marked, but not always exactly in the proper locations. However, the map and this pin should help you find D&Y.