We took a four day jaunt to Melbourne, and I was so charmed. If a city can have a soul, Melbourne's is that of an artist. I began to see art everywhere I looked, including at Queen Victoria Market, a sprawling center of commerce, which offers shoppers everything from wine to watches. It covers several city blocks, and is a Melbourne institution (in operation since 1878). I spent a couple hours just wandering, and it's something of a sensory overload, with vendor after vendor vying for business:
"Strawberries! $4.59! Beautiful strawberries!,"
"Hi! Do you want to try? You don't have to buy!,"
"Hot fresh donuts!,"
"Who's next?!? Who's next?!?".
Smells of fried pastries turn into the aroma of a curry stand as you turn the corner, until you are overtaken by the scent of leather at the handmade wallet/belt booth. In a way, it's all rather familiar street market stuff, but the sheer volume combined with the artistic aura of Melbourne itself caused me a sense of wonder at the simple directness of the vendor/customer relationship and the unexpected beauty to be found inside.
A few images of my afternoon at Queen Victoria Market (much more on Melbourne to come soon):
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