One of the things we love are the markets here. No, not the supermarkets but the open-air weekly markets and the permanent kiosk markets. Each village has a open-air market on a particular day. Last Saturday we went to the market in Vilanova. Our purchases included: meat, a shirt, fruits and veggies, a body pillow and 5 geraniums.
There is a wide range of things you can buy…okay to be honest you can pretty much buy anything. Everything from apples to zucchini (manzanas al calabacín). hmmm…wait that doesn’t really work in Spanish. A to Z or M to C. How about albaricoque al zumo de naranja (apricots to orange juice).
Our experience has been that things are relatively cheap (barato). A couple of years ago we were in Sant Sadurní d’Anoia and we were having coffee when I noticed a red purse hanging from a stall on the other side of the square. We wandered over and asked how much it was. 14€ (about $15.55) for a real leather bag. It would have easily been well over $100 in the U.S. Scarves can be found at two for 3€ (about $3.30)! Let’s face it you can never have too many purses or scarves!
We understand that the market in Vilafranca is one of the best so we will plan that for a a Saturday in the near future.
I remember when we moved to the Raleigh, NC area that we were excited to find out there was a Farmer’s Market that was open every day. I will admit that we didn’t go as often as I thought we would. In Monterey, CA we always went to the Farmer’s Market on Alvarado Street. There is a wonderful feeling of community at these sort of markets.
Of course if you come to Barcelona you must go to La Boqueria. The history of this market dates back to the 13th century! Imagine! We went there back in 2014 and I think it is time for a return visit.
The Winery Woman 