Connections at the right time count for everything: a friend led us to the scrumptious Riley St Garage, the former home of John Laws' 80 cars, for dinner and it was incredible for both food and service. Top stop for a night out in Sydney!

If in Sydney Mon-Fri, crash post-work drinks at The Lemon Tree; here I ordered the top of their list, a Lemon Tree Martini but earlier in the evening there was a Prosecco that gave a hint of sweetness to a monsoon-like evening. Certainly test out the Italian cuisine, pasta is made fresh daily.

Well now! I don't think I can go for coffee anywhere else in Sydney from today, Gumption by Coffee Alchemy has ruined me for all others... Gorgeous latte, virtually no wait, even with a line, highly recommend.

Melburnians love a good culture sesh: joining an Opera House tour is one of the most enjoyable things you can do while in town. I'm in love with the earrings inspired by the arrowhead tile design - timeless Danish-style, absolutely souvenirs worth duking it out with the crowd at the gift shop!

Excellent North Sydney breakfast to be had at Pottery Green and a nice cool escape from the humidity in Gordon. Fantastic coffee, single origin Toby's Estate; the only cafe I have come across that has extracted the most robust flavour from Toby's roast, even Toby's Estate cafe itself.

Metro St James is delightfully embedded in Hyde Park and enjoys a roaring trade through it's ability to channel a city dweller's need for green spaces and provide them with cool drinks and tasty Mediterranean fare at the same time. Mobile workers, this is the spot to plonk your laptop, work for the afternoon and refuel with a few rounds of iced coffee.

This gem is in a small shopping complex in The Rocks surrounded by Australiana tourist traps, so any hipster worthy of the name could be forgiven for walking on by. But stop at The Fine Food Store and pick up a latte because it. is. good. Their coffee gets an 8.0 on Beanhunter and the comments are an indication of how seriously TFFS take their coffee.

Melburnians are spoilt with such a multi-cultural community and the culinary benefits this provides. We have good Italian, some of the best pizza chefs in the world; D.O.C. is a personal favourite for fresh pasta. We know quality when we see it and Fratelli Fresh certainly fits the bill. While we went to Bridge Street, the restaurant has expanded to several locations, including one in Melbourne's Alfred Place. We were celebrating running a massive conference at The Sheraton, we were exhausted and, looking at the map now, I don’t know how we managed to walk that far, but walk we did. Cutting through a few alleyways certainly gets a Melburnian interested; throw in an amazing old building, rustic décor, fabulous food and we feel right at home.

I struggled through my hotel butchering Di Bella before I found this espresso haven. Reminiscent of Mister Mister and De Clieu, if you weren’t taking advantage of the people watching opportunities you could be forgiven for thinking Pablo and Rusty’s was an inner urban coffee paradise instead of right in the centre of it all on Castlereagh Street. Settle in for a couple of coffees and some eggs before work.