Barcelona, Spain: Mercat de Sant Josep de la Boqueria

Mercat de Sant Josep de la Boqueria...whew...that is a mouthful.  Good thing I only have to type it and not say it.  Let's just say that my Spanish is, well, horrendous.

This market was absolutely beautiful.  The colors, smells, and tastes were otherworldly and just a feast for the eyes and stomach.  

Mmmm meat and meat and meat on a stick.

There were baskets and baskets of every nut and legume you could ever imagine:

It's no secret that I am a greens FREAK.  I wanted to grab all of this with one swoop and run for the hills (winery lined hills) but Charlie wouldn't let me.

Some olives...

...and every type of chocolate, truffle, and sweet you can imagine.

LOOK AT THESE MUSHROOMS!!!

 Isn't this so unfair??

 Some fresh eggs...

...and the most beautiful fruit display I've ever seen.

They had dozens of freshly squeezed fruit juices to choose from.  I ordered the mint and pineapple juice.  Why?  I don't know.

Lastly, but certainly not least, every type of candy and shade under the sun.

The market was overwhelmingly beautiful.  The next time I go to Barcelona I am renting an apartment with a kitchen so I can actually cook with all of their beautiful ingredients.  Take notes Chicago.  Stay hungry! 

Breakfast in Madrid

Charlie and I just returned from Spain - enjoying one of the most wonderful weeks of our lives.  We just fell in love with Spain - the food, the people, the weather, the history, the food, and oh yeah, the food.  I have lots to catch you up on. 

There were two breakfasts we had in Madrid that straight up changed MY LIFE.  I'm also contemplating starting Weight Watchers tomorrow... so that should tell you something.   

We will start with breakfast number 1:  THE CHURRO.  Charlie and I were strolling down some random street in Madrid, exploring hand in hand like we always do on vacation and BAM.  Churro fragrance to the face.  We tracked down the heavenly smell and entered this standing room only spot and went to town. 

We didn't really know what we were ordering so we observed some locals and got some help from the kind folks behind the counter.

We ordered churros and the churro man (read: Superman) started with our order...

...and then we got this beautiful plate of goodness.  We dove in...but Charlie and I both looked at each other, like Hmmmm I know these are supposed to be outrageously good and the guy is staring at us but these need something to make them WOW...

Well maybe we should have waited, like, a whole SECOND, because the hot chocolate was soon to follow...

Oh DAMN.  See, the churros aren't sweet, they aren't salty, they are crunchy and chewy and once you dip them into the hot chocolate, which is really more like chocolate pudding...your mouth just goes bananas. 

But wait, there's more!  We were so out of our minds excited about the churros, that the guy made us another one...

...but this time, added sugar to it and made it grande. 

Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm....

 ...this was about 3 minutes later.  Sad face.

Next, we were strolling through this beautiful little square and then spotted this local enjoying his breakfast.  Whatever he was having, I had to have. Breakfast number two:  Eggs, with chorizo, potatoes and fried peppers at El Madrono.

But to start, some manchego cheese, olive oil, and delicious bread.

This...was...just...OMG...I could cry.

 I need a moment.  The eggs were so fresh, the chorizo perfectly crispy and spicy, and those PEPPERS.  I made the mistake of eating an entire plate (literally...and entire plate) of those peppers and then I had heart burn for like 4 days.  But it was worth it.

Oh yeah, we also had "mama's meatballs."  These were different than traditional Italian meatballs.  They were SUPER tender...my assumption is they didn't use a binder like bread or breadcrumbs.

Thank you Madrid for two awesome breakfasts.  We love you.

Adios.  Stay hungry!