Degustación de Tapas - Part 4

Travels in the Spanish city of Barcelona continue....

After the Sagrada Familia and a quick lunch, my friend and I were off to explore a second location: Market St. Joseph off the famous La Rambla street near the waterfront. This market is also called La Boqueria. It was founded in 1217!!! (Read more about the market HERE).

This market features lots of unique food, fruits and vegetables. Tourists can easily spend an hour or two weaving through the stalls. Be warned though -- this market is also frequented by pickpockets, so leave your purse at home, or wear a money belt. (My friend, who had a money belt on, was felt up twice by pickpockets checking his outside pockets. Be careful!)

Here are some of the highlights from St.Joseph:

Market entrance: 

Freshly mixed fruit juices. Prices varied in the market. If you walk around, you can get one cup for 1 Euro! A great bargain. ^_^

Of course, I tried many juices, since I love fruit. Combos tried: strawberry and pineapple, raspberry and pineapple, strawberry and kiwi. All were delicious and something I really missed from my days living in Bangkok. ^_^

Fresh juice = Cutenekko in heaven. 

I found one of the most famous cuisines from Spain -- aged ham (also called Jamon Serrano -- LINK). This stall had several legs on display. You could also try free samples. Yum!

I was surprised to find many chocolate stands in the market. My vision of a market is fresh fruit, vegetables and other produce -- not sweets.

Some chocolate stalls had very unique and cute confectionaries on display.
These were hedgehogs...

Here are some chocolates shaped like frogs. I bought one -- it had a mousse-like chocolate center.

Another big food item in Spain -- olives. I was impressed with the huge variety. When you eat at a restaurant in Spain, wait staff will usually bring you a plate of olives and small pickles as an appetizer. They were great! 

I passed by more candy shops. These were candied fruits. I had never seen these kinds of sweets before, so I took photos and stared at the glass case for a while....^_^

This candy shop also had some uniquely shaped candy -- tennis balls!

I came across these unique tomatoes. Does anyone know the name of these tomatoes? Their shape was similar to an American pumpkin....

I hope you enjoyed your quick, pickpocket free stroll through the St. Joseph market. ^_^ This market is another "must do" while in Barcelona. If you are hungry, there are many "counter style" restaurants serving up tapas and other dishes for shoppers to enjoy.

Tomorrow, I'll share the real reason I traveled to Barcelona...it might surprise you!

Market St. Joseph /La Boqueria is located just off La Rambla in Barcelona. They have their own website. Access: metro stop Liceu (Green Line, L3). Open: 07.00 ~ 14.30 and 17.00 ~ 20.30. Closed on Sundays. Tourist information about this and other markets, is HERE.

TIP: 
La Rambla is a famous shopping/ walking street in central Barcelona. You'll find many restaurants with outside seating on this street. AVOID eating at these establishments. The reason? The shops charge a large fee for sitting outside -- and this "table charge" is not advertised, nor is it legal. Complaining to the police won't help you either. Eat with your eyes only on La Rambla. (Tip was taken from a Japanese travel guidebook)