EDAM

Edam is a city in the northwest Netherlands, in the province of North Holland. Combined with Volendam, Edam forms the municipality of Edam-Volendam. Approximately 7,380 people live in Edam. The entire municipality of Edam-Volendam has 28,492 inhabitants. The name Edam originates from a dam on the little river E or IJe where the first settlement was located and which was therefore called IJedam. Edam is famous as the original source of the cheese with the same name.

The city of Edam was founded around a dam crossing the river E or IJe close by the Zuiderzee now known as the IJsselmeer. Around 1230 the channel was dammed. At the dam goods had to be loaded onto other vessels and the inhabitants of Edam could levy a toll. This enabled Edam to grow as a trade town. Shipbuilding and fishing brought Edam more wealth.

Count Willem V of Holland gave Edam city rights in 1357. One of the reasons he did this was because of the war between the Hoeken and the Kabeljauwen. They fought a battle for the rule over the cities of Holland. Thanks to the city rights the people of Edam could make a new harbour. Because of the harbour the city was now connected with the big cities in Holland and the international trading routes.

By the 16th century there were as many as 33 wharves in Edam, which along with the fact that Edam was also granted the right to have a market three times every year provided a big boost for the local economy - making it one of the more important cities of North Holland, vying with Enkhuizen, Hoorn and Amsterdam. However, the open sea mouth caused flooding problems in the hinterland and in 1544 Emperor Charles V gave orders to close the harbour with lock gates, which were built in the town centre in 1569. This resulted in the harbour silting up and the ship building industry went into a decline by the end of the 17th century.

The cheese market was the primary boost of the economy of Edam in the 16th century. On 16 April 1526 Emperor Charles V gave Edam the right to have a market every week. In 1594 this right was given for eternity by Prince Willem I as a sign of appreciation for the good collaboration during the siege of Alkmaar. After Edam was granted the right to have weekly markets, commercial cheese markets were held in the town until 1922. Since 1989, the cheese market in Edam has been revived as a re-enactment for tourists. It is held every Wednesday in July and August.

This post is part of the Our World Tuesday meme,

and also part of the Ruby Tuesday meme,

and also part of the Travel Tuesday meme,

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AT PRESTON MARKET

Preston Market is the second largest market in Melbourne selling fresh produce, clothing and homewares with a variety of restaurants and food stalls; it attracts over 80,000 visitors per week. Construction on the Preston Market began in October 1969 when Preston Mayor W. K. Larkins drove home the first stake in the site of the former Broadhurst Tannery. The original investment in the site was $2 million.

The market opened in 1970 and by 1976 the market had grown to include 46 green grocers, 15 delicatessens, 4 fish shops, 4 poultry shops, 19 butchers and a variety of small goods shops including toys, clothes, carpets, plants, and sporting goods. In 2019 the market has grown even more and is still going strong despite threats to oust the merchants and redevelop the site into residential apartment buildings.

This post is part of the My Sunday Best meme.

MUSIC 4 - BUSKERS

Street performance or busking is the act of performing in public places for gratuities. In many countries the rewards are generally in the form of money but other gratuities such as food, drink or gifts may be given. Street performance is practiced all over the world and dates back to antiquity. People engaging in this practice are called street performers or buskers.

Performances are anything that people find entertaining. Performers may do acrobatics, animal tricks, balloon twisting, caricatures, clowning, comedy, contortions, escapology, dance, singing, fire skills, flea circus, fortune-telling, juggling, magic, mime, living statue, musical performance, puppeteering, snake charming, storytelling or reciting poetry or prose, street art such as sketching and painting, street theatre, sword swallowing, and ventriloquism.

This post is part of the Wordless Wednesday meme,

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MARKET, ROME

Rome's oldest market is held on Campo Dei Fiori ("Field of Flowers"). Here you will find the best fish in the city, fresh vegetables and attractively-piled fruit, spices, as well as kitchen utensils, tablecloths and toys. The open air market in Campo de’ Fiori is undeniably one of Rome’s most famous. Much of this has to do with its location. It is pretty much the only open air market left in the centre of Rome (except for the one in Trastevere).

All of Rome’s rioni, or neighbourhoods used to have an open air market. Sadly, things change. Due to transformed shopping habits, rising real estate prices and shifting family customs most of these markets have died a slow death over the last two decades...

