Marcadillo Medieval

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I haven’t written anything in a while and have much to tell, so I’ve got numerous posts here. Prepare yourselves.

#1: Spanish Medieval Market (Mercadillo Medieval):

Two Sundays ago, I went with a friend and her host-mom to the pueblo of Orijuela (the only Spanish town that has all five vowels in its name - says Puri) to visit the medieval market that was in town for the weekend. Orijuela is about an hour by car from Alicante, so Xenia’s host-mom drove. As I got in the car, I realized I hadn’t been in a car since the first day I arrived here. That was a strange realization, knowing I drive almost daily back home. Anyway, I didn’t know what to expect out of this market but knew that a mercadillo is different from a mercado (what we have in Alicante and what I saw in Valencia) because it’s an open air market, has more than just food items, and you’re allowed to haggle with the sellers for lower prices. Okay, I guess I did know somewhat what to expect, but I didn’t know how much the whole “medieval” idea would play into it all. Answer: mucho! As we walked up to the old quarter of the city we were greeted by a giant hawk easily twice my size hanging above our heads and people dressed in medieval costumes walking around on stilts. Welcome… There were some stands set up in the first plaza, but I was kind of disappointed with how small it looked. Little did I know though, that the stands went on and on and on through the following streets. I think it took us two hours to loop through to the end and back. There were all sorts of things for sale - some very medieval, others not at all. I liked the hand-crafted jewelry the best and the leather bracelets. Oh yes, and the dried fruit --> always a hit with me 😊 I tried my first crepe there too; it was delicious! After walking through the vendors, we ended up meeting some of Xenia’s host-mom’s family because Orijuela is where she is originally from. It was good practice speaking Spanish and also learning more about the pueblo. It was a beautiful place, although much smaller than Alicante, and I’d love to go back to see more of it sometime. I’d also like to see the medieval market again when it is in Elche. Vamos a ver!

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