http://grantourismotravels.com Globetrotting professional travel writing and photography team Lara Dunston and Terence Carter are on a contemporary grand tour of the globe. Mon, 21 May 2012 07:29:04 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Grantourismo/~3/rhyqv_7pUrQ/ http://grantourismotravels.com/2012/05/16/london-foodie-competition/#comments Wed, 16 May 2012 13:59:13 +0000 Lara Dunston http://grantourismotravels.com/?p=16996 Fancy a London foodie escape? Well, we have a tasty competition for our UK readers thanks to Argos, onefinestay, Context Travel, and LUXE City Guides. One lucky winner will get to live like locals in London, get a taste of the local foodie scene and fine produce on a London foodie walking tour, have a &#8230; </p><p><a class="more-link block-button" href="http://grantourismotravels.com/2012/05/16/london-foodie-competition/">Continue reading &#187;</a><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Grantourismo/~4/rhyqv_7pUrQ" height="1" width="1"/> http://grantourismotravels.com/2012/05/16/london-foodie-competition/feed/ 4 http://grantourismotravels.com/2012/05/16/london-foodie-competition/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Grantourismo/~3/QqSNHdvwegc/ http://grantourismotravels.com/2012/05/16/melbourne-shopping-the-most-eclectic-boutiques-of-all/#comments Tue, 15 May 2012 14:31:34 +0000 Lara Dunston http://grantourismotravels.com/?p=16863 Melbourne shopping is some of the best there is in Australia, especially for fashion. But while most visitors make a beeline for Bourke Street Mall and the posh GPO – the former General Post Office remodeled into an elegant home for luxury labels – far more interesting is the shopping at the city&#8217;s eclectic boutiques, hidden &#8230; </p><p><a class="more-link block-button" href="http://grantourismotravels.com/2012/05/16/melbourne-shopping-the-most-eclectic-boutiques-of-all/">Continue reading &#187;</a><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Grantourismo/~4/QqSNHdvwegc" height="1" width="1"/> http://grantourismotravels.com/2012/05/16/melbourne-shopping-the-most-eclectic-boutiques-of-all/feed/ 2 http://grantourismotravels.com/2012/05/16/melbourne-shopping-the-most-eclectic-boutiques-of-all/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Grantourismo/~3/brUevElbT2U/ http://grantourismotravels.com/2012/05/14/monday-memories-sublime-sunset-st-kilda-pier/#comments Mon, 14 May 2012 10:37:42 +0000 Terence Carter http://grantourismotravels.com/?p=16945 We were blessed with brilliant weather during our Melbourne stay. No, really. While our Sydney friends griped about having experienced one of the worst summers ever, we were soaking up the sunshine in a city that can famously serve up four seasons in one hour. On one of our last days in Melbourne, while on &#8230; </p><p><a class="more-link block-button" href="http://grantourismotravels.com/2012/05/14/monday-memories-sublime-sunset-st-kilda-pier/">Continue reading &#187;</a><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Grantourismo/~4/brUevElbT2U" height="1" width="1"/> http://grantourismotravels.com/2012/05/14/monday-memories-sublime-sunset-st-kilda-pier/feed/ 0 http://grantourismotravels.com/2012/05/14/monday-memories-sublime-sunset-st-kilda-pier/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Grantourismo/~3/4UgF5U6ryfs/ http://grantourismotravels.com/2012/05/12/matt-skinner-on-melbourne-wine-bars-and-food/#comments Sat, 12 May 2012 08:21:29 +0000 Lara Dunston http://grantourismotravels.com/?p=16859 Melbourne wine guy Matt Skinner may be a comparatively young bloke as far as Australian wine icons go, but with a handful of wine books, an annual wine guide and a television series under his belt, he’s fast become something of an Aussie wine legend and an inspiration to young Australians developing an interest in wine and &#8230; </p><p><a class="more-link block-button" href="http://grantourismotravels.com/2012/05/12/matt-skinner-on-melbourne-wine-bars-and-food/">Continue