This post is part of the Our World Tuesday meme,

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LAKE CARIBBEAN

Caribbean Gardens and Market have been operating in Melbourne since the 1970's when a market there started with only a handful of traders selling wares from their car boots. Today the market on the shores of Lake Caribbean has grown into one of the largest markets in Victoria with more than 1500 stalls. The market offers a huge variety of goods ranging from clothing, fresh produce, lollies, plants, art and crafts, household goods, tools, prints, shoes, toys, giftware and bric-a-brac plus a Computer Swap Meet Market operating every Sunday.

The Gardens cover an area of approximately 100 acres surrounding the beautiful Lake Caribbean. Throughout the picnic grounds are BBQs and plenty of picnic tables under the share of beautiful elms, gums and pine trees. Rides include the Chair Lift (over the lake), Jungle Cruises and Train that operate every Sunday, plus Wednesday during school holidays. The train ride takes a five kilometre journey around the lake with spectacular views of the entire Caribbean Gardens.

This post is part of the Weekend Reflections meme,

and also part of the My Sunday Best meme,

and also part of the My Sunday Photo meme,

and also part of the Photo Sunday meme.

AT PRESTON MARKET

Preston Market is the second largest market in Melbourne selling fresh produce, clothing and homewares with a variety of restaurants and food stalls; it attracts over 80,000 visitors per week. Construction on the Preston Market began in October 1969 when Preston Mayor W. K. Larkins drove home the first stake in the site of the former Broadhurst Tannery. The original investment in the site was $2 million. The market opened in 1970 and by 1976 the market had grown to include 46 green grocers, 15 delicatessens, 4 fish shops, 4 poultry shops, 19 butchers and a variety of small goods shops including toys, clothes, carpets, plants, and sporting goods.

This post is part of the My Sunday Best meme,
and also part of the My Sunday Photo meme,
and also part of the Photo Sunday meme.

COFFEE BREAK

In the South Melbourne Market...

This post is part of the Weekend Reflections meme,

and also part of the My Sunday Best meme.

VICTORIA MARKET, MELBOURNE

The Queen Victoria Market (also known as the Queen Vic Markets or the Queen Vic, and locally as '"Vic Market"') is a major landmark in Melbourne, Australia, and at around seven hectares is the largest open air market in the Southern Hemisphere. The Market is significant to Melbourne's culture and heritage and has been listed on the Victorian Heritage Register.

The Market is named after Queen Victoria who ruled the British Empire, from 1837 to 1901. The Queen Victoria Market is the only surviving 19th century market in the Melbourne central business district. There were once three major markets in the Melbourne CBD, but two of them, the Eastern Market and Western Market, both opened before the Queen Victoria, closed in the 1960s. It also forms part of an important collection of surviving Victorian markets which includes the inner suburban Prahran Market and South Melbourne Market.

This post is part of the My Sunday Best meme,
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and also part of the Photo Sunday meme.

A WALK AROUND ST KILDA

St Kilda is a Melbourne bayside suburb situated on one of the most picturesque points of Port Phillip Bay, only 6 km South of the City. It has safe sandy beaches, a lively nightlife, many attractions and some very pleasant streetscapes. Add to that the Luna Park, several large entertainment venues and some wonderful restaurants and cafés. However, for decades St Kilda was shunned by Melbournians because it was the haunt of prostitutes and druggies. It wasn't always like that. Back in the first half of the century, St Kilda was one of the most fashionable suburbs of Melbourne with grand homes and grand people. Today, it is enjoying a resurgence. The prostitutes and druggies have largely been pushed out by rapidly rising real estate prices and St Kilda is fast returning to its heyday glory. It is now one of the main tourist destinations and is renowned for its picturesque bayside setting, close proximity to the city, beaches, music venues, restaurants and café lifestyle. St Kilda is also the home of the Royal Melbourne Yacht Squadron.

The Royal Melbourne Yacht Squadron is a yacht club located at St Kilda Beach. The squadron was originally founded in 1876. Its has occupied its grounds on Pier Road in St. Kilda since prior to incorporation. This sculpture of Captain James Cook is a replica of the sculpture on the cliffs of West Whitby, Yorkshire, near Cook's birthplace. The work was installed in 1914 at St. Kilda Beach as one of the items in honour of the "discoverer" of the East Coast of Australia. It is a good example of early twentieth century British Edwardian academic memorial sculpture, another and more important example being Sir Edgar Bertram Mackennal's equestrian statue of Edward VI. The statue is part of the foreshore group of memorials set up by the St. Kilda Council. John Tweed was a well known British sculptor of the period, and the piece is deemed to be of State Significance.

