Eating With A Travels...to Barcelona!

Since this blog is called EATING With A, not just cooking, I am going to touch on yummy places I've gone or things I have eaten from time to time. One place I really want to mention is in Barcelona. I'm talking about Mercat de Sant Joseph/ La Boqueria, a big open air market situated right off La Rambla, the main drag in Barcelona.

My husband and I stumbled upon this gem by mistake. Sure, it was a huge tourist spot but we didn't do much research before leaving for Europe. On our first day there, after leaving our luggage at the hotel, we started wandering. Soon we made it to La Rambla and as we stepped on the busy street some woman immediately came up to us and asked us where the market was. We shrugged, not even knowing what she was talking about and decided to walk south. A short time later we pass a huge, bustling area with the sign above it "Mercat." We decided to go have a look.

The market has anything (food wise) people living in Barcelona would want. Fresh meats, fresh fish, fresh fruits and vegetables, cheeses, desserts, the list goes on. A lot of the market wouldn't be applicable to a tourist unless they were staying somewhere they could cook. But...then there are the little food stands where you can sit at the counters and enjoy some tasty Tapas such as chicken croquettes, meatballs, empanadas, etc. Or the fruit stands with rows and rows of brightly colored fresh fruit juice. And don't forget all the candy and chocolate stands!! The juice intrigued me and for 2 Euro, my husband and I each got one. WOW! There is a lot to say about fresh fruit juice. The juice is all natural with just a little water added in as they blend the fruit up. I had a strawberry pineapple juice while my husband got Mango-something. We were addicted immediately. Later on that day we ate some tapas at one of the stands, purchased some gummy products that we'd never seen in the US, got a fresh fruit salad and of course, another round of juice. Raspberry pineapple for me the next time and I think my husband got something with Strawberry. But they had all kinds involving orange, coconut, kiwi, melon, blackberry, etc.

We visited the market once per day all 3 days we were in Barcelona (and on the first day, twice). The food is incredibly delicious and the juice is amazing. This place is definitely worth a visit if you head over to Barcelona. Adios!