A slice of Salamanca

One of the many things I love about Australia is their love of outdoor markets. Maybe I'm just not paying attention, but this is something I haven't seen back in America.

I've been to Glebe and Paddington markets in Sydney, Queen Victoria Markets in Melbourne and the Victoria Park Market in Auckland. Some are quite high-end and others sell little more than souvenir crap made in China.

Hobart's Salamanca Market beats the living daylights out of every one of them.

The Salamanca Market are held every Saturday. Here's what so great about them:
1. The quality of products: There was little souvenir junk at these markets. Much of it was homemade by the seller and was really great quality and Tasmanian made.

2. The range of products: There were organic produce stalls, flower stalls, Indian gift stalls, stalls that sold items made out of kitchen utensils, books by Tassie authors, hand-knitted hats and fuzzy scarfs, loads of jewelry, even a stall selling dog coats--a huge range of stuff.

3. Buskers: Australia has a vibrant busking culture, and the talent present at the market was fantastic. There was a trio of kids playing traditional music, a pair of flautists, even an amateur opera singer. It really enhanced the whole atmosphere.

4. Space: Paddington Market in Sydney also boasts high-quality goods, but it's fatal flaw is it's lack of space. Salamanca is spread out up and down Salamanca Place, so you can walk comfortably among the stalls and not have to worry about being constantly rubbed up by some complete stranger. Also, it's not too spread out. Jenny and I walked from one end to the next at least three times, so we were able to check everything out without being completely exhausted.

5. Food: Okay, this whole food thing is becoming a joke. But again, it looked and smelled really good! I actually didn't try any of the market food (because I wanted another smoked salmon sandwich from Drifter's), but I did jump at the chance to buy apple cider (or hot apple juice as they call it) because I hadn't yet seen it in Oz. The market offers loads of food--bratwurst, strawberries and cream, chocolate, meat pies, lamb wraps.

Of course I did buy a few things, including a couple gifts I won't mention. But for myself I bought a jar of creamed honey. This was completely novel to me, but apparently it's sold at any grocer in Australia. It's basically honey that's been whipped at very high speeds, so nothing's added to it. Somehow, though, it tastes so much better!

I also bought a reversible silk dress from an Indian gift vendor. It's actually quite casual, though who knows how much I'll actually wear it. But as my friend reminded me, it still serves a purpose. It'll always spark my memory of the day.