Travel Log: La Boqueria, Barcelona, Spain

Happy weekend, everyone!  I hope yours is going well so far.  I want to share with you more of the delicious food that we enjoyed on our recent trip to Spain, and today's post is centered around La Boqueria in Barcelona.  Mercat de Sant Josep de la Boqueria is a large open market off La Rambla, a large tree-lined street that runs from Plaça de Catalunya all the way down to the Christopher Columbus Monument.  According to the official website for La Boqueria, this market's origins are unknown but it was established as an open market to sell fruits and vegetables as early as the 1200's.  The market was first regulated in 1827, and the current market with its metal roof was built in 1914.  What started as one trip to La Boqueria to check a tourist attraction off our list turned into repeat visits three days in a row for lunch.  Please scroll through for snapshots of products found for sale in La Boqueria: fruit, meat, seafood, spices, caviar, and dessert.

In addition to these market stalls, there are several restaurants inside La Boqueria.  Here are highlights from the first restaurant we visited for lunch: Bar Central.  We shared plates of grilled octopus, meatballs, gambas (giant shrimp), and mussels in white wine sauce in addition to plates of grilled vegetables and padron peppers.

 Our meal at Bar Central was delicious, and helped us determine that we wanted to return to the market to try other restaurants as well.  Please stay tuned, I have another post coming up dedicated to our second meal at El Quim in La Boqueria.  Thanks so much for visiting my blog today, and I hope you have a great rest of your weekend!