HappyTummy              

I just love markets. Especially ones in foreign countries. In fact, when B and I travel, the first thing we research is where the central market is. And sure enough, our first stop when we landed in Barcelona was the famous Mercat de Sant Josep de la Boqueria, or simply La Boqueria. Situated directly off of La Rambla, one of the city’s central streets, the Boqueria market is bustling with food vendors of all kinds, from the famous jamón  to nuts to fruits to seafood and more.

Now we all know I don’t really eat meat. My sensitive tummy would not be very happy if I did. But it would be a crime to come all the way to Spain and not try jamón, or dry-cured ham. Especially jamón ibérico de bellota, ham is from free-range pigs that feast on acorns. At the market, there were many jamón vendors. Salty and meltingly soft, the jamón we had in Barcelona was delicious. Crusty bread rubbed with raw tomato, drizzled with olive oil and topped with thin slices of ham… yum.

Jamón is surely the specialty of Spain, but it wasn’t the only meat product at the Boqueria market. Other vendors were selling a variety of different kinds of cured meat.

What goes better with jamón than cheese? I ate my fair share of manchego during our Barcelona stay (the best is to eat it with quince paste, or membrillo); this particular vendor at the Boqueria market was selling cheeses from all over the world.

Of course no market is complete without fruits and veggies. In fact, aren’t most markets judged by the quality of their produce? The Boqueria market is a vegetarian’s paradise—all the fruit especially was colorful, vibrant, plump and blemish-free. And almost everything was huge!

The fresh figs in particular caught my attention—each one was nearly the size of my fist!

My favorite vendors were the ones that sold nuts. Whether the nuts were raw, roasted, candied or chocolate-covered, these vendors had them all. Many of the nut vendors also sold dried candied fruit—kiwi, papaya, pineapple, coconut… they were delicious!

Have you ever tried Trader Joe’s Trek Mix? It’s a delicious trail mix with almonds, cashews and dried cranberries—this bin reminded me a lot of it.

You can find all of the seafood in the center of the market. You’ll know when you get there by the smell. The shellfish we saw were huge.

Another one of my favorite stalls was the one we passed that sold a variety of different spices, including curry powders, spices for paella, different kinds of peppercorns.

There were chocolate vendors too. But in many instances you could hardly tell they were chocolate! This particular basket had chocolate shaped and colored to look like little stones. We saw other types that were completely enrobed in a shiny silver candy coating. They looked like drops of mercury.

We had a fantastic time roaming the Boqueria market… and walking up and down La Rambla, where we marveled at the heavily costumed mimes—we saw princesses, fairies, ghouls, winged creatures and other random beasts—and peeked into different tapas places. While in Barcelona, we also walked through the Cathedral of Santa Eulalia and roamed the Gothic quarter. We wished we had stayed an extra few days to see even more of the beautiful city!

And finally, I leave you with these images of delicious appetizers we nibbled on at a wonderful party we attended in Barcelona. In my opinion, these pictures capture the very best flavors of the city.

Other stops on our Mediterranean cruise:

• Athens and Santorini, Greece (We went to Greece last year too, and ate so many yummy things!)
• Taormina, Sicily
• Istanbul, Turkey