The importance of being a tourist in one's own town

This morning I discovered the gastronomic delight that is a "breakfast burrito". This was part of a farewell breakfast with my friend Jo, who has been staying with me for the past few days, en route to her Big Overseas Adventure.

During the past few weeks, I have learnt many things from both Jo and other friends who stayed with me before her, about the gastronomic delights available in this neck of the woods. I know... many of you will be thinking, "you're in Melbourne, close to Sydney Road and Lygon St... of course you are surrounded by amazing cafes and eating places", and you would be right. However, I have found that when I live in a place, I tend to become a bit of a hermit, and only go places that I need to go to, and do things I need to do, and rarely take time out to explore the local environs in the same way that a tourist would.

So this morning's breakfast was in a small cafe, just across the road from my local shopping centre. I have never even noticed this cafe before (and I still have no idea what it is called... except it has a large "Illy" sign out the front because they serve Illy coffee).

The coffee was great, and the burrito was rather yum (scrambled egg, mushroom, onion, tomato, ham and cheese rolled into a soft tortilla wrap, with sliced avocado on the side). I think I need to go back, and gradually work my way through their entire menu. I notice that they serve eggs benedict, so will definitely have to try those out (I am on a quest to find an Eggs Benedict in Melbourne that comes even close to the scrumptiousness of that served at the Machine Cafe in Salamanca Square in Hobart. So far, I have found no serious contenders.)

But all this foodie talk aside, the experience this morning reminded me of how many things we can tend to miss out on because we are so busy just focussing on the things immediately in front of us, and always doing things the same way, and going to the same places, that there is often little time or inclination to explore and find the hidden treasures that might be right under our noses.

I think I might have to make time to take walks up and down Sydney Road, to deliberately look for such places, and suss out what all the shops actually are, to really get to know my neighbourhood.