The new year is coming around fast so it's time to get on those new year's resolutions. Like every year, one of mine is going to be get fit and eat healthy, and the perfect place to kick off that goal is the raw, organic cafe Soul Press.
You know you're in Melbourne when you have to walk down a graffiti lined laneway and enter an unmarked brick building to find a party. However it's always an incredible wonderland once you step inside.
And then there was one... Being back in Los Angeles meant that the tour had ended and we'd pretty much all gone our separate ways. A few of us were still staying in the same hotel in LA after the tour, but for the most part, our time together had come to an end.
55 Days, 37 US States and 2 Canadian Provinces later and we're back to our very first stop... Las Vegas. Vegas hasn't exactly been my favourite place we've visited, but as it's the last stop on the tour I knew I had to embrace it.
Three more national parks in three days. We actually we went to Bryce Canyon after the second visit to Yellowstone, so technically four national parks in three days. We were really getting our nature on.
Yellowstone National Park was easily one of the places I was looking forward to the most. I mean it's prime animal spotting territory! With the hope of seeing some bears we spent a good 7 hours exploring.
Today was a crazy busy day. We did all of the things. We were staying in a little cowboy town called Keystone which is basically at the base of Mt Rushmore. It's incredibly touristy, but then so is most of the USA.
Leaving Chicago meant that we weren't going to see another big city for quite some time, and we were getting back in touch with nature with visits to some of the most breathtaking national parks in the U.S.A.
So I've found the secret to not caring about getting older. Spend it in an amazing new city... like Chicago! No visit to Chicago is complete without an architectural boat cruise, so that's how we began my birthday.
I'd always been told that Toronto was a lot like Melbourne, they're both in the top 5 most livable cities in the world after all. So I was interested to see just how similar it is to the city I call home.
Enter Canada! I'd been looking forward to getting into Canada for so long because everyone always says it's very similar to Australia, however our first stop was Quebec City which was almost as if we'd suddenly flown to Europe.
Our stay in Boston started with a guided walking tour of Harvard University. Most of the U.S.A made you feel like you were in a movie or TV show, but being at Harvard University really felt like you'd jumped straight into a college movie.
There really is nothing quite like New York City. It is the city of all cities, and three days there definitely was not enough. However we made the most of our time and packed in as much as we possibly could.
I don't think there are any countries in the world that are more patriotic than the USA, and being in Washington DC, you really feel the full force of that.
If picturesque is what you're looking for, Savannah should be top of your list. Trees adorned with hanging moss, beautiful homes and horse-drawn carriages, it's definitely not one to miss.
Miami is definitely interesting. Probably not my favourite place on this trip, but hey, now I can say I've been right? We started off the stay with a jet boat ride around Miami.
Harry Potter World. Need I say more? That was pretty much the one thing I was ecstatic to see at Universal Studios Orlando. Of course there was a lot of other things to see, but HARRY POTTER!
I feel like New Orleans is probably on everyone's bucket list. It was definitely one of the places that was high on my list of places to visit. Even when it's not Mardi Gras, there's still plenty to celebrate.
Memphis is definitely one of the cities I was most looking forward to visiting on this trip. There's so much history and culture here, especially in terms of music. It didn't disappoint either.
Our next stop in Texas was the city of Dallas. Instantly you could tell that this was a rich city. We had a full day in Dallas to explore, so I packed as much in as possible.
From Albuquerque, we set off towards Texas. Our destination was Amarillo. Along the way we stopped off at two really cool locations. The first of which being Santa Fe, USA's second oldest town.
Holidays are all about ticking things off your bucket list. I'd never been hot air ballooning and when I saw that it was on the itinerary, I knew I couldn't miss out.
America really does have some incredibly unique and diverse landscapes.
One of the stops I was most looking forward to was Monument Valley, and
it's pretty easy to see why.
The next stop on our adventure was the mighty Grand Canyon. You really can't fathom exactly how enormous it is until you're standing right on the edge.
