Access to the internet has been a little problematic and unfortunately, TIFFIN has had to take a back seat. A week or so ago I made a pilgrimage to one of the best Markets in Spain, the Mercat Boqueria on La Rambla in Barcelona. No doubt many of you have visited before and I’m sure you would agree that the phrase ‘riot of colour, sights and sounds’ is very apt.
If there is one thing that is certain, they LOVE their seafood in Barcelona and rightly so. Barcelona is on the coast and the variety of seafood it has access to is quite overwhelming. Seafood and in particular shellfish and molluscs, dominate menus. Pork and jamon, so loved by the Madrilenos come a poor second.
The market is laid out in a neat grid pattern with the fruit, pastry and sweet stalls around the edge.
As you work your way towards the centre, there are specialist stalls such as the Bacalao (Salt Cod) sellers and at the very heart, an enormous fish market where once again, most of the critters are alive and snapping.
Fish so fresh that it’s stiff…
Many, many varieties of Bacalao…
Bacalao displayed as a higher art form…
It’s certainly one of the busiest markets I have visited but it must be said that a fair majority of the visitors are tourists who, like myself, spend more time taking photos than buying produce. Some stall holders tolerate the photographers better than others!
These crabs were trying to escape…