reading &#187;</a><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Grantourismo/~4/4UgF5U6ryfs" height="1" width="1"/> http://grantourismotravels.com/2012/05/12/matt-skinner-on-melbourne-wine-bars-and-food/feed/ 4 http://grantourismotravels.com/2012/05/12/matt-skinner-on-melbourne-wine-bars-and-food/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Grantourismo/~3/g99HH15Cumk/ http://grantourismotravels.com/2012/05/09/melbournes-little-saigon-victoria-street-richmond/#comments Tue, 08 May 2012 14:22:09 +0000 Lara Dunston http://grantourismotravels.com/?p=16755 Melbourne&#8217;s Little Saigon, Victoria Street Richmond, is a must-do for foodies visiting Melbourne, especially for lovers of Vietnamese food and other Asian cuisines – and fans of phố. Just a few kilometres east of Melbourne’s city centre and easily reached by tram, Richmond’s busy main drag, Victoria Street, is home to an abundance of affordable, no-frills Asian restaurants &#8230; </p><p><a class="more-link block-button" href="http://grantourismotravels.com/2012/05/09/melbournes-little-saigon-victoria-street-richmond/">Continue reading &#187;</a><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Grantourismo/~4/g99HH15Cumk" height="1" width="1"/> http://grantourismotravels.com/2012/05/09/melbournes-little-saigon-victoria-street-richmond/feed/ 2 http://grantourismotravels.com/2012/05/09/melbournes-little-saigon-victoria-street-richmond/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Grantourismo/~3/0yJsnWqhZ3E/ http://grantourismotravels.com/2012/05/08/melbourne-on-a-budget/#comments Mon, 07 May 2012 16:17:40 +0000 Lara Dunston http://grantourismotravels.com/?p=16763 There’s no denying Australia is an expensive destination to visit right now due to the high Aussie dollar and an economy that goes from strength to strength, but it is still possible to do Melbourne on a budget. Here’s how… Get there – skip an expensive taxi and take the SkyBus from Melbourne Airport to &#8230; </p><p><a class="more-link block-button" href="http://grantourismotravels.com/2012/05/08/melbourne-on-a-budget/">Continue reading &#187;</a><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Grantourismo/~4/0yJsnWqhZ3E" height="1" width="1"/> http://grantourismotravels.com/2012/05/08/melbourne-on-a-budget/feed/ 7 http://grantourismotravels.com/2012/05/08/melbourne-on-a-budget/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Grantourismo/~3/Naf6_K1w3-U/ http://grantourismotravels.com/2012/05/07/coffee-cupping-at-market-lane-cafe-in-melbourne/#comments Sun, 06 May 2012 14:05:03 +0000 Lara Dunston http://grantourismotravels.com/?p=16656 Coffee cupping at Market Lane café in Melbourne had been recommended to us by a guide on one of the market tours we did. Melburnians are obsessed with their coffee and cafés and see Melbourne as a global coffee-making capital. Does Melbourne make the world’s best coffee? We weren’t convinced after some disappointing coffees at well-regarded cafés, but we were willing &#8230; </p><p><a class="more-link block-button" href="http://grantourismotravels.com/2012/05/07/coffee-cupping-at-market-lane-cafe-in-melbourne/">Continue reading &#187;</a><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Grantourismo/~4/Naf6_K1w3-U" height="1" width="1"/> http://grantourismotravels.com/2012/05/07/coffee-cupping-at-market-lane-cafe-in-melbourne/feed/ 2 http://grantourismotravels.com/2012/05/07/coffee-cupping-at-market-lane-cafe-in-melbourne/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Grantourismo/~3/c18_19nVqrs/ http://grantourismotravels.com/2012/05/03/local-knowledge-kenneth-from-melbourne/#comments Thu, 03 May 2012 08:31:07 +0000 Lara Dunston http://grantourismotravels.com/?p=16662 For our Melbourne edition of Local Knowledge we consulted Melbourne local Kenneth Leung, a Hong Kong-born Australian who is impossible to describe in a nutshell. Kenneth is a restaurant owner, community supporter, volunteer, philanthropist, strategic advisor, social media consultant, and