Serves two of my favourite things in awesome amounts of excess. Platters of fried chicken (the best one is coated in chilli sauce) accompanied with barrels of house beer.

Gertrude Street is in the inner northern suburb of Fitzroy, Melbourne. In just one strip, you'll find bars, restaurants, galleries, boutiques, vintage wares, costume hire and old-school pubs. It's an inspiring, quiet and interesting experience just out of the city centre. Overall a great place to spend the day.

Believe it or not, if you drive far enough from the city, the Yarra River is a beautiful place to spend a Summer's day swimming. Warrandyte is a haven of shady gumtrees, flowing rapids, and rocks to perch yourself on while the water rushes past. Bring beers, but esky optional - the water is cool enough to keep them chilled all day.

It’s only about ten meters above sea level, but for some reason it feels like you can see everything from the top of this hill. The 360 degree view spans from the city all the way across the bay and over the tree tops of the streets behind. I come up here to clear my mind and just to relax. Sunsets from here are amazing.

Fresh is best. The best place in Melbourne for fresh cheese. The Buffalo Mozzarella and the creamy Ricotta are to die for. I used to have to wait years and fly half way across the globe to my home in Italy just to bite into one of these creamy morsels of goodness. Now my life can be defined by the ‘pre La Latteria period’ and the ‘post La Latteria period’.