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So this is where all the fruits and veggies were hiding ;)

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On our last full day in Spain (and our last morning in Valencia), Tiff took us over to visit a market – and I was blown away.

This was truly a foodie’s paradise.

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Check out that huge tub of greek yogurt!

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I wanted to buy everything and just pig out on the way back to the train station :) But I didn’t.

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Serrano ham is huge in Spain. It was on every menu, in every restaurant and shop, and featured on every meat counter in this market. And it’s good. Especially on fresh bread with a little cheese or fried with peas or green beans.

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This market literally had anything and everything you could want: fresh fruits and veggies, dried fruits and nuts, meats, cheeses, fish, yogurt, bread, pastries…it was never ending!

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And it was packed. There were huge groups of people moving through the market, picking up their goods for the day or the week, and many of them had reusable bags that were mounted on wheels! Like the eco-friendly and portable version of a shopping cart.

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Seeing the oranges with the leaves still intact was so fun for me. I’m sure my family thought I was pretty dorky, but I couldn’t get over them! You just don’t see that here.

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IMG_2730 Why is fresh food so beautiful? I seriously could have stayed in this market all day, just taking pictures and sampling my way through ;)

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Caution ahead! Lots of meat + fish! Watching my mom walk around the fish market was hilarious – she’s so cute :) She walked around like it smelled really fishy, even though it didn’t.

It was crazy to see some of the things these vendors had at their stands, but all the food was so fresh and you could tell that each person truly cared about what they were doing and selling. And everything was such good quality!

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These fish (above) were so fresh, they still had the blue coloring on their backs! It’s not often you see that in markets in the states.

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Flounder!

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The biggest sausage I’ve ever seen.

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After my family finally wrangled me out of the market (but not before I bought some walnuts + dried plums!), we headed over to the World Heritage Center to look around before heading back towards the train station – and bull ring!

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Since the bull fighting season doesn’t start until March, we were able to tour the bullfighting ring and a small museum.

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I’m not sure I could watch a bull fight in real life, but it was fun to see an actual ring that’s still used. Bullfighting is such a long standing tradition and has such history in Spain; I’m happy I was able to see a working arena while we were there.

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After leaving the bull ring, we got on a train back to Madrid to stay one more night before flying back home.

While I didn’t capture everything (in picture OR these posts!), I have so many memories from this trip and am so grateful that I was able to share it with most of my family.

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Even if we were cold :)

And…I’m ready to travel again! This trip has ignited a passion in me to travel the world and enjoy every minute. I was reminded of how much more there is to life here in the states.

So here’s to new trips down the road! Who knows where we’ll go next…

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19 comments

  1. THat produce is unreal!! I really enjoyed your recaps, Brandi! I can see why you are ready to travel again – beautiful!

  2. that market looks fabulous! i can’t wait to travel :)

  3. what a gorgeous market!! I wish that when I had gone to Spain, it hadn’t been such an organized trip, and we’d had time to peruse the markets… I did eat a lot of ham though!

  4. I went to a market like that in Spain and it was amazing….so jealous!

  5. Such gorgeous pics, Brandi! I visited Spain when my sister studied in Madrid a few years ago, and was in love with the markets — I couldn’t make myself leave! I remember reading somewhere that plants/seeds/fruit evolved to be really appealing to our eyes so we’d eat them and scatter the seeds :-)

  6. I went to that same market when I was in Valencia! It was amazing. I thought the ceiling was so architecturally beautiful I took a picture and it is now in a frame on my desk. :)

  7. Doesn’t the travel bug bite the hardest?! Once you go abroad you just want to keep going back! Loved the recap posts :)

  8. wow fresh food is seriously beautiful! and bullfighting!! how exciting. bummer that it wasn’t the proper season

  9. All of that food in one place is absolutely amazing–all the colors, tastes, etc.–a cook’s dream for sure!!

  10. Beautiful photos of the market. I was drooling. ;) I saw a bullfight in France and ended up getting up and leaving. I thought it was awful.

  11. That is seriously paradise. Wow!

  12. I saw a bullfight in Seville when I was in Spain many many years ago. It was definitely interesting to watch and I know once the bull was killed they gave the meat to an orphanage or food bank or something. Oh Spain, how I miss thee.

  13. FABULOUS FABULOUS FABULOUS! the markets in europe are one of a kind – and EVERYBODY goes to them which i totally love! and i feel you on the travel bug – ever since my first trip abroad, i constantly want to go, go, go!

  14. It looks like you had a great trip! The bull ring made me think of The Sun Also Rises. Still one of my favorite books of all time.

  15. AMAZING photos! Looks & sounds like a wonderful trip all around… :)

  16. Those produce markets made me drool.

    I went to one bull fight while there for the experience but it wasn’t my favorite thing.

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