Neighborhood Niche: De Graves Street, Melbourne

(A look down De Graves from Flinders Lane: ML)

De Graves Street, just off the main road Flinders Lane, is one of Melbourne’s many hidden alley ways with a character all its own. Lined with cafes, outdoor seating under umbrellas and heaters and a mish mash of odds and ends shopping including a barbershop and a Christian Science reading room, De Graves has the big city feel of London or New York with the quaint neighborhood seclusion of the back alleys in Nice or Florence.

(Umbrellas and wooden chairs fill the narrow cafe alleyway: ML)

The café and deli-lined alley is a great place to sit and people watch, enjoy your favorite tea or brew or grab a bite to eat on a Sunday morning (I nibbled on the “Aussie” which is scrambled eggs over a thick piece of sourdough bread with a rich side of mushrooms and a couple fatty strips of bacon).

(An organic cafe with lots of treats down De Graves: ML)

The narrow alley is so crammed with eateries, the foody fragrances mesh in the middle combining organic Thai and chili con carne with coffee and fresh eggs leaving De Graves so thick with aromas you’re hard pressed to pass on without at least one second look.