ir de comprar

The Mercat de Sant Antoni's a stunning piece of Victorian arhitecture, all vaulted steel wings around  a center. It looks like it's got at least another year before it opens. 

In the mean time, we hit the temporary market, which puts the markets we're familiar with to shame.

There are at least two vendors of bacala (salt cod), carefully hydrating them and telling us how many times we need to refresh the water before we can eat our purchase. There are dozens of real butchers, cheese mongers, and  fruit and vegetable merchants.

We hit a grocery store a couple minutes from the house for basic supplies. In addition to legs of jamon serrano, they had paella, arroz negro (with squid ink) and fideuà (like paella, but with thin pasta).

At home, I've gotten Bomba rice, a short fat grained rice that is highly absorbent, and ideal for making paella by mail order, and it's pricy -- especially when you add shipping of this heavy staple. Here, the most expensive brand in the store is under €5 for a Kg.

We got a bunch of supplies for making dinner. We can't eat out every night or we'll explode. Our kitchen's small, especially compared to what we're used to in our design-the-house-around-the-kitchen house.

The living room shares space with the kitchen.

The bedroom's a bit tight but we're not spending our time hanging out there -- we're pounding the streets, eating and drinking, and now shopping. I like more subdued colors, but our host obviously prefers something much more vivid -- all around the house are lime greens, flamingo pinks, hot orange colors.

Continuing from the kitchen and living room is a small table but we always hang out outside on the terrace.

Since I've gotta work, I work outside. The amount of European to US adapters and cables should frighten any fire marshall.

But it's really pleasant, with tent-like awnings, lounge chairs, and healthy plants including palms and citrus.

The lime tree's not quite ready to pick for caiperinhas, or whatever Spanish folks might make.