A happy year is made of a thousand little happy moments. To help me be mindful of and remember the little things that will make 2015 great, I’m giving them some space and reflection time here on Wanderbug. Spending some time each Sunday processing the ups and downs of each week is a great way to stay present, grateful and dodge the dreaded Monday blues.

l also love to share my favourite Melbourne finds to inspire your next adventure!

I’ve had a couple of friend, fun & food-filled weeks, with delightfully warm weather over both weekends. I’m squeezing two week’s worth of discoveries into this post, because I was flat out with posting last week!

Food frenzy in Lygon St

On Saturday, my boyfriend & I took the Tram to Lygon St (Route 1 drops you right at the top). We had a light lunch on the terrace at Piccolo Mondo, which, complete with neat hedges, mustard-coloured stucco and olive trees, felt like I was back in Rome. Sigh.

Afterwards, we went for a coffee & cannoli and glamorous Italian coffee & cakes emporium, Brunetti. We were meant to go home afterwards, but after a bit more of a walk we’d found room for Peruvian-inspired gelato at Pidapipo. Cute ice cream place, I’m not sure how Peruvian the flavours are, but my Strawberry Cream & Rose gelato was pretty special.

Bayside bliss in Parkdale

I was meant to go to the Melbourne Fashion Festival on Saturday with my friend, but unfortunately, she hurt her neck and has had to take it easy this weekend. She was feeling a little better on Sunday, so I visited her in the bayside suburb of Parkdale. It is  a 45-minute train journey from Flinders St Station but it feels a world away from the stresses of city life. Just look at this water!

Weekday Wanderings

By Thursday this week, working from home had sent me officially stir crazy. I looked up some co-working spaces but decided I’d try café hopping for the day instead. I started at Capitano in 101 Collins, which has been my favourite café to work in so far. I sat on the second floor, which was lovely, wide blonde wood tables which seem to make me feel very productive.

On Wednesday night, I had a delicious lamb pizza at The Quarter in Degraves St with a friend, before meeting up with my boyfriend & his work friends at The Long Room on Collins St, where they were enjoying all you can eat tapas for $30.

Hosier Lane

During my hunt for a lunch spot, I stumbled upon Hosier Lane – yep, that street-art covered laneway that is Instagrammed faster than you can say “graffiti” during any visit to Melbourne.

I was a little surprised to find that there was nothing in the lane, apart from the art and one tiny hole-in-the-wall coffee shop. In other words, the only people there are taking photos of themselves with the street. On the bright side, you can totally avoid the selfie shame here, because everyone else is doing it too!

The Causeway

I wandered into an arcade off Collins Street and found a gorgeous little café which looks like it had been plucked out of 1920s Paris. Walking further into the building, I found the most gorgeous elevator doors I have ever seen, in rose-gold bronze. I exited through a little alleyway, to find another arcade of boutiques. Following my nose (and my fashion radar), I visited other boutiques before finding The Causeway, a laneway packed with restaurants and cafes. I think I actually prefer it to Degreaves Street!

I met my boyfriend for lunch at The Grasshopper’s Feast, which is where I am writing this post from now (on Monday). After he went back to work, I went to my favourite coffee shop, The Fair Trader, for some tea & to finish off some work.

Sunday Stories 29.03. 15

During the week, I worked a bit from Fair Trader on Exhibition Street and Capitano in 101 Collins, which is a nice break from working at home. Fair Trader has my favourite coffee in Melbourne, so far.

I met a friend for lunch during the week at Chuckle Park, an alleyway food truck with it’s own eating area. I had the pulled pork roll, which was yummy, but I wish I’d ordered my friend’s potato and lentil salad – I always get food envy! Chuckle Park is just a few doors down from the start of The Causeway.

Queen Vic Night Markets

This week was the last of the Queen Vic Night Markets, so I went along with friends. I’d given myself a daily coffee/market budget of $20 and was down to about $11.50 by the time I got to the markets. I went for dessert first, so I had a cannoli for $4.50. They didn’t have prices, so I wasn’t expecting to pay nearly $5 for a small cannoli, but it was delicious all the same. I had $6 left, and wasn’t super hungry so was aiming just for some sort of street food snack to tide me over till I got home for a proper dinner.

No dice.

Apart from the plainest of plain sides, the only thing I could find under $6 was hot chips for $5. I’d never noticed how expensive the markets were before because I’d always just taken $20 cash and accepted the price of whatever I was paying.

It was eye opening to realise you couldn’t really get anything for less than $6, even when the serving sizes were tiny! On one hand, it’s a reality of living in Australia. At the same time, I think because there was a captive audience, there was no need to charge more reasonable prices for food. I don’t mind paying that much at a restaurant because they’re also paying more staff and huge rents, which mean better service and somewhere to sit for the customer. Without these things, I think the market prices should be adjusted a little. I can see why tourists, especially from the US and Europe, get frustrated with how expensive Australia can be.

Weekend Wanderings

On Friday, I went for drinks at Belleville, a new bar in Globe Alley off Little Bourke, which is reminiscent of the Belleville  neighbourhood in Paris – cool and a little rough around the edges (although in the bar, it’s obviously intentional). After drinks, we ate dinner at a super spicy Sichuan restaurant in China town.

On the way home, we got dessert from Waffee, which sells Waffles & Coffee on Swanston St. I had the chocolate waffle, deeeelicious!

Before grocery shopping on Saturday morning, we stopped for coffee & pastries at Dimattina Coffee on Clarendon Street, which I’ve been trying to visit for ages – every time I  visit it’s closed, but today it was open! They roast their own coffee, so it was no surprise that the coffee was perfect. It’s a really cute cafe, I’ll definitely be back.

On Saturday night, my boyfriend & I had dinner at The Breslin in South Bank. He was keen for ribs, which we shared, but I was surprised how delicious the rest of the menu looked, especially the salads since we’d always got the vibe that it was a very meat-focused restaurant. We were sitting on the front patio, so we were really close to the live band busking along the South Bank promenade. It made for such a great atmosphere!

Yesterday I was in Bourke Street Mall, and stopped to listen to a busker who had attracted a huge crowd. Many buskers have talent, but aren’t necessarily interesting to listen to, but this guy held a captive audience. His name is Reuben Stone, you can check out his album Hypercrop here.

I rounded out the weekend with drinks with friends at Ponyfish Island, the bar under the footbridge on the Yarra River. It was such beautiful weather on Sunday, the bar was the perfect place to be to enjoy the blue skies and sunshine – I have to enjoy it while it lasts, everyone tells me it won’t be around for long!

Did you discover anything new in your city this week?

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