I had booked another tour before arriving in Riga, the "Best of Riga Food and Culture Walking Tour". After our tour the previous day I had trepidations about this one, but I'd already paid, so off we went. The tour promised an exploration of three of Riga's most essential districts, combined with food tasting and cultural walking tour.

We met our guide, Liga, in the Old Town on Vecpilsetas Street, from there we walked to one of the many 17th century store houses that make up so much of the old town centre. She provided a description of the various elements of the building and the how important Riga was a trade city in the Baltic over the centuries.

Liga took us down narrow alleys and through building to little surprises only a local would know. One of the more amusing stories she told was the house of the black cat. The building is known for the two cat sculptures, with arched backs and raised tails, on its roof. Liga said that the owner of the house wanted the cats to be placed with their tails turned towards the house of the guildhall as the owner of the building held a grudge against the Guild as they had not accepted his membership to the organisation. The cats had their tails raised as if pissing on the guildhall. The owner was later ordered that the cats should be turned so as to faced the guildhall.

After our walk around the old city we then continued to the Art Nouveau district following a canal through the park. Liga pointed out that the trees in the park had netting around their base as beavers had recently moved into the area and had started eating the bark from the tree. Don't worry about the welfare of the beavers, the local council has appointed a beaver keeper to ensure that there is enough suitable food available for them - crisis averted. Riga's old town is surrounded by beautiful parks which, in the last week of the summer holiday, is full of children and their parents.

The main street in the Art Nouveau district in Riga is Alberta Street (iela). Most of the buildings in this street were designed by Mikhail Eisenstein. Liga took us through the elements that made up Eisenstein's approach, which focussed of symbolism, which can be seen in the decorative elements of the building facades. The building are spectacular, on their own I think they might be overwhelming but as street they have a harmony. The area surrounding Alberta Street also has art nouveau architecture but in a more subdued style. It was interesting seeing the streets of Riga, there are so many beautiful empty buildings so close to the old town. It is testimony of the shrinking population of this small country.

After our walk around the Art Nouveau district we headed towards the Riga food market for the third element of the tour.

Riga central market is Europe's largest market and bazaar. It is one of the most notable structures of Riga and has been included in UNESCO World Heritage Site. The main structures of the market are five pavilions constructed by reusing old German zeppelin hangars from World War One. The quality of the produce in Riga is excellent. Our guide took us through the vegetable sellers. Most vegetables on sale come from the surrounding countryside. We saw carrots and potatoes covered in dirt probably pulled from the garden earlier that day. I bought a large punnet of raspberry for 50 cents. We moved into the dairy pavilion where cheeses and an array of fresh pickled vegetables where for sale. Our guide took us to her favourite pickle stand, there were several different types of sauerkraut where on offer. I chose sauerkraut pickled in sugar and cabbage pickled in pomegranate juice. On to the meat pavilion with a range of smoked meats and fish. We bought a lovely piece of smoked chicken to accompany our pickles.

We walked back to Joan's apartment picking a nice red on the way for our Latvian dinner. Another great day in Riga.