Port Visit: Barcelona's La Boqueria

La Boqueria is more of a tourist spot for visitors to have a taste of local food

One last stop on our short one-day visit to Barcelona was to La Boqueria, or the market in La Rambla, a main strip where tourists walk up and down to check out mostly souvenir shops, cafes and restaurants.

There's lots of fresh fruits and vegetables...

Historically, the first mention of La Boqueria dates back to 1217, and it was basically an open market selling meat. Centuries later the authorities decided to construct a separate market for the fishmongers and butchers.

It wasn't until 1826 was the market legally recognized, and construction began in 1840 to build an official structure for the market. While the building has been modified many times, the metal roof that exists today dates back to 1914.

I remember visiting La Boqueria over 20 years ago and was astonished by the amount of produce. The tradition continues today -- there's a lot to choose from, such as stalls selling fruit salads or fruit juices, or vegetables, jamon or cured ham sold by the gram, fresh seafood such as fish, oysters, prawns and even lobsters, or empanadas with different fillings inside.

... as well as cured meats including sausages and Iberico ham

It was difficult to choose what to try, and in the end I sampled a delicious octopus salad that wasn't tough at all, seasoned with olive oil, lemon and chopped parsley, though the fresh figs aren't quite in season so they weren't very ripe.

There were also lots of baked goods from fresh baguettes to cookies and pastries, as well as small bars where you can eat tapas, though with a big group like us it was hard to even get a seat; we just bought food and shared them among ourselves.

Afterwards we continued our way down La Rambla to the Columbus Monument. It's a 60 metre-tall column with explorer Christopher Columbus on top.

It was built in 1888 for the Universal Exposition of Barcelona the same year to mark his first voyage to the Americas. The monument also serves as a reminder that Columbus served Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand V in Barcelona after his first trip to the Americas.

Christopher Columbus atop a column

The statue features Columbus with his right hand supposedly pointing west to the New World, but in reality it's pointing south south-east, which means the city of Constantine in Algeria, and not his hometown of Genoa, Italy. Aside from being trivial, a simpler explanation is that Columbus is pointing to the sea to allude to his naval expeditions.

After taking pictures of Columbus we wandered to our shuttle bus to take us back to the cruise ship; this visit more than the others made me want to go back to Barcelona to explore more of the city. It was also cheaper than Italy -- another reason to make a return visit!