Stomachs on legs are proud to present

1) (Surprise..) Fish

I don't know about you but one of the things I find most interesting in foreign countries is going to the supermarket. It's always interesting to see the packages and raw stuff that make up people's everyday existence. The mundane en masse. We went to a supermarket in the basement of a department store on Placa Catalunya yesterday morning. Though it wasn't really a gourmet deli or anything, they still had plenty of produce to rival the more atmospheric fresh market down the street, La Boqueria.

They had a whole aisle full of tinned sea-things: clams, razor clams, mini clams, and of course, stacks of oily sardines and tuna.



When you're a lobster, it's lonely at the top. The 146-euro chattering classes can do nothing but clack their claws against the growing middle class.



2) Cheese: we bought a piece of Tetilla cheese from Galicia, at least in part because of the saucy breast-shape. I stashed it later in the mini-bar at the hotel and ate it after getting back to the hotel at 1am. A favourite with children? I'm not surprised - it's nice and mildly nutty, just soft enough to scoop out with your fingers.



3) Ham

We mostly came to the supermarket to get water, and were surprised to see a bunch of 125-euro Bellota Iberico ham haunches strung up there. Like it's the kind of snap purchase people make when they come to the supermarket dehydrated? And I thought *my* supermarket bills get out of hand.