My boyfriend and I almost spent the weekend in Sydney, but I’m so glad we decided to stay in Melbourne instead. It’s been a few weeks since we’ve both been in town on the weekend and given that we don’t see much of each other during the week, I was really excited to have a relaxing weekend wandering around Melbourne.

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

Eating: Deluxe Jaffles at Bad Frankie

After standing around for nearly an hour waiting to vote on the weekend, I was super disappointed to find that I’d wasted the only sunny part of the day standing in a queue (for an election, by the way, which has so far lead n.o.w.h.e.r.e ). I was cheered up when my boyfriend and I decided to tram across town to Bad Frankie in Fitzroy, a bar that does jaffles + drinks. A colleague recommended it to me ages ago and it lived up to the hype. At $7.50, the jaffles are well priced – a sandwich in a Melbourne cafe is easily $10. On the recommendation of the bartender, I tried a walnut & toffee liqueur from Tamborine Mountain Distillery, which I’ve visited before, in the Gold Coast hinterland. It was deeeeelicious over ice, making for an insanely indulgent, endorphins-boosting meal.

Indulging in: Hot Chocolates

Winter seems a lot less brutal when you’re sipping a hot chocolate. I almost didn’t know what to do with this crazy hot chocolate from Hash Specialty Coffee in Hardware Lane in the city! As I tipped the bitter hot chocolate over the fairy floss it dissolved to create the perfect hot chocolate – not too bitter, not too sweet. You know your order is impressive when the strangers opposite you starting photographing your drink with a DSLR. 😐 😉

Discovering: Degas at the NGV

Last weekend, the latest instalment in the NGV’s Winter Masterpieces series opened. I’ve been looking forward to this for ages, so I went by myself on the first day I had free.

Degas: A New Vision is the largest Degas exhibition the world has ever seen and the most complicated exhibition that the NGV has ever produced. The exhibition spanned his lengthy career from the late 1880s to the early 1900s, including several of his famous paintings of ballerinas, prostitutes and working women, as well as lesser-known sculptures and mesmerising landscapes.

Watching: The Houston Ballet perform Romeo & Juliet

I was so excited to see Romeo & Juliet, performed by the Houston Ballet, that I was worried I’d be disappointed. It was one of the first dramatic ballets I’d seen, with more focus on the storytelling than on tutus and fancy footwork (although I’m sure there was LOTS of fancy footwork, but it was mostly obscured by long gowns). The performance was absolutely heartwrenching, which is no mean feat when you’re performing a story as well-known as Romeo & Juliet.

Moving: Barre Body with Class Pass

Sitting at a desk all day has really been messing with my neck and shoulder muscles, so it’s more important than ever that I make the time to move. I’m normally more of an incidental exerciser than a gym junkie, but since starting an office job I have started craving the time and space to stretch out on the mat. My neck muscles have been so tight lately that its been interfering with my ability to do my illustrations after work in the evenings, so exercising has become a top priority!

Barre Body classes and yoga are my favourite for a good stretch and in the case of the former, a leg-wobbling workout! My ClassPass membership has made it so easy for me to book in at different studios around the city and keeps me honest by imposing a $20 fine for classes cancelled within 12 hours. Genius!

Wandering: The laneways off Little Bourke

I purposefully left home a little early last weekend, before I met a friend for brunch in the city. I used the time to wander up and down the laneways off Little Bourke Street, which is one of my favourite parts of the Melbourne CBD. I found some street art ( you can’t go anywhere in Melbourne without tripping over street art), an overgrown laneway softened by layers of greenery and Little Mule, a quiet CBD cafe with good coffee.

Drinking: French bubbles by Belaire

My Friday night plans fell through and my Friday afternoon at work ended up being insanely stressful, so it was nice to come home to a quiet but indulgent glass of French bubbles. Belaire’s rare brut is flavourful and not too sweet, which meant I avoided the dreaded champagne headache. Weekend was looking up!

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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