City Laneways

Melbourne's side streets are the heart of the city and worth an afternoon exploring by foot. While many are lined with cafes and crowded with locals looking for a good meal, others, such as Hosier Lane and Cocker Alley, are a haven for graffiti artists. These are my favorite; the brick walls a canvas for painted works, stenciling, and papering, and pay tribute to graffiti as an essential and innovative art form.

Veggie Heaven

Anyone who thinks being a vegetarian is a disservice to the culinary world hasn't been to Vegie Bar. Located on Brunswick Street in Melbourne, the cafe's motto is "food for the body, mind, and soul" and offers a unique mouthwatering mix of Mexican, Thai, Italian, and Asian dishes. Their pizzas included Vegan, Yogi Zen, and a Moroccan style with hummus, roasted pumpkin, eggplant, and sesame seeds.  The sprouted chickpea and cashew dip was delicious! As was the deceiving faux chicken wrap with mango and sweet chili sauce. Unfortunately we ate our food so quickly I couldn't even snap photos before we cleared our plates.

Vegie Bar 380 Brunswick Street, Fitzroy, Melbourne

Five Things to Love About Melbourne

Lunch in the Park set of three rings by local designer Victoria Mason

Decadent hot chocolate at Koko Black in Carlton

4,000 local and international titles to choose from at magnation

Decorative box sets at stationary store Zetta Florence in Fitzroy

Black Truffle Salt - perfect for cooking - at Gewurzhaus Herb & Spice Merchants

I could spend weeks walking through the streets of Melbourne and never get bored. The city is populated with the best of Australia's designers, cafes, graffiti, vintage, and coffee, and I loved discovering its many hidden gems, such as Victoria Mason's studio where she creates unique wearable jewelry open only two days a week. And in such neighborhoods like Fitzroy and Carlton a feast of color, energy, and inspiration can be found on every street.

How's the serenity?

Hello all! My sincerest apologies for not blogging in weeks. When I decided to start a blog of my travels I had no idea Internet would be so difficult to come by. It seems I can only connect to WiFi every few days, and even then for a very limited amount of time.

New Zealand has come and gone, and I'm not sure how to properly to describe the trip without sounding cliche. To call New Zealand beautiful is an understatement; it's what I imagine the world looked like before millions of people, skyscrapers, and strip malls. The air is cleaner, sheep friendlier, hilltops and forests the most spectacular shades of green.  Everything that meets the eye looks like a postcard or an Ansel Adams photograph. It was serene, humbling, and emotional at times, and I cannot wait to go back.