Melbourne Places

The Grosvenor Hotel was lit up on a cold rainy night and on a whim we went in for an early meal.

Grosvenor Hotel
We arrived shortly after 6pm and for a good three quarters of an hour we had the Bistro to ourselves and the waiter’s full attention.  We needed this attention.  The Bistro has an [...]

Brighten up a grey winter morning and take in the Graf Art  as you stroll  along Chapel Street, Windsor.  Of course it doesn’t have to be the morning, anytime during the day will do.  But the  in-your-face colours gives a me lift on a grey morning.

The corner of McIlwrick  and Chapel Streets (at Tarlo and [...]

There is a little known beach between St Kilda Beach and Middle Park Beach called West Beach Reserve.  You can get away from the crowds here.  For some reason fewer people walk this way.

It is here that the City of Port Phillip are nurturing some of the indigenous plants of  the area .  This strip [...]

The corner of Hotham and Inkerman Streets seems an unlikely place to find a flourishing Op Shop.  None-the-less this corner is home to a Sacred Heart Mission Opportunity Shop.

It has been here for a couple of years and although there isn’t much foot traffic it is a busy corner for road traffic.  There is free [...]

Gattica  Restaurant on Carlisle Street,  Balaclava is a favourite place of a friend of mine  who lives in Fitzroy North.  He is delighted when he has business around St Kilda East so he can head to Gattica.  His is always talking about the coffee and the Hash Stack he has there.
With such a recommendation I [...]

Melbourne is changing!   “Well of course,” I hear you say.
I know this happens all the time but it came as a shock to me when I found a place I knew well was to change.
Yesterday I drove past a corner I used to live near.  As I waited at the red traffic light I [...]

St Kilda Night Market up-date.
This popular market was put on hold at the end of last year because of  problems with the organizers’  negotiations with the Port Phillip City Council.  Things have changed and I found on my return to Melbourne from holiday that this wonderful market was again operating.   If you don’t know the [...]

I lunched recently with friends at Lau’s Family Kitchen.

Outside Lau’s Family Kitchen, Acland Street
For me the restaurant has lost its edge.  The service was amazing and the staff very knowledgeable and helpful but the place looks tired.  The wall opposite where I sat was covered in black scuff marks – rather like the inside of [...]

One of my favourite breakfasts in Melbourne is at Hot Honey in Armstrong Street, Middle Park.  I eat breakfast there about three or four times a year and I always choose the same thing. I never eat anything else.
Recently we were there again and thought we needed to  study the menu and move on.  We [...]

Something wonderful has happened to the roses in the Alister Clarke Rose Garden in the St Kilda Botanical Gardens.  Well, it is wonderful to me.  Some lovely person has identified these roses and now they have name plaques.

There is something about looking at a rose and knowing its name.  It adds an extra pleasure.  With [...]