I’ve settled in at my new job, and am slowly adjusting to working in an office again. I love having the company of my colleagues all day, and for the first time in a long time, I really enjoy just chilling out at home. When I worked from home, I couldn’t wait to get out of the house on the weekends! Even so, I spent most of this weekend out and about in Melbourne – but when there’s always so much to do, it’s hard to stay in!

PS – Planning a trip to Melbourne? Check out my Melbourne Travel Guide.

Brunch in St Kilda

I don’t spend nearly enough time in St Kilda, I realised this weekend. We went to Matcha Mylk Bar for brunch, so once we put our name down on the 30+ minute waitlist, we went for a wander down Acland St looking for a coffee. Long waits for a brunch table are common in Melbourne, but I like using the extra time as an excuse to wander the surrounding streets and familiarise myself with more of Melbourne.

Milk the Cow, Carlton

I spent Saturday night eating my way around Carlton, but the main event was Milk the Cow. With outposts in Carlton & St Kilda, the popular fromagerie offers cheese & wine, beer, sparkling or whiskey flights. I had a cheese & sparkling wine flight, was as delicious and indulgent as it sounds! My favourite cheese was the brillat-savarin, which is the second from the right in the photo below. My friend had the fondue, which was super more-ish. More on this later!

Henry Talbot, 1960s Fashion Photographer

I’ve probably visited the NGV International more than 50 times in the year that I’ve lived here, but until this morning, I’d only visited the NGV’s Australian outpost once. This morning, I went for the photography exhibition celebrating the work of Australian fashion photographer Henry Talbot. It inspired me to return to black and white photography for a while.

I ended up staying for two other free exhibitions, one featuring Australian watercolours, and another showcasing the work of Jan Senbergs – I love his out-of-this-world cityscapes of Melbourne and Sydney!

Neil Perry’s Burger Project

After eating an obscene number of burgers in New York, I’m pretty tough to please. Paris ruined me for all other bread, Italy for MOST other pizza, and New York, for burgers. I was pretty impressed by the Shake Shack-esque burgers at Neil Perry’s Burger Project, inside the recently-opened St Collins Lane. The decor and menu offering is very Shake Shack, but there’s a strong focus on ingredients – particularly the Cape Grim beef. Yum.

Wandering around the city

We spent a few hours after the NGV & the burger fix just wandering around the city. We popped up to the Imperial Bourke St rooftop bar, wandered aimlessly down different laneways and ended up at Tim Ho Wan for their famous BBQ pork buns at the end of the day.

Instagram

Bit of a milestone this week, I reached 30,000 followers! Thanks a million to everyone who follows along, especially those who comment and share your feedback and your own questions and stories with me. Follow along @thewanderbugworld.

This throwback from Vernazza was my most popular this week, with 480+ likes. Italy is hard to resist!

Reading

I’ve just started reading Heidi Kingstone’s Dispatches from the Kabul Cafe, I can’t put it down! Kingstone lived and worked as a foreign correspondent in the Afghani capital for four years, from 2007-2011. Her short stories are evocative, insightful and gripping.

Genevieve Lauren

Hello! I’m an Australian travel blogger, living in Melbourne, Australia. I grew up in Brisbane, studied in Paris, lived & worked in New York City and now live in Melbourne, Australia.

I love sharing specific and useful recommendations, itineraries and guides for the most beautiful things to see, do, experience & eat wherever I go.

My favourite travel destinations are Australia, New York City & surrounds, France, Greece & Japan, but I’m always excited to explore somewhere new!

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