Originally known as Ingrams Brothers, Ekselman's company built the Catani clock on St Kilda's Esplanade in the early 1930s. It was one of the early electric clocks, run by electric impulse movements. The clocktower is a memorial to Carlo Catani, who was largely responsible for the creation of the Esplanade. Catani was an engineer with the Victorian Public Works department from 1882 to 1917 and was a founding member of the St Kilda Foreshore Trust in 1906.

Norman Schefferle designed the clock tower in 1930, taking inspiration from the Italian "campanile" (bell tower) in honour of Catani's birthplace, Florence. The unveiling ceremony was performed on August 22, 1932. Given the architecture and flora, one could perhaps be excused for thinking one was in Catania!

The Acland St-Carlisle St intersection is always a busy area and many visitors begin their exploration of St Kilda right here, having arrived n the 3A tram.

The O'Donnell Gardens is a park adjacent to Luna Park on Acland Street and features an art-deco monument and tall palms. It is a popular place for picnics, sunbathing, busking or promenading.

A street entertainer draws the crowds in O'Donnell Gardens. The busiest day of the week is Sunday when all sorts of activities and events take place in St Kilda.

The Esplanade Hotel, built 1878, is an iconic public house in St Kilda. It is situated on St Kilda Beach, at 11 Upper Esplanade, overlooking Port Phillip Bay on a rise opposite the St Kilda Pier, and is a significant landmark of St Kilda. It is commonly known locally as "The Espy".  The Espy is a legend in Melbourne. Local bands in the front bar, motorbikes out the front, St Kilda beach over the road, unknown substances on the floor. Not the place to wear your best clothes. Few patrons today are aware of its illustrative past, or of one of its famous residents, Alfred Felton, who filled his apartment there with precious works of art in the 1890s. Many of the works collected by Felton can now be admired in the National Gallery of Victoria. Unfortunately, this fine old Victorian building is being surrounded by modern apartment high rises.

The St Kilda Pier is another local landmark and major tourist attraction. The pier is terminated by the St Kilda Pavilion, an eccentric Edwardian building in the mould of English pier pavilions which is considered of high cultural importance to Melburnians. It was recently reconstructed and listed on the Victorian Heritage Register after burning down. The pier has a long breakwater which shelters St Kilda Harbour and hosts a Fairy Penguin colony.

The beach is the main reason why many people go to St Kilda, and with good reason as it is Melbourne's most renowned beach. Many of the open water events of the 2007 World Aquatics Championships were held at St Kilda beach. The 2006 Commonwealth Games triathlon and cycling time trials were held along the foreshore, and the marathon passed through some of St Kilda's main streets. The annual Melbourne Marathon also passes through St Kilda. St Kilda Beach is regularly used for state and international beach volleyball tournaments. Recreation on St Kilda beaches includes most watersports, including windsurfing, sailing, kitesurfing, rollerblading, beach volleyball, jetskiing, waterskiing and sunbathing.

The St Kilda Sea Baths are sea baths on St Kilda Beach. Until the 1850s, sea bathing was not generally considered acceptable. It was permitted within large timber structures as protection from predatory marine life. The St Kilda Sea Baths were opened in 1860, and provided separate sections for men and women. Women were protected from the sight of men bathing because men frequently bathed naked. Sea bathing was popular as it was considered to have health benefits. The first sea baths were opened in 1860 and rebuilt in 1910 to replace the 1862 "Gymnasium Baths" and have been rebuilt several times since. They closed in 1993, leaving only the front facade. Today the renovated facility operates as a health spa, indoor, heated sea-pool.

Today the St Kilda Sea Baths contain Australia's only indoor heated sea-water pool, a hydrotherapy spa and a steam room. It also is home to the South Pacific Health Club, and a variety of restaurants and cafés. The land on which the Sea Baths were built has remained Crown Land, leased by the Council and re-let to an operator, who sub-let various ancillary functions. The 1931 lease expired in 1953. In 1955, the government signed a new lease with South Pacific Holdings.

The St Kilda Arts & Crafts Market was established in 1970 as an arts incubator and opportunity for the sale of arts and crafts produced by the local artists’ community. The market runs every Sunday and is an iconic and popular destination in Melbourne.

