I’ve been nominated by my blogger friend Lucile de Godoy from Amsterdam to participate in a Photo/Story Challenge.  Lucile is an amazing photographer who has inspired me to take more street shots and to experiment with black and white photography.  I recommend you check out her blog Bridging Lacunas to see just how talented she is.

As my blog is about life in Melbourne I’m going to use this challenge to showcase some of my favourite places/experiences around the city and my neighbourhood. My first photo/story features the Queen Victoria Market, located on the edge of the city in North Melbourne.  The Vic Market, as it’s known to locals, has been an integral part of Melbourne since 1878. The market covers a massive 7 hectares (17 acres) and sells fruit, vegetables, meat, fish, poultry and many delicious delicatessen foods. You can also buy clothes, shoes, jewellery, kitchenware, arts/crafts and so many more items.

When I first moved to Melbourne 20 years ago the market was one of my favourite places to visit.  We’d get there early on a Saturday morning and start with coffee and breakfast from the deli section before embarking on our weekly shop for meat, fish, eggs, fruit and vegetables, cheese, bread and whatever else took our fancy.

Over the years, the market has diversified.  It now hosts a cooking school, street food traders, a monthly French style ‘brocante marche’, and a night market over the summer months where you can meet friends for dinner and drinks, listen to a band and shop at the art/craft stalls. 

I love that this wonderful market has been a part of Melbourne life for well over 100 years.  I love that it continues to thrive and grow and that regardless of whether we’re in the depths of winter or the peak of summer the market is full of locals and tourists chatting, eating, laughing, and enjoying everything that it offers. I especially love that it will continue to be a part of my family’s lives for many more years to come. The rules of the 5 Photos-5 Stories challenge are: 1) To post a photo every day for 5 days 2) To write a story to accompany your photo for 5 days (this can be fiction or non-fiction, a page, a paragraph or a poem) 3) To nominate a different person each day I know that many of my fellow bloggers are regularly asked to participate in these challenges so rather than nominating an individual I’m making an offer to any of you who are interested to take up the challenge.