Abbotsford Convent

The beautiful building and grounds of the Abbotsford Convent were home to the Sisters of the Good Shepherd between 1863 and 1975. During this time they "provided shelter, food and work for thousands of vulnerable and poor women and girls. They provided a refuge for orphans, wards of the State and girls considered to be in moral danger." Since that time the convent has become home to artists, writers and health practitioners. There are spaces for rehearsals, creative work spaces for designers, a glass blowing studio, a primary school, a classical radio station, a bakery, a restaurant, as well as venues for weddings and other events.

The convent is made up of 11 historic buildings on nearly 7 hectares of beautiful grounds along a bend in the Yarra River. 

We visited the convent on the day of the Slow Food Farmers' Market, which is held the 4th Saturday of each month from 8am-1pm. The key words for the Slow Food Market are: organic, fresh, and gourmet. Here you'll find fresh produce grown by local Victorian farmers, bread, jams, free range eggs, rare meats and cheeses. Yummy!

The vendors were all very proud of their products and happy to talk to us about what they were selling or offering samples. We bought some figs to share with the kids (as they'd never had them before), a package of strawberries that were just too red and beautiful to pass up, some homemade jam and fresh feta cheese. 

Abbotsford Convent is home to many different markets and events, here are some of the monthly markets that take place:

• Supper Market: Every Friday night, November-February, 6-10pm- Quality craft, fashion and food stalls with music and entertainment
• Sunday Arts: 1st Sunday of every month in the Community Room- fine art prints, drawings, exquisite jewellery, beautiful designer clothes, paintings, photography, childrens books, organic body-care products, fun garden sculpture, ceramics, and lots more.
• Finder's Market: 1st Saturday of every month 10am-1pm- Browse stalls filled with collectables, nic-nacs, bric a brac and memorabilia.
• Shirt and Skirt Market: 3rd Saturday of every month- Home to Melbourne's emerging designers, producing quality Australian fashion and accessories in limited editions.
• Maker's Market: 3rd Saturday of every month in the Community Room- Browse, discuss and purchase the work of local artists and crafts people

After browsing the Slow Food Market, strolling through the grounds, and brunch at Lentil As Anything, we stopped by the Convent Bakery on our way out. Since we had just eaten we grabbed a sweet roll for the road, but I'll certainly have to make a trip back for lunch one day.

Name: Abbotsford Convent Website: www.abbotsfordconvent.com.au Location: 1 Heliers Street, Abbotsford, Victoria 3067 Geting There: Via public transport the best way is bus. Take the 200, 201 or 207 from Lonsdale, or the 205 from Melbourne Uni (it then heads down Lygon, Elgin and Johnston), get off at the Clarke St stop (just before you cross over the Yarra). Turn right and walk down Clarke then left onto Heliers and into the Abbotsford Convent.		View Larger Map

Queen Victoria Market

It was brought to my attention that I have failed to do a post about Queen Victoria Market! I can explain why... I live close enough to our beloved market that I am lucky enough to do lots of my shopping there. I guess it has become such a normal part of my life that I forgot it's also a tourist destination! So today I brought my camera and tried to look at the market through the eyes of a first-timer.

When most people hear "market" they think fresh produce/farmer's market, and they would be right. Queen Victoria's Fruit and Veg Precinct is amazing. The produce is fresh and delicious. I saw some of the biggest mangoes I've ever seen during the summer, literally, as big as small pineapple. Beyond its quality, the produce is also wonderfully inexpensive. Just to give you an idea, I was there today and bought Willaim Bartlett pears for $1.50/kg, white button mushrooms for $4.00/kg, and Pink Lady apples for $1.00/kg. There's also an organic section where you can find 3  certified fresh fruit stalls and an organic dry goods outlet.

