Apart from the more common or garden-variety vegetables, where potatoes, greens, capsicums, garlic and eggplants reign, there are the animals. Chooks, geese, turkeys and pigeons flutter and flounce; then rabbits and guinea pigs (for pets, we hope); and finally cage birds of every description, a riot of colour and noise — not for the pot, these creatures.
As you would expect, the huge selection of hams, sausages and pates ranges from a black pudding kind of monster to various chorizo types, individually made in local farms with their own smokehouses (and, it must be said, augmented by the ever-present passive smoking all around us).
Then there are the local breads, traditionally rough and rustic to accompany the various sheep and goat cheeses; and those Portuguese bakery delicacies such as pastel de nata (creamy egg tarts), travesseiros, pane de casa rolls and almond brioche clones. And the berries make another welcome appearance in all kinds of cakes and pastries. The patisserie section is definitely not for the Weight Watchers crowd.
Tearing ourselves away from the food market, we find the adjacent flea market with masses of antiques, including some of the vendors. There’s an element of gypsy about the place and once the haggling starts we get the feeling that perhaps we are out of our depth in negotiating techniques. But it’s all good fun.
There is furniture and clothing, too. Spread out across the carpark is enough to furnish an entire palace and clothe the servants as well. We spot some exceptional hand-carved wooden chairs but, tempted as we are, the thought of shipping to Australia serves as a deterrent — and besides, our palace isn’t big enough.
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