coffee lover. Phew. We first became acquainted with Kenneth online, in the wonderful world that is Twitter, &#8230; </p><p><a class="more-link block-button" href="http://grantourismotravels.com/2012/05/03/local-knowledge-kenneth-from-melbourne/">Continue reading &#187;</a><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Grantourismo/~4/c18_19nVqrs" height="1" width="1"/> http://grantourismotravels.com/2012/05/03/local-knowledge-kenneth-from-melbourne/feed/ 2 http://grantourismotravels.com/2012/05/03/local-knowledge-kenneth-from-melbourne/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Grantourismo/~3/yp-jLwXwdqo/ http://grantourismotravels.com/2012/05/01/staying-connected-in-australia/#comments Tue, 01 May 2012 09:30:55 +0000 Lara Dunston http://grantourismotravels.com/?p=16734 One of the biggest challenges for travellers is staying connected in Australia. Surprisingly for a developed nation, Australia has abysmally slow Internet speeds and some archaic telecommunications practices still in place – especially in hotels, where it’s not unusual to find excruciatingly slow Internet, complex processes for logging on, and some of the most expensive &#8230; </p><p><a class="more-link block-button" href="http://grantourismotravels.com/2012/05/01/staying-connected-in-australia/">Continue reading &#187;</a><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Grantourismo/~4/yp-jLwXwdqo" height="1" width="1"/> http://grantourismotravels.com/2012/05/01/staying-connected-in-australia/feed/ 14 http://grantourismotravels.com/2012/05/01/staying-connected-in-australia/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Grantourismo/~3/Co4Qc4QSv8o/ http://grantourismotravels.com/2012/04/30/theatre-of-ideas-at-melbourne-food-and-wine-festival/#comments Mon, 30 Apr 2012 13:37:08 +0000 Lara Dunston http://grantourismotravels.com/?p=16654 The Theatre of Ideas at the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival, and the opportunity the festival provided us to interview some of the world’s best chefs, was one of the main reasons we went to Melbourne. We’re working on a story (well, at 5,000 words and 18 pages, it’s more like an essay) for a &#8230; </p><p><a class="more-link block-button" href="http://grantourismotravels.com/2012/04/30/theatre-of-ideas-at-melbourne-food-and-wine-festival/">Continue reading &#187;</a><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Grantourismo/~4/Co4Qc4QSv8o" height="1" width="1"/> http://grantourismotravels.com/2012/04/30/theatre-of-ideas-at-melbourne-food-and-wine-festival/feed/ 2 http://grantourismotravels.com/2012/04/30/theatre-of-ideas-at-melbourne-food-and-wine-festival/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Grantourismo/~3/BUw480kpWYE/ http://grantourismotravels.com/2012/04/29/a-local-guide-to-vintage-shopping-in-melbourne/#comments Sun, 29 Apr 2012 11:31:20 +0000 Lara Dunston http://grantourismotravels.com/?p=16610 That we needed to provide you with a local guide to vintage shopping in Melbourne quickly became apparent after spotting some Melbourne locals in beehives, cats eye glasses and bobby socks. After meeting vintage princess Danielle Pumo on our Hidden Secrets tour, it was obvious she should be our vintage expert. GT: Tell us what &#8230; </p><p><a class="more-link block-button" href="http://grantourismotravels.com/2012/04/29/a-local-guide-to-vintage-shopping-in-melbourne/">Continue reading &#187;</a><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Grantourismo/~4/BUw480kpWYE" height="1" width="1"/> http://grantourismotravels.com/2012/04/29/a-local-guide-to-vintage-shopping-in-melbourne/feed/ 0 http://grantourismotravels.com/2012/04/29/a-local-guide-to-vintage-shopping-in-melbourne/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Grantourismo/~3/8pxH-nKdnMk/ http://grantourismotravels.com/2012/04/29/discovering-melbournes-hidden-secrets-on-a-lanes-and-arcades-tour/#comments Sun, 29 Apr 2012 06:56:24 +0000 Lara Dunston http://grantourismotravels.com/?p=16607 