Hunting for Flea Markets and antiques in Spain

Spanish Rastro or Flea Market

 About five years ago I published (on another blog), a series of photographs of the interior of a Spanish rastro. With the help of a friend in Spain I've up-dated the info for 2012 and added extra photos.

 Hunting for 'Flea Markets' in Spain

You may not have noticed but guide books and travel blogs about Spain are rather quiet when it comes to buying vintage and second-hand goods. There's a wealth of information about 'flea markets' in other European cities like Paris, London, Berlin and Amsterdam, but apart from a couple of markets in Madrid and Barcelona, information about shopping for antiquities and vintage items in Spain is veryy scarce. 

I lived and worked in Spain for eight years. I'm a professional photographer, traveler and a collector. I collect vintage books, magazines and maps, cameras, pocket knives, fishing tackle, musical instruments and fountain pens. I could probably think of a few other things, but this gives you an idea about my shopping preferences.Wandering around thrift stores, car boot sales or flea markets is an essential experience for me, therefore flea and antique markets, and pre-owned goods stores are big pull when choosing a particular city to visit.

Most guide books will point you in the right direction for flea markets, but when visiting Spain the word to remember is Rastro which has several meanings, one of which is flea market. With the exception of "El Rastro" in Madrid, which is a large street market, most rastros in Spain are nothing like flea markets we know, but are in fact small stores run by volunteers with profits donated to charity. They sell anything and everything including clothes, furniture, garden tools and ornaments, paintings, posters, magazines, toys and games, shop and industrial fittings. Nothing is restored but it's usually in good condition, or at least repairable, and everything is uniquely Spanish - with the occasional surprise from Morocco! 

Rastros spring up and start trading in any building that offers shelter and security. You'll find that rastros in old houses tend to specialise in clothes and house items, while rastros in industrial units tend to offer larger items of furniture, old shop fittings and stock, plus bicycles and car parts. 

What about prices?

You can get a lot for your euros in a rastro. Generally items are priced from a couple of euros, to around fifty euros upwards, for items of furniture. Clothes tend to be priced between five and ten euros, depending on style and quality. Bargaining is normal - but don't be too pushy.

How to find a Rastro?

Every town in Spain has at least one rastro (they are growing in popularity as Spaniards are coming round to the idea of vintage chic) and the larger cities all have several. But they rarely advertise, relying instead in word of mouth. Fortunately, Spanish people are friendly and will go out of their way help, so just make enquiries. Ask in the local town hall, police station, shop or bar and you'll be given directions. Or ask a taxi driver and and let them take you.

A very nice door knob - Tim Irving

Soho London

I took this photograph a few weeks ago in Soho, London. Soho is a small area of central London that by day (it changes character at night), has remained true to itself and feels comfortable. What's remarkable about Soho, is that it's in an area with the highest property prices in the world, and yet you can still find a gents hairdresser with a hand painted sign. And what a sign it is! The original hand writing must go back to the 1940's or 50's. Every time the premises have been decorated (rarely by the look of it), the painter has carefully worked their way around the writing. It's beautiful.

Mille-Feuille

The sun came out yesterday in southern England and to celebrate its appearance a few of us had cream tea in the garden of a traditional English tea room at Clare in Suffolk. There was a good selection of cakes and scones, but I was seduced by the look of this cake, a strawberry mille-feuille. Unlike its common cousin the custard slice, the mille-feuille has more layers of puff pastry, the translation of mille-feuille is thousand sheets.

This is one of several cakes that are impossible to eat with any dignity. The moment I bite down on the pastry, the cream is squeezed sideways, smearing my face, hands and shirt and giving me the expression of a circus clown. This would be an excellent cake to serve should you ever want to humiliate a someone or to gain a psychological advantage.

You can use a fork to cut it up, but the pastry doesn't break up easily and you end up with an ugly mess. The best  way to enjoy this cake is in the privacy of your own home, wearing your oldest clothes, but if you are eating in a public place at least choose a table with some privacy.

Red For London Bus

Do you know the saying about London buses? You wait for hours without seeing one, then eight turn up at once!

I'm organising my photos of cities into colour themes, it's a big job that could take years, I don't know how many photos I have on file. I'm going to start offering collections by colour in my Etsy shop. I'm wondering if sets of colour themed cards for framing and correspondence would be popular.

I'm reading: The Flaneur by Edmund White

I've just finished a wonderful Sue Grafton novel, H Is for Homicide. This is my second reading of this mystery novel. First published in 1993, I found it as fresh and funny as when I first read it.

Today I start reading The Flaneur by Edmund White. A Flaneur is someone who strolls without purpose. Edmund White is an American who lived in Paris for sixteen years. This is a book about wandering the avenues and back streets of Paris, unknown to visitors.

Do you read books? I'd be interested to hear what's on your reading list.

What went wrong with socks?

This is such a trivial topic, but I wont let that stop me getting it off my chest. What has gone wrong with socks?

Last year I noticed that several pairs of new socks didn't feel as comfortable as I would have liked. There are a few things that are wrong, there's no stretch, they seem bigger and they fall down. The problems are small but irritating, and uncomfortable for someone like me who walks four or five miles a day. Last year I put the issues down to a bad batch, so I bought three pairs of new socks from Marks and Spencer, an old company who used to have a reputation for good quality socks.

A short  walk in my new Marks and Spencer socks proved disappointing, they felt as uncomfortable as the others, which led me to spend one Saturday morning shopping exclusively for socks, an exercise I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy. The several pairs I purchased included the ones above, lambs wool, knitted in England with the toes and heels finished by hand. The sales person described them as "The Rolls Royce of socks". But after walking the dog they also proved disapointing, more a like Morris Minor when I needed a Audi.

One obvious problem with all new socks is the sizing. My size used to be within a range of 7-9 (UK size), but socks are now sized 5-10, which seems awfully wide to me. So after searching for a year, I still haven't found a pair of socks that I'm 100% happy with. I shall continue the search and I'll buy a few pairs in France next month, maybe the French know a thing or two about socks.