Novelties
El Rastro
Madrid, Spain
November 2005

El Rastro

El Rastro is supposedly the world's largest flea market.  Or at least, Europe's. Looking downhill among the stalls and the throng of people who are jockeying for bargains, it is easy to believe with stalls and a sea of people as far as the eye can see.

With my 10 Viajes in hand, I took the Metro to Tirso de Molina one early Sunday morning with my mom's friend Fidella. You can buy anything here: pets, casuela de barro, furniture, luggage... You name it, there is probably a stall that sells it.

Fidella's parakeeto had moved on to bird heaven days before. So we went into a pet store who specialized in birds and whose walls were grids of birdcages. Cockatoos, parakeets, parrots and an assortment of other tropical birds. Absolutely beautiful plummage.

We did not buy a parakeeto that day. But I came back with a bed throw, a couple of t-shirts, and lots of pictures.