Besides being covered in the street art that is synonymous with Melbourne, the laneways also lead to some of the city’s best cafes, shops and restaurants, and are always worth taking time to explore.

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.

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’.

Melbourne is famous for its cafe culture, graffiti and lane ways. Degraves street combines all these three things. Its nice to see some art thats in a different form.

My favourite commercial gallery in Melbourne, Utopian Slumps represents a group of early to mid career Australian and New Zealand artists. Exhibitions are always intriguing and the opening nights are great for people watching.