a vivid market
Traditional markets are like an endangered species in Spain . Unfortunately, there are several Spanish provinces that lack food markets, places where you can buy the seasonal product, the catch of the day or the meat of the week. For this reason, when you visit a good one, the shouting of the merchants announcing the perishable material in the key of bass remains in the memory. And the smells of the spice stalls, the sound of the scales indicating the exact weight of the piece of the day, the carts revealing the green stems of freshly cut leeks...
There are fantastic markets in Spain, but for me the best one is Valencia. It opens early in the morning, when the last sailor has already arrived from the sea with nets full of Mediterranean fish and the villagers arrive with their wicker baskets full of snacks that the land has given them today. And as soon as the doors open, the hustle and bustle of the people there begins. This is a lived market . Lived by the owner and the housewife who have the healthy habit of shopping there every day. Here everyone knows each other by name and they call each other with pleasure and ask how they are.
In addition, the Valencia Market embraces its history with care: it emerged in the city at the time of Moorish Valencia, right next to the mosque, in the heart of a labyrinth of cobbled alleys, a stone framework that led to the shopping center of farmers and fishermen of the time. As a good historical building, it keeps its legend : it is still said in the capital that the current building was built by a cuckolded and jealous gentleman whose wife had left him for a sailor. It is said that the gentleman, after several years wandering around the city sad for his lost love, found the lady selling fish in the old street market, the fish of her lover. It was like that he had the building built to enclose the wife between the bars of a large market.
For all these reasons, the Central Market of Valencia is worth a visit: walk through each aisle, discover what is one of the few places where they sell edible flowers, seasonal mushrooms and where even egg stalls are opened every day, the most diverse and imaginable. It is advisable eat something in the little bars inside the market. You know, the best tapas, the ones on the market! But the idea for a gastronomad is to sign up for the 'market cooking course' trend at one of the schools near the Market. It's called Food&Fun and on weekends they organize tours of the market with subsequent cooking classes. Come on, a delight and a different way to get to know these temples of the yantar.
Here people know each other by name.