To market to market .. !!

Recently I took my parents and the Ferals to a market.  To sniff around and try and find the bargain of the century.  I love going to markets.

Evandale market was the one of choice this fine brisk winters day.  A place steeped in history of our convict and early colonial past.  Homes of exquisite beauty and an atmosphere to cherish is how I describe this place.  A beautiful town so close to the bustle of our second largest city, but one may as well be in another world.

Anyway off we went armed with enthusiasm and excitement to see what treasures we could uncover.  One never knows when the bargain of the century may turn up and make us a squillionaire !

I love browsing markets.  To see someone elses trash becoming treasure to another is quite humbling.  I love to sniff the handmade soaps and see warm hand made hats that still smell of sheep with their natural oily aroma.

I am passionate about pottery.  The more rustic and unusual the better.  They fit nicely with the feel of my home made of mud.  An organic feeling that I love to cultivate.  Delving into that inner Hippie that I know is buried within my soul.

In my local area we have a few small markets.  Most are filled with things others are trying to off load like tools and old toys.  Local vegetables are sold amongst the hustle of music and old shoes.  They are great to visit but by far the best is Salamanca Market in our capital city Hobart.

This market has everything .. well nearly every thing but mostly it has an atmosphere that can not be copied.  It is one of Tasmania's true gems.

Nestled alongside the Hobart waterfront on a street draped in history of years gone by, Salamamca offers a smorgasbord of senses for both the mind and the pallet.  Food from different countries mingles with music from South America and a boy playing a violin.  Flowers of all different sizes and scents waft their perfume as one wanders past.  It is a delight for the recipeient.

Of course their is lots of my beloved pottery which has been turned with care on a wheel for me to drawl over.  All the colours of the rainbow enticing me to take them home.  It is hard to walk away.

There are the cheap tacky souvenir stalls selling Tasmanian Devils made in some obscure far off country and T shirts emblazoned with Tasmanian slogans that I have never heard of but these when combined with the others is what makes Salamanca what it is.

Years ago my sister bought me a blue pottery horse from this place.  It is one of my most loved possessions.  It reminds me of a time when I lived and worked in this environment and was absorbed within its grasp.  I had many friends with in this tight community and felt protected and welcome whenever there.

This horse is a symbol of why I love markets.  To find the unique and unusual to me, personally, is what they are all about.  To loose ones self in the clatter and bustle of a busy market on a crisp blue sky winters day is priceless.

The Ferals love to explore and taste the delights but I find it hard to slowly peruse the rows of  creations when they are constantly wanting me to hurry and look at some shark tooth necklace that I am convinced no sharks were harmed in the making of.  But I think it is important to give the Ferals a touch of another world within their own.  A chance to taste something different and to hear music that is not pumping out of their Ipods.  I know they will thank me one day !!

If you have a market near you, have you been recently?  Have you found something that you are sure you have been waiting for?  Have you enjoyed all it has to offer in more ways than one?  I hope so,  for if not, take that time out of your busy life to again tread into the world of a market as you never know what may catch your eye!

                       Cheers Dilly xx