So there I was, mooching along down Las Ramblas, a wonderful pedestrianised street in Barcelona, when I chanced upon an indoor food market. I wandered in and was soon mesmerised by the bewildering colours, smells and sights which filled my senses.
I began with the fruits section and was amazed at the exotic selection available including some types which were completely unfamiliar to me. Next came the salami and cooked meats area which soon set my taste buds tingling.
After that I strayed into the fish and sea food part of the market. I should point out at once that I don't do sea food. Prawns, crabs, squid and the like are inedible sea insects as far as I am concerned. I can manage common types of fish but that's it. However, I am morbidly attracted to displays of fish and sea food which for me, is like going round a sea museum.
My eyes ranged over the strange species of fish and I inhaled the briny air with gusto for whilst I won't eat seafood, I do like the smell of it. Then I spotted the lobsters. Huge creatures the size of cats and all with their claws taped up. I studied one closely and then suddenly, its eye moved. Eeeek! I hadn't realised in my piscine ignorance that they were alive. Then next to them I noticed piles of crabs winking at me like shellfish hookers trying to get me to buy them.
I moved on to the butchery department, a wiser man. The first thing I encountered there were piles of sheep heads. They had their fur and skin removed and so resembled something from an animal post-mortem. The thing was, they still had their eyeballs intact. In fact I am reliably informed, that the eyeballs are the best bit. Eeeek again!
So there I was surveying a sheep head heap who were all staring back at me and I swear to you, that if one of them had blinked, I would have run out of there like a scalded cat!
It's enough to convert anyone to vegetarianism!
ReplyDelete