La Boqueria - Food Market in Barcelona

While writing down the Paella recipe it occurred to me that I never really shared any pictures of our last Europe travels in France and Spain. It seems like it was just yesterday and at the same time ages ago. Why does time seem to move so darn fast?!

My very favorite place we visited was La Boceria in Barcelona, a food market just off of La Rambla, the main tourist street in central Barcelona.  I admit it, I have a thing for beautiful markets.

If you love to eat and cook like we do, then a market like that is a feast for the eyes as well as the nose and the taste buds!

And visiting one of these markets in other countries gives you such an insight into what foods are regularly consumed that we might not touch at all... I spared you a few of the very graphic photos of whole sheep heads! I think some things you have to grow up with to really appreciate. I did not appreciate those!

Ahhhh, look at that fruit - a riot of color.

Can I have one of each, please?

Barcelona, of course, is famous for the Iberico hams and I ate plenty! I love cured meats - something I definitely grew up eating a lot of in Germany.

You could even buy paper cones filled with shavings of ham on the street for a quick snack. That's my kind of snacking...

The other local food we ate plenty of was anything prepared with salt cod, or bacalao. Delicious!!

That reminds me that I have some in the pantry. I brought back a few cookbooks from Spain and can probably find an excellent recipe. Must remember!!

The seafood in general was amazing!! Fresh and so much variety. We certainly ate our fill on this trip!

 

And here, friends, is my all-time favorite spot of the whole vacation: the Pinotxo Bar at the market.

Daniel recognized this wonderful gentleman from a photo in our Rick Steves guidebook and we patiently waited until a couple of seats became vacant.

When he took our order, he simply asked if we wanted seafood or meat and when we both answered seafood, he took a look at us, nodded his head and went off to put in our order. The food was amazing!! Big shrimp as a starter, followed by a delicious fish entree.

Somehow he knew exactly what we would like. I could have stayed for years... Seriously!! 

 

Actually, there are not many places I would move to for a certain time period, but Barcelona I would! It's such a beautiful city, right on the water. I'll have to share more photos with you...

For today I leave you with much love!

❧ Silke
P.S. I've been painting again and will have some art to show you soon.

P.P.S. I'm also knitting like a fiend and need to take a photo of all my projects in the works on big fat needles, smaller needles and on some that feel like I'm knitting with toothpicks. 

What I Miss Most About Münster!

Aside from my family and friends, that is. It's the biweekly outdoor market on the big plaza in front of the beautiful cathedral. Münster has one of the biggest and most beautiful markets I have ever seen.

Every Wednesday and Saturday morning, rain or shine, year round, vendors come from near and far, even from Holland, and set up their stands bright and early to be ready for the early birds.

My dad knows how much we love this place, and yesterday he went shopping at the market and took all these photos for you and us. I think he's trying to make us homesick so we visit soon... He's definitely starting to keep my blog in mind when he takes pictures! Danke, Papa!!

This is not a market where you can get just a few things. No, here you can do your entire grocery shopping. Now, come with me on a tour of just a few thing you can see there:

Many stands with the most delectable baked goods from grainy breads to delicious pastries,
fresh juices at a juice bar (I don't remember seeing this last time I was there - it must be new),
any vegetable or fruit you can think of from the local organic produce
to those imported from warmer climates,
all fresh,
and all arranged so beautifully,
many different kinds of potatoes (don't you just love how my dad got some of the vendors to smile for the pictures?!),
freshly picked strawberries and green and white asparagus (oh, how I miss the white asparagus),
chicken eggs, goose eggs, and those laid by the Easter bunny,
Mediterranean fare of any kind,
olives, garlic, lavender,
and many kinds of olive oils and vingears,
savory preserves,
and sweet ones,
fresh tulips from Holland,
any cut flower you'd want to bring home,
but also potted plants,
and herbs for your herb garden.
And that's not all. You can buy dairy products, cheeses, meats, fresh and smoked fish, arts and crafts, yarn for knitting, even some small animals like rabbits or little chicks. During the one year that Daniel and I lived in Münster, that is where did all our grocery shopping. We lived close, so we were able to ride our bikes there. An experience like nothing else!

When we go to Germany, we make sure to plan our flights to allow the maximum market visits. Daniel and I, my dad and sometimes my sister or a friend will slowly amble up and down the aisles, chat, take it all in and always (always!) have a coffee and breakfast at our favorite coffee stand. (This was taken one early morning on our last visit to Germany - the coffee obviously hadn't kicked in yet.)

Oh, I feel a visit coming on...

I wanted to thank you all for your heartfelt comments on my anniversary post. You all are the best!!

Postcards from Europe

I am extremely lucky in that I have a wonderfully supportive family, and even though we live far apart from each other, we mange to stay close thanks to the wonders of modern technology. But what means the most to me are the photos my dad sends on a regular basis. When he goes anywhere, he never goes without his camera and as soon as he gets home, he sends me pictures of anything from family celebrations, my sweet nephews at play, my sister, dear friends, his garden in bloom, their dog doing tricks, to frequent trips to the market (which is one of my favorite places in the world!). So, yesterday, he and my sister went to the market and he sent these pictures of Daniel's and my favorite stands: the Dutch cheese stand (above) and the Mediterranean stand (below). In can almost smell the perfume of olives and garlic (I am not quite so fond of the smell of the cheese)! Mountains of white asparagus, cut that very morning - ahhh, we are missing another season of asparagus and freshly picked strawberries! My mouth is watering as I write this! Actually, I am almost drooling...
And as if the photos from my dad weren't enough to make us dream about a visit, our dear friend, Raina, sent us these stunning pictures from Amsterdam showing off their legendary tulips in full bloom!


I feel so grateful for our family and friends in our "other" home across the Atlantic who share their experiences and photos and therefore never feel far away!