shopping
While
los supermercados, supermarkets, are a common sight in Spain today, smaller
local family-run shops and markets are still the preferred place to buy
fresh local produce. Larger Spanish towns will have una calle mayor, high
street, or a commercial area housing most specialist shops, though in general
shops tend to be dotted throughout town. These will include una panadería,
a bakery, selling el pan, bread, una pastelería, a cake shop, and
una heladería, ice cream shop. For usual cuts of meat, you can either
head for una carnicería, a butcher's, or more specifically for una
charcutería, a pork butcher's, where you can buy jamón, ham,
cerdo, pork, and sausages like chorizo. Medical essentials and selected
beauty products can be picked up at una farmacia, the chemist's, while un
estanco, the tobacconist or newsagent, supplies cigarettes, tobacco and
small stationery items. All towns will also have un quiosco or kiosko, a
news-stand, where you will find periódicos, newspapers, las revistas,
magazines, as well as tarjetas postales, postcards, sellos, stamps, and
snacks and sweets. There will also be a local administración de lotería,
lottery ticket office.
supermercados
Most grocery shops in Spain are called supermercados. Many of the smaller ones are tucked aware in the side streets and are well worthwhile exploring. One of the nicest local shops is the family run 'Supermercado Paris' on Avenida Estacion some 100 metres from the petrol station. They carry a wide range of foods, meats, vegetables and fresh bread as well as a good selection of wines and spirits.
The larger stores are to found in Benicarló and Vinaròs. The Caprabo Supermercado can be found in the new shopping mall 'Centro Commercial Costa Azahar' on the N340 (Wednesday is discount day). There are two Mercadona Supermercado store in Benicarló, one on the entrance to the town from Peñíscola on Avenida Papa Luna and the second in Placa Doctor Pera in the centre of town. All three of these stores are more typical of the UK Tesco or Waitrose type of supermarket. However don't expect the goods on the shelves to be laid out in the logical manner now taken as normal in the UK.
There is a large Carrefour Supermercado on the N340 halfway between Benicarló and Vinaròs. This is more typical of the large modern UK supermarket carrying clothing, television and hi-fi, furniture, garden goods as well as groceries, wine and spirits.
diy
There is only one local DIY store and that is 'Bricodeco' in Benicarlós's Avenida Cataluna and although they have a reasonable product range most items are a little expensive. A store more typical however of the UK DIY stores is 'Leroy Merlin' which is in Castellon some 45 minutes drive from Peniscola.
However our advice is to search our and explore the ferreterias in Peñíscola and Benicarló as in our experience they have met all our needs and are normally most inexpensive.
ferreterias
Hardware stores in Spain are called ferreterias. There are two in Peñíscola, the first in Avenida José Antonío (the towns high street) and the second 'Ferreteria Roberto' situated in Antonio Pascual, which is the road behind the car wash. Roberto is very helpful and carries a good stock of general hardware.
Highly recommend however are the two excellent ferreterias to be found in Benicarló. The first is 'Ferreteria L' Estanquer' which is located on both sides of Sant Francesc and is especially ideal for tools. Sant Francesc is the second turning on the right off the N340 after passing the Guardia Civil headquarters. The second is 'Ferreteria Lleixa' located in Placa Doctor Pera and opposite the town centre Mercadona Supermercado. In both of these if you don’t see what you are looking for then please ask as they have large stocks in the back of store.
white and brown goods
There are a number of good stores selling white and brown goods - washing machines and tumble dryers, refrigerators, freezers, cookers, radio, hi-fi, television, DVD’s etc. There is a 'Miro' store in the 'Centro Comercial Costa Azahar' on the N340 and several 'Hiper Europa' stores in Benicarló and Vinaròs. These all offer a wide range of products at competitive prices. Hiper Europa provides an excellent delivery and installation service.
fish
There is an abundance of readily available fresh fish both in the supermercados and the indoor markets at Benicarló and Vinaròs. On the counters you will find mouth watreing selections of sea bass-lubina, whiting–bacaladilla, bream–dorada, mackerel–caballa and pollack–abadejo. If you don´t recognise the names of any on display then just consult the Cooks Dictionary of Food.
fruit and vegetables
The indoor markets at Benicarló and Vinaròs offer a bewildering display and selection of fresh vegetables at most inexpensive prices. But one of the best place to buy your fresh fruit and vegetables is the wholesalers Frutas Piñana located halfway between Benicarló and Peñíscola.They have a retail counter and for under 5€ you can come away with a couple of carrier bags stuffed full of really nice fresh produce.
lotería
La lotería moderna, the modern lottery, arrived in Spain in 1811, and there are now several variations on the theme across the Spanish-speaking world, all offering the chance to win, and to win big. It's difficult to overestimate the importance of la lotería in Spanish life - people will travel for miles to buy their lucky ticket from their personal favourite lotero, ticket seller, and spend fortunes each year on tickets. Players buy their tickets (known as un boleto or un décimo depending on the game) either in the licensed street corner booths, or in local administraciones de lotería, lottery offices. In some countries these are as much a part of the local landscape as the café or corner shop. Several charities have established lotteries to supplement fundraising efforts - these include Spain's Cupón de la ONCE, run by the Organización Nacional de Ciegos Españoles, the national organisation for the blind, and Argentina's La Solidaria. There are also lotteries whose winnings go towards public programmes like housing for the elderly, such as La Pega in Puerto Rico. If you're around Spain at Christmas, you can take part in the lottery to beat all lotteries, affectionately known as El Gordo, the Fat One. The draw for El Gordo traditionally marks the start to the Christmas festivities, and is accompanied by massive media coverage as the announcement of the lucky winners approaches. Winning numbers are drawn and then sung by the cherubic niños de San Idelfonso, children from the school of San Idelfonso. In harder times, El Gordo represented the only way to a better life, so even today Spaniards take great interest in celebrating a big win. But if you don't win, you can always try El Niño, the annual 5th January draw named in honour of the baby Jesus.
