I love to treasure hunt at thrift shops. In Australia they are called ‘op shops’, as in ‘opportunity’.  And that perfectly describes it, an opportunity to discover.

I made my way by train down to Chapel Street precinct.

This is where I was told that I would find second hand shops.

The absolutely most fun one I found was a charity shop run by MECWAcare. They had such a sense of fun. Old china plates, stacked to the ceiling. I asked the guy, “are those glued?” Yep.Wooden salad bowls made into a sculpture.

Old vinyl records stacked into towers.

Fancy paper shopping bags used as decor. Cutlery spilling out from containers. Books piled as decorations.

A tower lamp made from old aluminum tea pots and stainless steel bowls.

Generally speaking Op Shops in Australia seem to be very upscale. Maybe it’s the quality of the donations.

The Salvation Army tops the list of these. Branded as “SALVOS Stores” they are nothing like the Sally Anns’ in Canada.

Beautifully painted floors with chic industrial shelving.

And they played lovely music too.

One of the Salvo’s in downtown Melbourne looked like a designer dress shop.

In this Mission shop I asked for Australian made or designed clothes and the volunteer helped me find some perfect selections.

Mixed in with the op shops were designer clothing stores.

This shop owner was the knitter.

Every second building was a cafe with outdoor seating of some description and radiant heaters for the cooler weather.

My lunch was “The Forever Popular Smashed Avocado” at AMICI Bakery. Mashed avocado on toasted pumpkin bread, feta, lemon, cracked pepper and toasted pepitas.

Beautiful architecture well over one hundred years old.Admist all these shops were antique places too. Like this vintage mall called Chapel Street Bazaar.

A building FULL of stuff. This one’s for Steina!

Talk about being overwhelmed with sights.

I walked the whole breadth of Chapel Street in the drizzle. And I wasn’t disappointed at all.