I figure that summer is the best time to go to the few weekend markets Manila has. There’s really no point doing so when it’s all wet and rainy, doesn’t it? At least with the sunshine out, you can see fruits, plants and vegetables in full abundance, never mind if you have to sort through them with sweaty arms (and pits!) It’s that hot and humid in the city these days.

The Legaspi Sunday Market is located in a quiet enclave of offices and residential condominiums in Makati, with a pretty park beside it. I didn’t know how to go here at first, and my personal GPS just told me to go around the side streets of Greenbelt 1 (near AIM) and find the Union Church of Manila. The market is located in a spacious parking lot, with a Starbucks just a few walks away. I would think that the weekend markets in Salcedo and the Lung Center are bigger and have more selections, but foodies and homebound fellas are sure to find interesting things here as well.

Some pictures from this market:

Columnist and writer Barbara ‘Tweety’ Gonzalez sells her paintings here, as well as a line of talismans from Mt. Banahaw for attracting love, happiness and prosperity.

< The Japanese-designed Waraji slippers , made of abaca, are said to massage the feet and cure the body of certain ailments.

From the stall of a gracious lady named Delia, I was able to buy kitchen herbs like thyme, coriander and basil for our mini-garden. No more panic-buying in the grocery for any last-minute addition of things like parsley and oregano in one’s dishes!

Food, and more food!