La Boqueria

It has been named as the best market in the world, the best market in Europe and it deserves it. La Boqueria is what foodies dream about when they close their eyes at night. There is a stand for pretty much anything that you can think of. The most impressive thing about La Boqueria is the endless choices of fruit and veggies. Many of the fruit stands make fresh juices that they sell for about a Euro each and there are many flavors from which to choose. This past weekend, for example, I had Dragonfruit and Coconut. It was delicious. You can buy the best of everything for the same price or cheaper than what you pay for far lower quality in the supermarkets. It's just about putting the effort in. It's a bit of work getting there in the sense that you have to trek it through the freak filled La Rambla and if you go on a weekend, you will be dodging tourists left and right. For some reason, people become blind and unable to move out of your way once they set foot in the Boqueria. It must be the paralyzing powers of handmade chocolate and the bright colors of fruits that most people never see or taste before they keel over. I have been a few times now and find it is best to go around two thirty because they close at four but many stands begin shutting down at three. So, at two thirty you get the best deals as all the vendors are trying to get rid of stuff. This is especially true for the fish people. No, not a new specie, the fish stands. We got a Kilo of super fresh mussels for 3.50 Euro. I already have my favorite venders. When I can afford it, I love to trip it over to the Argentinian steak lady. She's funny as hell and has awesome aged steaks which she hacks away at with her meat cleaver while laughing about how much better her meat is than the other butchers. I also really like to watch the people working at the various fish stands. They are all working so fast with such a stinky ingredient it just intrigues me. This is especially true when you watch them descaling huge whole fish. The scales fly everywhere and old ladies still nudge their way right in the guys face trying to make deals unafraid of being..well, scaled on. Also, the Mexican stand is hilarious because you see all the Mexican and South American immigrants band around this tiny Latina demanding their favorite hot sauces and spices. She is also one of the only stands that has ginger. Just putting that out there in case you go there and need ginger. Go to her. You can also eat there. They have all types of snacks and prepared food stands scattered about. You can get assorted fried seafoods from one of the fish guys including deep fried baby eels and shrimp on sticks. Of course, they have tapas places and there is also a gourmet pizza guy who spells cheese on the english menu as "Chesses". It's cute, especially as you watch him sweatily maneuver his large belly over to the pizza oven. I always look forward to going here. I don't plan dinner anymore. I simply go and find what looks most appealing and voila the menu self invents.

Marbella

Marbella on the southern coast of Spain is a gem. I roadtripped it down and spent my spring break there. It is far more relaxed than the busy streets of Barcelona and has gorgeous beaches, great food and wonderful people. The neighboring "city" of Puerto Banus I could have done without as it was a bit flashy and pretentious for my tastes. Otherwise, it's perfection. Old town Marbella is straight out of a painting with it's cobblestone streets, colorful buildings and air that smells of orange blossoms. The beaches are dotted with little fish restaurants with some offering grill boats. I don't think that's what they're actually called, nonetheless, they are wooden boats in the sand that function as wood grills for all the fresh local seafood that Marbella bequeaths unto its visitors. We had fresh sardines and shrimp off the grill. It was all cruncy with sea salt crystals and covered in lemon. I'm not a gifted enough writer to really embody how wonderful my trip was to this place. Suffice it to say that I have never felt more relaxed, more content nor have I ever hated leaving somewhere so much in my life. Old town Marbella is full of quaint artisan stores and yes, more food. Plaze de Naranjas is a mini square within old town Marbella that has copious amounts of orange trees and we sat and had wine underneath them. I need to stop here on Marbella as it's depressing me that I am not there now.

On the way down to Marbella, we stopped in Valencia for an overnight. Valencia is a city that I am dying to go back to. It's known as the city of "arts and sciences" and lives up to the title with elaborate buildings that house museums of many types and it also has the largest aquarium in Europe. We tried to go to the aquarium but the tickets aren't cheap and we soon figured out that it's the biggest aquarium in Europe because it has more eateries than a middle American strip mall. Okay, enough jadedness. Regardless, Valencia's beach strip is huge and is lined with bars and restaurants where one can sit with a jug of sangria in the sun. We ate at La Pepica, a fairly renowned Paella joint that Hemingway frequented. We had the Paella Negra which gets it's name from the fact that it has black rice (from squid ink) as opposed to the traditional saffronic yellow shade. It was delicious and truly special. I have never been to city that simultaneously possesses the size of an urban center with the genuine small town beach attitude of somewhere like Marbella. Though we were there briefly (one night on the way to Valencia and we stopped for lunch there on the way back, too.) it's not something I will forget.

The drive allowed me to see the diverse landscape of Spain. We drove through La Mancha and I kept my eyes glued to the scenery, trying to imagine Don Quixote and Sancho Panza mulling about. Much of what we saw between Barcelona and Marbella (excepting Valencia) was agricultural and green. Most notable, were all the olive trees and vineyards that had not a tinge of pretense. There were no big glitzy wine tasting tours or gold mansions. Most likely, it was just a grandma and grandpa maintaining familial traditions. Also, as you drive south, you see several massive cardboard bulls positioned in the hills, staring down at you. It is the national animal of Spain so it isn't entirely random.


Spain is a diverse, beautiful country with the best food hands down of any other country that I have ever been to. The people in the southern part are smiley, tan and relaxed. You never feel like you "need" to "do" anything or "hurry" or "go". You just sit and that's it. That's why it is perfect. It it effortless and it is perfect. How bout them apples?