One of my favorite parts of the Market is the Deli Hall. Here you will find heaps of fresh bread/bakery stalls, local and imported cheeses, dips, olives, chocolate/sweets shops, and poultry shops (where you will also find game meats like crocodile, rabbit, kangaroo). 
Within the Deli Hall you'll also find a number of take-away stalls where you can get some great eats to take to the tables outside for a quick bite or eat as you browse the rest of the market.

One of my favorites is Colour of Earth (shop 97-98), which specializes in all-natural pizzas. They make a variety of Gluten-free, Vegan, Vegetarian pizzas, as well as full gluten, meaty pizzas :)
I spoke with their chef, who told me they've started grinding their own specialty flours to make the pizza bases, including: pumpkin, beetroot, polenta, wholemeal and white. They make so many different flavours you're sure to find one that suits your taste buds; from a simple margherita to a spicy satay or asparagus pizza. Delicious!

There's also a food court in the market with plenty of options to satisfy your hunger (my favorite in the food court is the butter chicken from Drums).

Adjacent to the Deli Hall is the Meat Hall. Here is where you find all types of meats; pork, beef, lamb, with every cut to suit your needs. The Meat Hall also home to ten fishmongers, offering whole fish, fillets and crustaceans. Even if your just touring the market, don't skip a walk through the Meat Hall. It's quite a sight to see the butchers shouting their specials down the aisle, luring customers to their stalls.

Finally we come to the general merchandise stalls. When I pulled out my camera to capture this section of the market I was at a loss. There is such a variety of goods sold here that I could not choose just one photo to illustrate the diversity of market stalls. Instead, let me give you an idea of the many things you'll find.
Clothing- children's, women's, men's, leather coats, wool and cashmere jackets, shoes, accessories
Sheepskin- australia is known for their sheepskin and you'll find all types here: rugs, seat covers, fake UGGs (I've done my research and the UGGs you find at the market are true sheepskin, but are not the REAL UGG brand)
Home decor- artwork, sculpture, photo frames, gifts, fabrics, pillow covers
Souvenirs- boomerangs, photos, didgeridoo
Toys- stuffed animals, children's books, dolls

Trips the market are not complete without a stop at one of the Doughnut Vans. The Spanish Doughnut Van (located in the upper market past the Fruits and Veg) sell hot, crispy Spanish-style churros. My personal favorite is The American Doughnut Kitchen has been making hot delicious, jam-filled doughnuts right in their van since 1950. The queue can be quite long on weekends, but totally worth it in my opinion.

TAKE NOTE OF THE HOURS:

Monday- Closed; Tuesday- 6am to 2pm; Wednesday- Closed; Thursday- 6am to 2pm; Friday- 6am to 5pm (General Merchandise to 4pm); Saturday- 6am to 3pm; Sunday- 9am to 4pm

Name: Queen Victoria Market Telephone: 03 9320 5822  Website: www.qvm.com.au/qvm Location: corner of Queen and Elizabeth Streets, Melbourne Getting There: Take the City Circle Tram and exit at La Trobe and Elizabeth Street, then head north

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Suga

Got a Sweet Tooth?

Suga Lolly Shop is a great place to stop for a treat while shopping at the Royal Arcade or anywhere along Bourke Street Mall. They make the lollies right there in the shop in front of a big window looking out onto the arcade, so all the lolly-lovers can watch there treats being made right in front of them.



Established in 1998, Suga makes old-fashioned rock candy completely by hand. Their "lolliologists" create heaps of flavours, as well as lollies with tiny messages inside. You can even order personalized treats to suit an special occasion.

Name: Suga Telephone: 03 9663 5654 Website: www.suga.com.au Admission: Free, but you'll want to buy some lollies! They run between $4.50 and $6.50 for a package Location: Royal Arcade, Shop 20, Bourke Street, Melbourne Getting There: Bourke Street runs east/west across the center of the city. Between Swanston and Elizabeth St. is the Bourke St Mall, you'll find the Royal Arcade here.		View Larger Map

IKEA, Costco, repeat.

