Il Mercato del Pesce

Rialto Food Market, Venice: Part II

I have no words here. The beauty speaks for itself.

One observation: If you happened to be walking around blindfolded in this market, you might not have any idea where you were. The market had fish everywhere, but no fish smell. That’s how fresh everything is.

Tale of a Snail

Rialto Food Market, Venice, Part I

You know how current food movements these days are emphatic about connecting with our food?  About forming relationships with the creatures that help feed us, or become our dinner?

Well, I connected with this little guy.  He seemed quite gung-ho about running off into the beautiful Venetian morning.  He almost escaped the inevitable… but was thwarted by an unsympathetic Italian lady who’s mind was set on snails for dinner.  Regardless, I’m fairly sure this particular animal lived a good life, and he’ll surely meet a glamorous end (in Venice, no less). He didn’t become my dinner, but I’m quite sure he delighted someone’s palate.

Also, this gives a whole new layer of meaning to Slow Food.   Heh.

This is not a foodie blog

But right now, it is.

My first mission upon setting foot in Italy, accomplished

Okay, guys.  Here is where I eat my words.  One of the things I swore to myself from the get go was that this would not just be a foodie blog, much less a travel blog.  My intention with this blog is to be a point of departure for discussion on how individuals, communities and populations can improve eating habits in order to prevent obesity.  Hopefully I’m doing that, at least a little.

However.   I am a foodie.   And occasionally, I travel.

Like right now.

Budapest Central Market

So as I mentioned, I’ve left Madrid to do a little bit of traveling.  My first stop: Budapest, Hungary.  Later I’ll go into some observations about this place and the way people eat, but first I just wanted to share my shots of the beautiful central market.  Surprisingly, I found, most of the people shopping and browsing here were not tourists.  They were locals, closely inspecting the eggplant or chatting up the butcher.  Also, as you’ll see, the products are stunningly beautiful.  And (compared to what I’m used to) insanely cheap.