Port cities always fascinate me (in addition to the city that makes Port). Athens, Istanbul, Magadan, Gulf of Aqaba, Dubai, Muscat, Kuwait city, New Orleans, Houston, San Diego, Los Angeles, Seattle, Vancouver, Anchorage, Prince Rupert, Mobile, Skagway, to name a few I have visited in addition to many others I cannot recall at the moment I have also been to, and they all have a fascinating and mysterious ambience about them. I am sure it has a lot to do with various writers and history and television shows that have embellished Port cities both romanticizing and demonizing them. Regardless I still find them fascinating.
Barcelona has a few thousand years of history under various rule including Roman, Muslim and Christian. The Catalan artist Antonio Gaudi hails from Barca and of course FC Barcelona for all you footie fans. Much more that I could not do the city proper justice with my meagre writing.
I digress…at the end of La Rambla is the Mediterranean Sea and Port de Barcelona. I wandered around today under partyly cloudy skies albeit +24c.
There were these great floating buoy boys…that happened to be actual floating art! I found out they are called Miraestels by Robert Llimos. I love them!
Walking on a wide wooden bridge over the causeway to an entirely separate market and shopping area including a nice little Ferrari for hire (For you HW)?.
Also along La Rambla was a very large section of the walkway that was ‘sand art’
I had to return to la Boqueria sant de josep once more and make my way through some of the aisles I had not been yesterday. I did get a glimpse of the fresh Sepia like I had at the tapas bar, nice and fat ready to be cooked and eaten! Yumm!
There was one vendor of wild fowl, nice fat birds freshly caught.
The smells of a market always tweak the senses and for me imbibe memories of certain things. They are all amazing in my opinion and a lot of work every day for the people selling their wares for locals and tourists. Each market I have been to brings back memories but one of my favourite is the old bazaar spice market in Istanbul (not the textile market as is commonly known as the grand bazaar although also a great market). The huge wooden barrels of fresh spices and tea are simply a wonder to smell and see.
la Boqueria sant de Josep is full of Iberian ham and meats, fish and seafood I don’t know names for and fresh fruits and vegetables that are mouthwatering. If ever in Barcelona you must visit this market!
This weekend is also a fiesta des Rosales which is for Our Lady of the Rosary.
Hasta luego amigos!
