Get update alerts
Locations
- .All Trips
- Art
- Car Culture
- Central America/Caribbean
- Food
- Food Tour
- Pic of the Week
- Sl;ovenia
.All Trips / Europe / Food / Italy
Catania’s Fabulous Market
Besides the sight of Mt. Etna looming not far away, perhaps the most famous landmark in Catania is its lively fish market, La Pescheria. There’s more to the market than seafood, but I’ve never encountered a more diverse selection of fresh seafood anywhere. And the operative word is fresh as much of the merchandise was still flopping and flipping about. The fish mongers are a lively bunch, trying to entice everyone passing by to purchase their fish, which are said to be the best and/or cheapest in the market.
Given that it’s situated on the Gulf of Catania, it’s not surprising to find that seafood is so popular with the locals and a key ingredient in local cuisine. You’ll find massive …
.All Trips / Europe / Food / Spain
Barcelona’s Santa Catarina Market
Situated in the El Born region of Barcelona, close to the Picasso Museum, Santa Caterina is one of the finest markets in Barcelona. Built on the ruins of an old monastery, the market opened in 1848. The market was constructed on the former site of the convent of Santa Caterina (from which it derived its name). It has served its working class neighborhood for more than 150 years.
Santa Caterina market has recently undergone modernization and extensive renovation, completed in 2005 (while preserving the old walls of the market). This is most evident in its brightly colored wavy Modernista roof, which consists of 325,000 ceramic pieces in dozens of colors intended to be coordinated with the produce sold under it. The …
Tagged Barcelona, food, Market, Modernista, Santa Catarina
.All Trips / Eastern Canada / Food / North America / Ontario
Ottawa’s Fabulous Byward Market
As many of you know, I am great fans of visiting markets during my travels. Besides the beautiful assortment of food and goods, markets are a wonderful place to watch people and relax with coffee and a tasty fresh snack. On a cold winter’s day, it’s often good to see the fresh bounty of summer (or in the case of our visit, fall).
Byward Market is a well known and long established market in Canada’s national capital, Ottawa. The market was begun in 1826 by John By, who gained fame as builder of the Rideau Canal. Mr. By laid out the street plan of the market, creating extra wide streets to facilitate the market as a gathering place for the area’s …
Tagged Byward Market, food, Market, Ottawa
.All Trips / Central USA / Colorado / Food / North America
Vail Farmer’s Market
During the summer months there’s a nice Farmers’ Market in Vail every Sunday. It’s situated on the north side of Gore Creek, on Meadow Drive, in close proximity to the town’s large parking structure. It compliments the nearby Minturn Market which is held on Saturday and many of the vendors from that smaller but more compact Minturn Market also show up at Vail.
The Vail market is, at least to my impression, significantly larger than the Minturn Market, although not its not as compact and fun to navigate. It features seasonal produce which mostly is grown in eastern and western Colorado. Not too much food is grown at the high elevation of Vail which …
Tagged farmer's market, food, Market, Vail
.All Trips / Asia / Food / India
A visit to Delhi’s Subyard-Okhla Market
Most of the inhabitants of our planet have very different shopping patterns from those living in the developed countries. They do not buy their groceries at Safeway, Costco or Tesco, but at local markets in their neighborhoods. Sometimes these markets have a series of small shops but often they are open air markets like the one I recently visited in Delhi.
There are dozens of vendors at some of the larger food markets in India, most with a unique product or small series of products (for example, the “onion and garlic” or “apple and orange” vendor, and so on). Sometimes you’ll find four or five vendors side-by-side selling exactly the same fruit or vegetable for exactly the same price. How does …
.All Trips / Europe / Food / Italy
Palermo’s Vucciria Market
The most famous of Palermo’s four main markets is the Vucciria market. The market’s name is derived from the Sicilian language, wherein Vucciria means “voices”. Interesting…a market named for the sound of those bartering and dealing. You’ll find this market, which winds through the curving graffiti-covered streets around Piazza San Domenico, in the heart of Palermo’s historic district.
The Vucciria market is open every day except Sunday, from dawn until about 2 pm. You’ll find all kinds of fresh produce, seafood, meats and grocery items. Souvenirs, household goods and handcrafts are also for sale. A market has been held on these streets for at least 700 years.
My wife and I had looked forward to strolling through the Vucciria market because of …
Tagged farmer's market, La Vucciria, Market, Palermo, Sicily
.All Trips / Alberta / Food / North America / Western Canada
Calgary Farmer’s Market
Farmer’s markets in regions that have four seasons are, as you’d expect, different in character than those you find in tropical climates. Harvest is seasonal, so the best times to visit them is during the summer and early fall. Many Farmers’ markets in North America are only open during the summer months, shuttering for the winter. But not so for the larger markets in big cities.
Those markets that are open all year round need to adapt to the changes in the season. Most will be in an enclosed building which can be heated when needed (and which keeps you dry and cool in the summer, too). The local produce in the winter season is much more limited and includes produce …
Tagged Calgary, farmer's market, food, Market
“Pic of the Week”, September 11, 2015: Dinner at the Boulder Farmers’ Market
My son is a doctoral student in physics at the University of Colorado, Boulder, so I’ve had the opportunity to visit this small college city several times recently. Last year we attended the lively Boulder Farmers’ Market on Saturday, which you can read about at this link. This year we went to the Wednesday evening market specifically for dinner.
We’d heard rave reviews about the tamales at the market so that’s what everyone had, and they did not disappoint, especially smothered in a tasty chile (mild or hot) sauce. Like hundreds of others at the market, we took our dinner into the nearby park and sat on a bench munching on our tamales and drinking fresh squeezed lemonade. It was …
Sep 11, 2015
Comments Off on “Pic of the Week”, September 11, 2015: Dinner at the Boulder Farmers’ Market
