It's high time I gave you a tour of my hometown. Famous for its sport, its coffee, its restaurants and its shopping, this is My Melbourne...
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- Eat<p> Café é Cucina is one of my favourite places and a Melbourne institution. I’ve been eating there for years, love popping in for lunches and dinners, and ate there often while I was pregnant with Ethan. Their specialty is calamari, which they dust lightly with flour rather than coating in batter. It’s always on the menu and I’ve never been anywhere in the world where it’s tasted better.</p> <p> <br /> <em>Visit: <a href="http://www.caffeecucina.com.au/" target="_blank">caffeecucina.com.au</a>, 581 Chapel Street, South Yarra.</em></p>
- Shop<p> If there’s one fashion item associated with Australia, it’s the ugg boot - and we have the best ugg boot shop right here in Melbourne. If you watched <em>Style Queen</em> you would have seen me shopping for a gift for Tabitha in Urban Ugg Co. Their boots are handmade and super-snuggly and they have an incredible range of styles and colours. The shop is right near Café e Cucina so it’s perfect for a spot of post-lunch shopping!</p> <p> <em>Visit: <a href="http://www.urbanuggboots.com.au/" target="_blank">urbanuggboots.com.au</a>, 2 Bond Street, South Yarra </em></p>
- Barbeque<p> If the ugg boot is the classic Aussie fashion item, then the barbeque is the quintessential Aussie Sunday afternoon pastime. There are public barbeques dotted all along Melbourne’s famous Yarra River. The water and riverbanks are alive with people kayaking, jogging, and cycling. On a sunny day it’s the perfect place to grill some seafood and enjoy the amazing city views.</p> <p> <em>Visit: <a href="http://www.visitmelbourne.com/uk" target="_blank">visitmelbourne.com/uk</a></em></p>
- Experience<p> In Melbourne, if you want to watch a movie in style you get tickets to Village Gold Class. The cinemas are smaller, seating around 18-30 people, and have the most comfortable recliner chairs. You order food and drinks from a special menu and can choose to have them delivered at particular times during your film. It’s a fabulously indulgent way to catch a flick. I organised a girls’ night out to watch <em>Bridesmaids</em> at my local Gold Class cinema in Prahran just last month.</p> <p> <em>Visit: <a href="http://villagecinemas.com.au/Cinemas/Gold-Class.htm" target="_blank">villagecinemas.com.au</a></em></p>
- Chill<p> When things get hectic, Body Freedom Spa is my favourite place to sneak off to for a pampering massage. They specialise in pregnancy massage, which is how I found them, and tailor their treatments to suit you individually. The spa is in an 1850s Victorian building, so you get to experience a slice of Melbourne heritage while you treat yourself. They serve lovely tea, muffins and fresh berries with their treatment packages and in winter real fireplaces give their rooms a cosy feel.</p> <p> <em>Visit:<a href="http://www.bodyfreedom.com.au/" target="_blank">bodyfreedom.com.au</a>, 392 Clarendon Street, South Melbourne.</em></p>
- Visit<p> I first visited the National Gallery of Victoria on a school trip and I’m as enamoured with it today as I was then. You have to walk past an amazing waterfall inside the entrance to get into the building, and once inside it’s an incredible cultural oasis. I loved their recent <em>Man Style</em> exhibition which had pieces dating back to the Nineteenth Century. The punk pieces by Vivienne Westwood and Malcolm McLaren were rocking.</p> <p> <em>Visit: <a href="http://www.ngv.vic.gov.au/" target="_blank">ngv.vic.gov.au</a>, 180 St Kilda Road, Melbourne</em></p>
- Drink<p> There’s a big Italian and Greek community in Melbourne so it’s almost impossible to convey what a huge coffee culture there is. If you try to order a coffee in Melbourne the way you do in London you’ll get someone looking back at you blankly. There’s a whole coffee language – and coffee menu – that is specific to Melbourne. Lygon Street in Carlton, and Brunswick Street in Fitzroy have some of Melbourne’s finest coffee hot spots!</p>
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