Las Vegas really is another world. A completely different experience to anything else. To be completely honest, Las Vegas really wasn't in my top 10 places to visit, however it definitely was a good experience and one to tick off the bucket list.
Welcome to the happiest place on earth! Disneyland really is just that though. Even with the thousands of people, you still can't help but be in an amazing mood all day. I won't say much more, because Disneyland is pretty self explanatory so enjoy!
So tomorrow I'm going to America and Canada for two months. Surprise! Because of this, I just had to have a going away dinner at one of Melbourne's best American-style diners.
Currently in Melbourne we're experiencing what is playfully referred to the arctic vortex. In other words, our coldest winter in about 30 years. So the Yarra Valley Hot Chocolate Festival really couldn't have come at a better time.
When in Sydney, you really can't help but do all the touristy things. This is my third trip to Sydney in 3 years and I do pretty much the same things every time. But with a view like this, what other choice do I have?
Brisbane is slowly becoming more and more like Melbourne, and I have to say I completely approve. Whilst there I caught up with one of my friends and we checked this little hipster haunt Moose & Gibson.
So Indian Mexican fusion food is a thing. Did you know this? Because I didn't. And they're pretty much my two favourite cuisines, so you can only imagine my excitement when I discovered Indimex in Brisbane.
I recently went to Adelaide (or Radelaide as I call it) and even though I had to work most of the time I was there, I did manage to sneak away one night to have dinner with a friend from Melbourne who's currently living in the South Australian capital.
The WW1 Centenary Exhibition, at Melbourne
Museum, opened in April 2015 to commemorate the Centenary of the First
World War. This is the most historical and significant exhibition from Imperial War Museums (London) to ever leave Great Britain and visit our
shores.
Inspired by the absinthe-drenched cabarets of late-19th century Europe, Absinthe
is an adult-themed cocktail of circus, burlesque and vaudeville for a
21st century audience, hosted by the outrageous Gazillionaire and his
sidekick Penny.
Melbourne is one of the world's most multicultural cities, which means you can find almost every kind of cuisine imaginable. Today we took a trip to Germany for my friend's birthday and visited South Wharf's Munich Brauhaus.
So a couple of months ago my friend told me that she'd never seen dolphins, and with living on the coast in Australia, that's just crazy! So when a Groupon deal came up for Moonrakers dolphin tours, I just knew we had to do it!
One of my 2015 resolutions, like most people, is to get fit but it can sometimes get monotonous and uninteresting if you're doing the same thing day in day out. So my friend and I decided to give Melbourne's 1000 Steps Kokoda Track Memorial a go.
The third annual White Night Melbourne event graced our city over the weekend and since I wasn't able to make it last year, I thought I'd better pop by this year. Although it didn't take much convincing once I saw that there was whimsical Alice In Wonderland projections.
Have you ever wanted to learn a new skill or party trick? Do you want to find out the truth behind marketing or learn more about news and current affairs? Laneway Learning has you covered! Laneway Learning host a variety of informal evening classes in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide and Singapore too!
Melbourne's biggest free street festival St Kilda Festival was on again last weekend with an estimated 200,000-300,000 attendees. The day started off a bit gloomy but in true Melbourne style it all turned around with the sun shining all afternoon.
I stumbled across Fonda Mexican a couple of weeks ago when I was on Chapel Street with my Dad and we decided to have lunch there. I had the Mexican Meatball burrito and absolutely loved it! From that moment I knew I wanted to go back to Fonda.
It's kind of hard to explain exactly what Exxopolis is. It's kind of like a big inflatable cave system that makes you feel like you're on the Magic School Bus in that episode where they explore inside the human anatomy.
I was recently invited to taste some culinary delights at the Tanked Kitchen launch at Less Than Zero bar in South Yarra. If you are unaware (like I was) Tanked Kitchen is a collaboration between Melbourne restaurant Hammer & Tong and Less Than Zero bar to create and serve modern bar snacks.