At the shops

Chelsea Market is quite a place, with a history and a support organisation and everything; it's almost a study in upscaling the corner shopping centre. It serves in part as a cafeteria for the Googleplex across the road, with an area selling all sorts of unusual comfort food and raw uncomfortable food for those who prefer that.

(There's an Apple Store a little down the road. I saw a woman wearing Google Glass go in, walk all the way around and walk out. The Apple geeks looked a little upstaged, or at least less qool.)

There's an "Aussie Pie Shop", with meat and other pies; a sushi bar; two cupcake shops and a separate brownie shop; several bars and coffee shops and a variety of small eateries. The Lobster Place (q.v.) sells frozen, fresh, raw or cooked fish and other seafood; and the butcher next door sells cooked meats, hot food, cold cuts or the usual full window.





There's a clothing store, an Indian imports store, a kitchenware store and a pop-up shop (which was crockery last week and this week is selling knives). The greengrocers' store is well-stocked, and has pretty much all the food groceries other than meat and fish (or cupcakes and brownies).

It's quite a hike to the nearest supermarket, though, for non-food groceries. Best bet is the "drug store", a pharmacy on steroids; or a homeware store for lightbulbs and dishwashing detergent. The traders still divvy up the customers' needs like the old corner shopping centre even if each store is a megastore.