The current issue of Saveur magazine is entirely devoted to markets. When I set foot in a new city, I usually head for the local food market first (don't tell my art historian buddies that cathedrals and museums are sometimes second or, gasp, even third on my list of sites to visit). Markets offer the unique opportunity to mix with the natives, to sample the food they actually eat (not some watered down tourist muck), to see glorious displays of produce and meats, to be inspired and to enjoy the purest of culinary pleasures.
As I turned each delicious page of Saveur, I started to daydream about my favorite market: La Boqueria along Las Ramblas in Barcelona.
Here are a few images I captured on my last visit there in 2007:
Hungry, yet?All photos by moi.
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I too head for the markets. One of the most fascinating was the marcado in Oaxaca, Mexico. The spices, the exotic tropical fruit that a tourist would never have the opportunity of sampling in a restaurant are worth the visit.
ReplyDeleteMy visit to the mercado was an outing with a day's cooking class, also a fun thing to do if your trip allows because the class is taught by a local chef. You see what ingredients and produce they choose for their meals. Also fun to lunch on the meal that you and fellow tourist foodies have prepared. Our toasted almond flan was the best yet.
I agree! The markets are just the best! also, Thank you for following me!
ReplyDeleteWhat beautiful photos-I love checking out markets in every city I visit.
ReplyDeleteThese markets are timeless. Might not the great artists have sauntered through them on their way to paint the frescoes in the cathedrals? Might not they have been inspired by the exquisite color palette of fruits and spices? I like to think so.
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