Madrid

I’m at Madrid’s weekly flea market, El Rastro, on a warm autumn Sunday and it’s heaving with people.

Set in the steep hilled streets of the La Latina neighbourhood, I’m pleased I decided on the comfort of running shoes. The main street of the market runs for about 500m and includes the kind of stalls that you’d find at any market in the world, but with dozens of tapas bars and carts selling fresh churros, its easy to remember you’re in Madrid.

Where the real beauty of El Rastro lives, for me, is in the side streets.

Packed with stalls and permanent shops (usually only open on Sunday) that sell vintage clothes, art, antiques and curiosities, this is a treasure trove for anyone who loves to hunt.

I was enamoured with a tiny shop piled from floor to ceiling with vintage suitcases and trunks. A stall manned by an older couple selling off the contents of an old haberdashery. A little blue vintage mini sewing machine to add to my collection. Tables of beautiful art frames ready for a new home. Rows of books with beautiful spines in hues of pink. A tiny store, filled with trims and lace and jars of buttons, layered and layered and layered where you literally need to dig to discover what lies beneath. Stalls of antique china and brass candlesticks. A royal blue painted storefront with tables outside layered with vintage tablecloths and napkins.

I brought a beautiful assortment of textiles from this market to share with you. I hope you can feel the place from which they came.