One can find all sorts of things for sale at the market. Genuine art in the form of paintings and statues and drawings, wood carvings, crafts, ceramics, assorted gewgaws, gizmos and gadgets, souvenirs and other bits and pieces that fall under the general heading of "dust collectors".

While most of the people there fall into the "just looking" browser category, the traders still manage to do quite well with sales.

The Esplanade (formerly "Belvedere") at 22 The Esplanade, (cnr Robe Street), St Kilda is a grand old apartment building in a style direct from Westwood, Los Angeles.  The architect was William H. Merritt.  He is said to have designed ‘numerous flats in St Kilda and Elwood’.  Belvedere is a St Kilda landmark and reflects similar domical elements on the Sea Baths, Palais Theatre and at  Luna Park.  It is clad with Cordoba tiles with splendidly decorative curlicue wrought iron brackets and bellied wrought iron balustrades.  Parapets are capped with Cordoba  tiles and decorative rafters project from walls.  All of these are characteristics of the Spanish Mission style. The design is similar to apartment blocks being built in the 1920s on the West Coast of the  United States, but also in New York, such as Del Mar Towers, Brooklyn  (1926). The building permit for Belvedere was issued on 18 December 1928. It is said that Kylie Minogue, a performer, may have purchased (in November 2000) a flat in the Belvedere apartment block.

The Palais Theatre is a former cinema, now functioning exclusively as a concert venue, is another landmark of St Kilda. With a capacity of 2,896 people, it is the largest seated theatre in Australia. The building, which retains many of its original features, is considered one of the finest examples of Art deco architecture in Australia and is on the Victorian Heritage Register. In 2006, the City of Port Phillip, which owns the site, called for tenders by private operators to restore the theatre, as part of the proposed redevelopment of the Triangle Site. However, the redevelopment failed to go ahead and the planned $20 million restoration of the Palais was also abandoned.

The St Kilda Luna Park has been one of the city's most prominent landmarks ever since its opening in 1912, and is intrinsic to the suburb's resort character. Melbourne's Luna Park is acclaimed as the world's oldest amusement park under private management and is possibly the only one of its kind still in operation. It is typical of the type developed in America in the late 19th century, catering for the entertainment and relaxation of large numbers of people.

Even though it has been in decline for the last 20 years, with a few of the original sites intact, Luna Park is of national significance. The face, flanking towers, and the Scenic Railway have all been classified by the National Trust. As a whole it is regarded as important for its early date, rarity, continuity of use and for its symbolic association with St.Kilda and Melbourne.

Inside one may find all sorts of amusement rides...

Which even though may look quite ricketty are apparently very safe...

Stomach churning to-ing and fro-ing...

Or a gentler carousel...

Perhaps not surprisingly, there are more stomach churners around!

And if it's all been a bit too much for you, why not relax and unwind in the nearby peaceful "Veg Out"? Veg Out is an organic, chemical free garden run by volunteers. Formerly a lawn bowling green, the land Veg Out is situated on is administered by the local council for the State of Victoria, and has been permanently reserved for public use since 1881. There are over 140 plots, where members, friends, families and community groups enjoy getting their hands into the soil. Many have little or no gardening experience, but they soon learn as advice, seedlings and friendships are readily shared.

Unlike most community gardens in Melbourne, Veg Out lacks rigid barriers between common land and each plot; the paths curve and meander; flowers, vegetables and artworks have equal standing; the rabbits, chickens, budgies and quails add yet another dimension; and the friendships that have sprung up between gardeners, artists and visitors make the gardens an oasis of calm in one of Melbourne's busiest tourist precincts. A very fertile and creative place. This lovely sculpture hovers on one of the rooftops and is so very much symbolic of the place.

A commitment to a sense of community, conservation and organic gardening principles underpins all activities on the site. Related endeavours include the monthly Veg Out St Kilda Farmers' Market and water conservation initiatives in association with South East Water.

Veg Out comprises 145 garden plots as well as communal spaces. Ten plots are held by local community groups and the remainder by private individuals. Private plotholders pay a 6 monthly fee of $4/m2 or $2.5/m2 concession. Once allocated, the plot becomes the responsibility of the plotholder. Most plot holders grow vegetables and herbs, but flowers and art work are also popular. Colourful letterboxes feature prominently in many plots.

A bright mosaic decorates one of the garden paths.

As an oasis in the midst of the hustle and bustle of the city, as a creative outlet and a great community initiative, Veg Out cannot be praised enough!