A Day at the Mercado de Triana by Folajuwon Samo

In an effort to explore more of Sevilla, I thought about one of my favorite activities to do with my family in the States, going to the international supermarket, and looked into where I could get a similar experience in Spain. I looked for the closest market to me and stumbled upon the Mercado de Triana, which came with rave reviews, so I went to check it out myself. Upon getting there, I was thrown into an environment I'd briefly seen before, but with a new pair of eyes. In the market, there was a wide variety of products to choose from, each from stalls that provided the best selections to their customers. The main walkways seemed lined with the stalls, and you could find little restaurants and samples all over. I’ve never seen anything like it, really. There's fresh produce like red and green peppers, apples, tomatoes, butternut squash, lemon and lime, fresh herbs, eggplants, etc. There was also a range of spices and nuts that you could pick and weigh yourself. Wide variety of meat and seafood selections that you could talk about with the shopkeeper and ask what was the best that day, what they just caught, the best ways to cook them, etc. There were special jams and pastries to try from and special holiday snacks to buy. The restaurant stalls offered a great carta of food, most likely from the fresh produce and ingredients available around them.

I think this type of market is very different from that of the US as those are usually broken up in aisles in one big market. There's a section for produce, meats, seafood, international snacks, etc. However, the Mercado de Triana provided a unique experience for me, as I've never seen this type of market where individual shopkeepers have their own products and interact with their customers. It can provide a feeling of community, in my opinion, as you’re interacting with the people around you that live in your community. This could also tie into the culture of friendliness in Spain and trying to move away from COVID protocols that kept people apart. People sat at restaurants and near stalls with each other, giving me the impression that going to the market could be an all-day affair. Overall, I thought it was a very fun experience that added to an already meaningful semester!