Discovering Melbourne&#8217;s ‘hidden secrets’ on a Lane and Arcades tour wasn’t high on our list of priorities, I have to admit. But Paris has its boulevards, Venice has its canals, Barcelona has its ramblas, Sydney has its harbour, and, well, Melbourne has its lanes. We half-suspected all the chatter about Melbourne’s famous laneways was simply the result of a successful tourism campaign. And by &#8230; </p><p><a class="more-link block-button" href="http://grantourismotravels.com/2012/04/29/discovering-melbournes-hidden-secrets-on-a-lanes-and-arcades-tour/">Continue reading &#187;</a><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Grantourismo/~4/8pxH-nKdnMk" height="1" width="1"/> http://grantourismotravels.com/2012/04/29/discovering-melbournes-hidden-secrets-on-a-lanes-and-arcades-tour/feed/ 5 http://grantourismotravels.com/2012/04/29/discovering-melbournes-hidden-secrets-on-a-lanes-and-arcades-tour/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Grantourismo/~3/NghNddYA2K8/ http://grantourismotravels.com/2012/04/28/meandering-the-masala-trail-in-dandenong-in-melbourne/#comments Sat, 28 Apr 2012 08:34:26 +0000 Lara Dunston http://grantourismotravels.com/?p=16595 Today we’re meandering the Masala Trail in Dandenong in Melbourne, to get a taste of &#8216;Little India&#8217; in Australia, one of the world’s most cosmopolitan countries. Nowhere is Australia&#8217;s ethnic diversity felt more than in multicultural Melbourne, the capital of its southern state Victoria, and Melbourne&#8217;s outer-suburb Dandenong, where 55% of residents are foreign-born, from 156 different countries. The &#8230; </p><p><a class="more-link block-button" href="http://grantourismotravels.com/2012/04/28/meandering-the-masala-trail-in-dandenong-in-melbourne/">Continue reading &#187;</a><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Grantourismo/~4/NghNddYA2K8" height="1" width="1"/> http://grantourismotravels.com/2012/04/28/meandering-the-masala-trail-in-dandenong-in-melbourne/feed/ 3 http://grantourismotravels.com/2012/04/28/meandering-the-masala-trail-in-dandenong-in-melbourne/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Grantourismo/~3/bN6pYP17e94/ http://grantourismotravels.com/2012/04/27/the-best-melbourne-markets/#comments Fri, 27 Apr 2012 04:15:21 +0000 Lara Dunston http://grantourismotravels.com/?p=16526 Melbourne is blessed with brilliant fresh produce markets and we toured three of the best Melbourne markets, the Queen Victoria Market, South Melbourne Market, and Prahran Market, on our recent trip. Why do a tour of a market? Isn&#8217;t it enough just to shop the market and soak up the atmosphere? To take in the &#8230; </p><p><a class="more-link block-button" href="http://grantourismotravels.com/2012/04/27/the-best-melbourne-markets/">Continue reading &#187;</a><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Grantourismo/~4/bN6pYP17e94" height="1" width="1"/> http://grantourismotravels.com/2012/04/27/the-best-melbourne-markets/feed/ 0 http://grantourismotravels.com/2012/04/27/the-best-melbourne-markets/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Grantourismo/~3/-bt5ooHln3Q/ http://grantourismotravels.com/2012/04/07/how-to-make-a-mojito/#comments Fri, 06 Apr 2012 16:25:08 +0000 Lara Dunston http://grantourismotravels.com/?p=16501 Cocktail time. A class on how to make a Mojito was one of the highlights of the Taste of Melbourne festival. Out of all the events we went to, the cocktail making lessons were the ones that seemed to excite festivalgoers the most. Long lines, packed sessions, and lots of locals taking their cocktail educations &#8230; </p><p><a class="more-link block-button" href="http://grantourismotravels.com/2012/04/07/how-to-make-a-mojito/">Continue reading &#187;</a><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Grantourismo/~4/-bt5ooHln3Q" height="1" width="1"/> http://grantourismotravels.com/2012/04/07/how-to-make-a-mojito/feed/ 10 http://grantourismotravels.com/2012/04/07/how-to-make-a-mojito/