Enchanted by the energy at El Mercat dels Encants

Seven years ago, we wandered around this amazing piece of architecture, a newly built market with a wild sculpted roofline of gold-foil-like panes -- El Mercat dels Encants. Yesterday, we went to explore it.

Market stalls and people reflected in the gold ceiling; you can make out bolts of fabric in the bottom left

It's a second-hand market that's been operating since the 1300s in different locations outside the old city wall, then within the city, and now in it's amazing new building. Wikipedia points out that the architects designed it to avoid looking like a shopping center. The inside outer walls comprise a series of ramped walkways with stalls, so we could start at the top and work our way down -- sorta like the Guggenheim -- to the ground floor that had a warren of vendors.  Despite "just continue down", we constantly got turned around, or ended up back where we'd been, because each level fanned out into other rows and files of vendors and racks and shops -- a fun way to get lost. 

Before we hit the ground level, we needed some refreshment. Since this is a civilized country, there were several cafes and bars within the Mercat.  We stopped at one that was doing a booming business -- frenetic even -- for some sandwiches and wine, and took in the view of the Torre Glories and Museu Disseny (design museum) nearby.

The upper floors seemed to specialize in new items, as well as antiques, like this gorgeous brass and wood slide projector. There were stores with statues and cherubs, some with military helmets from the Spanish Civil War, others with light fixtures from the 1970s (I didn't check to see if they had lava lamps, sorry). On the ground floor, it was a mosh-pit of random items -- consumer electronics, socks, bolts of fabric, kitchen items, barbeque and paella equipment. 

We looked for a glass pot lid to cover our plancha but didn't find what we needed. I don't think it's a place we'll go to often, like we do our food markets, but if we're in search of something esoteric or want a rush of flea markets and barkers, we'll be back to visit.

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.