Whew! No, I'm not getting bored with this new blog yet, my lack of posting is due to the fact that we've been moving to a new apartment this week. We're still in the CBD, just a few blocks further north. When we moved here from the States we decided to sell most of our belongings and start fresh when we got here. We figured it would cost about the same to ship a container as it would be to start over. Also most of our furniture was scaled to a much larger home, rather than a small inner city apartment. So we opted to stay in a serviced apartment for the first couple of months while we got our bearings. That way we didn't have to worry about buying furniture, etc for a while. Well, that has come to an end. We've signed a lease, and are now working on furnishing this place.


First stop...IKEA

(Photo by Glen Hunt - I was hardly about to lug my camera with me on an all day shopping spree)
If you've never visited an Ikea store, prepare to get lost. There are two main levels, the tope floor is the showroom and the lower floor is where they house most of the items for sale- i.e. you browse the top floor, making notes of what you'd like to buy, then go to the bottom floor and pick up those items.
The whole store is set up like a Las Vegas casino. They do their best to keep you there as long as possible. There are no windows, so who knows what time of day it is! There is a cafeteria type restaurant  conveniently located at the stair/lift down to the lower level. This way you can grab a bite to eat and all of a sudden you're re-energized for another level of shopping. Finally, each level is essential a one way maze. You are meant to follow the path (arrows included, so you don't fell too lost) which winds around the store passing through each and every section. If you really keep your eye out you can find a few shortcuts, they tough part is knowing whether it's taking you ahead (toward the exit) or back where you started.
That being said... I am very grateful for IKEA. They make it possible to furnish a 2 bedroom apartment in just a couple of visits, and for a reasonable price. But be warned you have to put everything together yourself! Whenever I mention going to IKEA everybody loves to make the same joke "you have to have an engineering degree to put that stuff together" haha. It's really not that difficult.
If you have a car, you'll be amazed at how much you can fit, since all the items come flat packed in boxes, but if you're buying large items, like mattresses and sofas, or if you're like me and don't have a car, they have a delivery service. They were able to deliver all of my items the following morning. Be warned however, they do not deliver anything breakable. So if you're buying dishes, glasses, lamps, etc, be prepared to carry it out (in my case that meant 2 HUGE bags and a box of dinnerware- all the home via two trams, ugh!)


Next... Costco

The sofa I wanted was at Costco, along with items like vacuum, microwave, fans, bins. So I made a trip over there, not too bad, a quick tram ride to the Docklands , walk through HarbourTown shopping center (no complaints there- we'll do a longer post later on that) an there's Costco. Now any of my friends back in Texas will confirm that I LOVE Costco! I frequented our store about once a week. Now, however, it is pretty impractical to lug a 24 pack of paper towels on the tram and up 20+ levels to my apartment, and then have no space to store my monstrous package of paper towels (or cases and cases of Diet Coke). So I don't go there often, but when I do... It's like being home again! The staff was very helpful getting my sofa onto a trolley and up to the front where my bill totaled over $1000! I had to laugh when the cashier then asked if I'd be willing to donate $1 to the Royal Children's Hospital Fund- how selfish would I have felt if I couldn't give $1 on top of my already whopping bill.
My only problem surfaced when I tried to get my items home. On a previous trip I had been told that Costco does not provide delivery service (you have to arrange that yourself) so I had called a moving company to come and pick up my items and deliver them to my apartment. Before I left the store I spoke with the merchandise pickup guys to check and double check that my items would be released to the delivery guys as long as they had my details (member number, receipt, etc.) But of course when the delivery guys showed up there Costco said no way could they give them my stuff without the receipt, don't worry I got on the phone and let them have it, luckily I had the name of the guy I had talked to and they allowed my items to be delivered, whew. But for future reference don't try it!


Then...repeat
Another trip to IKEA to get the mattress that was previously out of stock
Another trip to Costco to get a few more items I forgot
and I think we're finished!