With the sun poking its rays out from behind the clouds again (thank you Spring!) it's about time to consider some craft markets again! I don't actually know of anyonevisitingour shores leaving without some sort of hand carved/hand painted/ glass blown 'made in SA' gift.Naturally there are several places to head out and get 'the perfect gift' and most of our larger malls have little 'African curio stores' for you to venture through. Examples of these places (and yes, I would recommend you at least going to have a look) include ...
The V&A Blue and Red shedThe Blue shed is just next to the Aquarium. You'd need to park in the main shopping mall area and take a stroll (shouldn't take you longer than 10 minutes) and the great news is you could walk stright through the Red shed which is attached to main mall, just below the cinemas. Both the Blue and Red shed are covered 'craft markets' so you are safe to head there in any weather. Just make sure you have enough small change to pay for parking in the mall.
The Red Shed
The Blue Shed
Green Market SquarePersonally, if I had to recommend a market to venture to, I would make my way down Shortmarket street in thecenterof town and take a stroll through the famous 'Green Market Square'. There are over 400 stalls with so many different and wonderful hand crafted items to purchase, it's the only place to go to really ....and better still, the traders are negotiable so you can 'haggle' as they say! Not that I am any good at it, but it's totally worth a try!
Milnerton MarketIf it was something moreeclecticand more along the line of 'collectibles' that you were after, then perhaps you might want to consider 'The Milnerton Market'. This market has plenty of antiques, old brikabrak treasures, some coins, spoons, the odd food stall - that kind of thing. Like all markets, this one is child (and dog - for the locals) friendly so it's a great outing for aSaturdaymorning. If the market doesn't have anything exciting, you can simply drive on directly blouberg, stop off in Big Bay for an ice cream and beach stroll and possibly watch the locals fly their kites (that's if the wind is up). Either way, it's such a scenic afternoon option, you can't really go wrong.
Maps to the markets:
If you needed any further advice on any of the markets, please feel free to drop us an email and we can let you in on where to stop off and grab a cup of coffee or some lunch when on your gift-shopexcursion!Happy shopping!
