When this tour bus pulled up I had to giggle. Besides me and Brian, only one other couple had signed up to go. We also had the chef and a kitchen staffer with a large cart to tote everything he purchased back to the ship.
Valencia’s central market was gorgeous! It has almost 1000 stalls and was a little overwhelming
The fruit and vegetables were beautiful.
Being a port town, there were lots of unusual things from the Mediterranean. Who knew there were so many kinds of seaweed?
Besides basil, carrots and a large variety of cheeses, the chef bought a large variety of cured and fresh sausages for the next day’s lunch.
These looked a lot like a cross between crab claws and elephant feet. They were actually extremely expensive(60 euros/lb.) goose barnacles. We sampled them, they were pretty un-tasty.
The seafood in the market was so fresh and beautiful.
Chef kept asking us if there was anything there we wanted him to make for us. Would we like some giant prawns? Yes please!
They were delivered to our cabin for the most decadent room service dinner ever.
Valencia, Spain was our first port and we immediately called to sign up for Shopping with the Chef as soon as we saw it on the Valencia schedule. We did this last year in Livorno, Italy and it was a highlight of our trip. It’s a free excursion that included a guided tour of the city.
Missing Willow Farm 
Oct 14, 2016 @ 14:08:28
So many wonderful food adventures! The prawns……yum, yum, happy tum!
Oct 14, 2016 @ 15:45:46
Fantastic! I would have never guessed those are barnacles. They do look like crab claws.