Spring Racing Carnival has arrived! Melbourne’s biggest event of the year consists of several horse racing events where the fashion is easily more important than the races themselves. Derby Day, Oaks Day and Stakes Day all have different dress codes, but the real showstopper is Melbourne Cup – AKA “the race that stops the nation.” Across Australia on Tuesday, office lunchrooms and school auditoriums will fill with Australians of all ages as they stop to watch the fast and furious Melbourne Cup. In Victoria, we get a public holiday for Melbourne Cup, so having a day off on Tuesday has certainly put a spring in my step.

Melbourne Eating & Drinking Roundup

Back to my favourite Spanish restaurant, Las Tapas in St Kilda. We were celebrating my uncle’s birthday, which was so much fun! I feel old because I was hungover for literally the entirety of Wednesday. Wine headaches are a killer!

We tried a new café on the weekend, The Bond Store Café. This cosy café is a block back from the Southbank Promenade. It’s cute and cosy, with exposed brick walls,  windowsills lined with antique lamps and a collection of champagne and spirit bottles, and they served what I’d call a classic Smashed Avocado: The inclusion of the dukkah, balsamic and goat’s cheese or fetta makes the perfect smashed avo. Not too fancy, but not as bare bones as the places that throw you a wad of avocado, an egg and some dry bread. I actually felt really guilty for not trying one of their more interesting, inventive breakfast options, so I’ll definitely be back. Fun fact: Did you know that people are more conservative with their meal choices at breakfast? 

I welcomed the weekend at Madame Brussels, a Melbourne rooftop bar that I’ve been keen to try for ages. It’s girly and sweet right down to the astroturf, garlands of (fake) flowers and waiters in tennis whites. 

On our way back from the markets today, we popped into the recently renovated Star Hotel. I had never visited before, but from the outside it looked like a pretty typical old Australian pub. I was so surprised when I went inside and found a super green interior, including astroturf, a vertical garden and towering palm trees inside the multi-level venue. I was impressed by the menu, which balanced tasty Modern Australian cuisine and pub grub, with more innovative options. By the way, half the time “hotel” means pub in Australia. Don’t ask why.

Saturday afternoon was surprisingly sunny, and despite a grey morning and a forecast claiming a 100% chance of rain, it cleared up to be a beautiful day. We checked out the new pop-up bar and Melbourne’s first floating bar, Arbory Afloat. I was expecting it to be floating a little further into the middle of the Yarra, but that would probably be a logistical nightmare. It’s cute, summery and refreshingly unpretentious. A short and sweet wine list with some seafood options on board, I could have spent all afternoon there! If you can’t make it down to the Yarra in time to hop aboard, there’s always the original Arbory bar, the long wooden deck stretching along the river.

Photo of the week: Melbourne

Photo A: A sunny day on the Yarra River. How beautiful is the Melbourne CBD skyline?!

Photo B: Arbory Afloat

Photo C: Flowers, bicycles & a tram: Spring in Melbourne.

Photo D: Spring outside Town Hall

Which photo is your favourite?

On Instagram

The most popular photo on my Instagram account, @thewanderbugworld, this week was one of my favourite photos of Paris.

I love Paris when it sizzles and even when it drizzles, but the best moments are stolen early in the mornings before the crowds show up. I love these gold ladies flanking the Trocadero, I think they’re the most elegant statues in the world! // #paris

A photo posted by The Wanderbug | Genevieve (@wanderbug_world) on Oct 26, 2015 at 1:06am PDT

Writing

This week

Queensland’s natural beauty is out of this world – seriously, you can even see some of it from outer space! This week, I finally got around to a bit of a photographic tribute to my beautiful native state, with 37 Photos that will inspire you to explore Queensland

It was pretty much love at first sight with the U.S. city of Charleston, but walking along the famous Battery waterfront got me thinking about the city’s difficult past, and how far it has come today. Read about it and gawk at the over the top mansions in The Battery: Charleston’s Millionaire Mile

This time last year

• Paris Arrondissement Guide
• Roadtrip Itinerary: Brisbane to Waterfall Way 
• The Best of Waterfall Way
• 18 Awesome Daytrips from Brisbane
• Naples: Slow Pizza & Quick Criminals
• 5 Places I want to re-visit
• Postcards from Positano
• On the road to Waterfall Way

Reading

I’ve just started Captain Corelli’s Mandolin, set in 1940s Greece. So far, so good!

Highs

Still obsessed with spring in Melbourne. Catching up with a friend I haven’t seen in months at Madame Brussels. Cooking at home more often on the weekend, rather than racing for the nearest restaurant. Finding new cafes and bars I love. FINALLY “getting” Twitter. Also finding & downloading the free “Time Out” app, which reminds me to take a 15 second break every ten minutes ( the perfect time to give my eyes a break, check my posture and refill my water glass) and a ten minute break every hour – time to have a quick stretch and do a chore or two.

Lows

Pretty happy to say that this week has genuinely been pretty low-free. Taking a moment to be grateful that I can say that this week!

Wanderlusting

Japan! Japan has been on my wishlist for a long time now, and I’m really hoping I can make a week-long trip to Japan work sometime in 2016. I’d love to visit Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka and Hamamatsu, where my aunt & uncle live.

Scotland! An unusual addition to my usual wanderlist, but I’ve been binge-reading Stories My Suitcase Could Tell, an award-winning blog written by Scottish expat in New York, Katie McCleod-English. I met Katie in New York, and have been hooked on her blog ever since!

Words

“Make hay while the sun shines.” Nothing too poignant or deep and meanintful, but a pertinent reminder as I woke up Saturday morning and had to cancel half my outdoorsy plans, thanks to some inclement weather.

What have you been up to this week?

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