Markets

 

It looks like Boston will be getting a Public Market, to be located indoors in a location near the still new Rose Kennedy Greenway. 

My grandmother sometimes complains about markets being included on the tours she favors when traveling (which she still does a lot), and how much time her fellow tourists spend at them.  "What's the point, you're not going to cook these vegetables!"

Well, I am one of those who wants to look at them, wants to cook them if possible, and certainly wants to photograph them.

One of the highlights of travel for me more and more is visiting local markets, from hyper local pop up markets and actual run of the mill supermarkets to full on public markets like Pike Place in Seattle and Eastern Market in Washington, DC. 

On our recent trip to London we actually stayed in a hotel with kitchenettes so that we could shop at Borough Market, still my favorite in the world (so far!) though it's gone even more upscale, and then eat foods from there all week, mainly for breakfast and snacks.  But, often when traveling, I am left just taking photos of the beautiful vegetables, or perhaps picking up some fruit and cheese for lunch in a park.

The picture above is from Catania, Sicily where the morning market is assembled virtually from scratch every morning (I watched!), and is a main visual attraction for tourists.  It is beautiful, yes those aren't fish, and yes those are packing crates.  I got to see for myself what foods were local and fresh and of the moment, I got to take pictures.

Do you visit markets when you travel?  If so, do you have favorites?  How do you do it? Do you just take pictures, or actually buy food?  If so, what kind?