Tuesday, March 2, 2010

Markets

Both here in the UK and in our travels we've enjoyed the markets selling a fascinating diversity of things. The photos in this post are from our recent trip to Barcelona, but they're pretty representative of markets we also saw in Portugal and Italy. The market photographed here is called La Boqueria on La Rambla. La Boqueria is one of Spain's oldest markets; it began in the 13th Century.

Olives, chocolates and fruit & veg are pretty standard (aren't the tomatoes below gorgeous?), but entire pig heads and mountains of whole shrimp aren't things we Americans are accustomed to seeing. At least they're either in refrigerated compartments or sitting on ice, because the markets are open all day long. But I still really wish we could convey smells over the blog. :)

These markets are so vibrant and bustling--they're one of my favorite experiences from our trips to the Mediterranean. We hope you like these photos.












4 comments:

Jennie said...

Cow's head...yummy :)

Jared said...

I am sitting in class and this makes me soo hungry!!

Mutti said...

Hungry is NOT what looking at these photos makes me :) I can only imagine the smells, too! It is fascinating, though.

Unknown said...

Emily and I swear that the tastiest produce we have ever had was in Albania. Their tomatoes have the most flavor we have ever had. Long live fresh produce. Also, in Albania, they hang their bulls/goats on hooks in the store window by their tongues.