European Farmer’s Markets

One thing I really miss about Europe (besides the food, and coffee, and culture, and people, and scenery, and so many other things) are all of the wonderful farmer’s markets. It feels like every few blocks there would be another neighborhood market with local’s selling colorful fruits and vegetables, beautiful flowers and freshly baked bread and pastries. I hate going to the grocery store, but grabbing a few things from the market down the street makes cooking so much easier and fresher.

When my Mom and I were in Modena, we walked through Mercato Albinelli, a huge daily market that’s been around since the early 1900s. The produce was so colorful it made you want to pick it up and eat it.

My Mom pointed out that she bets it’s a lot easier to get kids to eat vegetables if they can help pick it out in an environment like this.

The other thing that blows my mind is how cheap all of the fresh produce and food is at these farmer’s markets. You could get half a loaf of fresh bread for the equivalent of $0.50. Or a pint of strawberries for $0.75. And the best part, you were supporting the local family businesses.

Right outside of our office in Prague was an incredible little market on the side of a park. It was always crowded with locals, getting lunch, grabbing a few things for dinner or just buying a beer and enjoying the sunshine.

I spy Jillian.

I can’t even keep track of how many farmer’s markets I went to throughout the summer, but I loved them all just the same.

Prague:

Barcelona:

Croatia:

Westley Overcash: Our Angel in Prague

As I’ve mentioned before, The Remote Experience organized a local ambassador in each of our locations to help us experience the city like a local. They took us on walking and history tours our first day in a new country, planned welcome dinners, helped organize our excursions and would answer countless questions throughout the month. Our local ambassadors in Split and Barcelona were nice and helpful, but kind of kept to themselves. We literally couldn’t have had anyone better in Turin with Chiara. And we struck gold again in Prague with Westley!

Although originally from the U.S., Westley has lived in the Czech Republic for over a decade, spending quite a bit of time in both Prague and Karlovy Vary. He used to work in PR but has since shifted gears to running his own business, writing travel guides about Prague and curating personal travel experiences for visitors to the Czech Republic. Not only did we luck out in terms of his experience, Westley also became a fast friend!

Westley made sure that we experienced all of Prague, not just the main tourist attractions. And within the first 24-hours we were there, he armed us with an incredible list of the best places to go, things to see, beer to drink and where to eat. Jillian and I made it our mission to check (Czech?) off as many as possible. And I’m proud to say that we made a fairly sizable dent in his list.

Thanks to Westley, we fulfilled our Mexican craving by trekking out to Prague 9 to try Mexicali Mercado. While it doesn’t stand up to Southern California Mexican food, it was definitely the best we had in Europe. Not to mention, it got us out to experience the boonies of Prague.

He also introduced me to Wine Food Market, which based on the name, doesn’t sound very appealing. And to be honest, my expectations were even lower while walking across a sketchy bridge next to the train tracks. I tried distracting myself with the view:

But I should never have doubted Westley; it turned out to be the most incredible Italian market/café/restaurant! I actually ended up going back two more times to work…and to get one last authentic pizza while I could.

The market was in front with the café. I wanted to buy everything and bring it home, it felt like I was back in Italy!

 

The cheese vault, enough said.

 

The back was dedicated to different food stations – pizza, pasta, wine, meat, bread, baked goods – and a pianist entertained everyone while they ate.

Along with all of the recommendations, Westley also organized walking tours. I was out of town when the group walked over to Vyšehrad, but I heard it was great. And I was so glad Mikela got to meet Westley when he took us up to Žižkov, showing us a new neighborhood as well as a massive Communist statue and building.

He was also so nice to organize a trip out to Kutná Hora to see the bone church. That was actually one of our last group activities of the summer; I’m not sure what was better, seeing the church and quaint village or the company?

But what I cannot thank Westley enough for, is the amazing help he gave me when trying to figure out how to get up to Kraków to meet Mikela. He found numerous different routes, tracked down the pricing, and even called to make sure that my train-to-bus transfer was all in the same station. I don’t even want to think of where I would have ended up without him!

So, if you ever find yourself in Prague, I highly encourage you to hire Westley as your Prague travel guide and ambassador! Not only will you have an unforgettable trip to the city, you’ll gain a great new friend.

Westley – thank you so much for such a wonderful month in Prague, I can’t wait to share a beer with you the next time I’m there!