Adelaide Shopping Tips by pchamlis

Name of Shop: The Cosmic Page

We stopped in at the Cosmic Page one cold and rainy morning. It was still early and not many shops were yet open. We were escaping the weather more than we were shopping...at least at first.

Cosmic Page turned out to be one of those mind/body/spirit stores than just relaxes you. Everything is warm and welcoming, the incense is perfect, there's the sound of water gardens and such, little tinkling bells and mobiles... you get the idea. And, they had a huge selection of interesting books and titles, too. (....some of which I didn't want my 16 year old daughter examining TOO closely :)

I ::did:: see a nice "kama sutra" title that would be a perfect gift for the love of one's life. ; )

What To Buy: There's an incredible selection of high quality incense for sale. Also, there's all sorts of little crystal and china items (what we Americans call knick-knacks) of interest.

And first and foremost, Cosmic Page is a bookstore, with a heavy emphasis on mind/body/spirit titles.

Among the things they list on their promotional bookmarks are:
SPIRITUAL TRADITIONS YOGA/MEDITATION HEALTH AND HEALING
PERSONAL GROWTH ASTROLOGY PSYCHOLOGY
ANCIENT CIVILIZATIONS PHILOSOPHY SELF-REALIZATION
REINCARNATION COMPARATIVE RELIGIONS

Then, there's the "dream power seminars", the "astrological consultations" .... just about any touchy-feely thing you could imagine. For a moment, I thought I was in California.

What To Pay: Oh, the prices vary widely of course. You'll find that all items are fairly and reasonably priced.

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Theme: Books
Phone: (08) 8231 9105 or 8231 6720
Address: 338-340 King William Street, Adelaide, SA 5000
Directions: In the central district of downtown Adelaide, just south of Victoria Square.
Hours of operation are 9.00-5.30 pm, Monday-Friday,
9.00-5.00 pm Saturday, and 11.00-5.00pm Sunday
Other Contact: FAX (08) 8231 0659

Name of Shop: Central Markets

Established in 1915, Haigh's is Australia's oldest chocolate manufacturer. There are several shops and public presentations regarding Haigh's Chocolates throughout Adelaide, the company's home base. FWIW, there are also Haigh's outlets in Melbourne, if you head that direction.

We visited the small Haigh's chocolate shop (#17) at the Central Market in downtown Adelaide. The people running the store clearly LOVE their jobs, and are quite passionate about both chocolate in general and Haigh's in particular. And, they love to share samples. Personally, I don't know how anyone could visit Haigh's without buying a few boxes of their wonderful treat.

Haigh's is especially proud to be one of the only specialist chocolate retailers in the world whose chocolate making BEGINS with the raw cocoa bean. Haigh's insists on control of their product from start to finish. This intricate attention to detail shows in every luscious and tempting bite.

What To Buy: Among the items offered by Haigh's are....

The 750g "Signature" presentation box. This is a LOTTA good chocolate, folks. You can get this presentation in "dark connoisseurs, milk AND dark chocolates, or truffles.

Another specialty is the 375g milk chocolate frog. This tasty "amphibian" is also available in dark chocolate and milk chocolate-peppermint.

How about the 225g "Australian Collection"? It features Aussie ingredients, such as wattle seed crunch, macadamia honey nougat, lemon myrtle cream and quandong.

And for folks who just want a chocolate bar, there are the 100g premium bars, available in premium dark, premium milk chocolate, milk chocolate-peppermint, mild chocolate-coffee and milk chocolate-orange.

What To Pay: Finding a pricelist for Haighs, other than when you're IN the Haighs store, is tough. I tried to check the 'net for prices, but failed miserably.
To the best of my recollection, the chocolates went for something like A$70 for the 750g boxes. (Which is almost two pounds, right?)

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Theme: Other
Phone: 08 8212 2511/8212 7051 (fax)
Address: Shop 17, Central Market, Arcade, Victoria Square
Directions: Downtown Adelaide, on the SW side of Victoria Square. You can enter the arcade from either King William Street or Grote Street.
Website: www.haighschocolates.com