In my last article, I reviewed some pretty spectacularly green food. I’m not talking Kale, here. Think insanely almost-luminescent burgers that will take your tastebuds on a wild ride. Today’s article gives our rods and cones the first class treatment! (Yes, I'll admit I look like a 'stare-bear' in this photo. I don't care. That's why it's online.)

If you’re a visitor coming to Melbourne, you were probably attracted to it's general popularity and rivalry with Sydney as arguably Australia's most interesting cities.

Let’s be fair. Not everyone knows why they want to come to a city. Sometimes it’s just an attractive far away city that has an exotic appeal. This was exactly how I felt when I decided that Tokyo was going to be my very first stop in my first overseas adventure. I wasn’t totally ignorant about it, but boy, I was fairly clueless.

Most overseas visitors come to Australia to check out the well known cities because of some connection they may have with them. Maybe you read the Book Thief (spoiler alert) and wanted to check out Sydney because that’s where Liesel ends up. Or you watched the recent Australian Open and saw some of the quick shots of Melbourne just before an ad break.

Just as likely, you saw pictures of the Sydney Harbour Bridge, Flinders Street Station or Eureka Tower in a scrappy inflight magazine on your way to LA.

These are as reasonable as any choice, and who is one to judge the preference to visit one mostly random place over another? However, if you specifically came for some insanely crazy street art, you'll be in heaven in Melbourne. The photos I've included aren't of the famous artworks in well-known spots like AC/DC Lane or Blender Lane. These are the serendipitous pieces that we saw along our walks through Collingwood and Fitzroy.

If you find yourself wandering the streets to explore Melbourne's inner cogs and gears, be sure to poke your head around laneways and alleys. There is freaking cool art everywhere (and the artist probably sleeping in a nearby trashcan - so autograph opp?? Jokes).

This was one of my faves. Doesn't the bike in front make for the perfect pic? Check out George_Rose on instagram!

The vibrancy of this art adorns the entire side of a terrace house in Fitzroy. No address given. You need to walk the streets! I have no idea what it is supposed to mean, but I love the Saturn-ring thingy cutting off the dude’s head and opening up his mind to some seriously dark shit.

An atmospheric-blue haired Einstein. What a skylark!

Funny story here. The woman just in shot to the left was encouraging me to get Hayley into the “art scene”. It went something like this:

“Fu$K yeah! Get her into piercings and tats. Fu%^ing yeah. Go for it.”
Love the locals. Harmless, but quite potty-mouthed.

E.T makes an appearance. I think we were coming back from the Abbotsford Convent - also a location of Lentil as Anything, a fab vegan restaurant.

St. Kilda not only home to the pier, Luna Park and Matcha Mylkbar, Coca Cola gets some free advertising here!

The citizens have transformed the visually repugnant concrete bollards installed as a ridiculous terrorism prevention measure out the front of Flinders Street Station into messages of peace. Is this not beautiful? Easy to say – even easier to do (erhhhhm.. go vegan? That’s a start, right?)

Making yourself sick on vegan treats from Smith and Deli almost resulted in upchuck pavement art. Woops. Since becoming a whole-food vegan, I just don’t have the same gastronomic unrepentant ability to inhale junk foods.

Thickshakes, vegan cream-filled donut and marshmallow cake. SO DECADENT!

Spray paint and food aside for a second, I was surprised at the art activism in Melbourne.

The sticker below was found at eye-level on a pole at the St. Kilda pier, while there were quite a few of these vegan campaign pedestrian cross-walk button covers around town. The anti-animal exploitation movement has become extremely visible. It wouldn’t surprise me if it was publicly unacceptable to be eating meat or participating in animal racing (just to name a few things) within a few more years. The progress has been exponential and I’m so glad I’m a part of it.

I have been turning the pages of comics seriously since I was twelve years old. Compelling artwork needs to be coffee table accessible.

My visit to three popular comic stores in Melbourne enabled a recent purchase of Snotgirl #8. I picked her up in the first shop, but I had to check out the other stores as well because they are so close together.

The stairway up to Comics ‘R’ Us. If you’re interested, I’ll hopefully be writing more about Lottie Person in the future. The series is only nine issues in and the first trade paperback is already out with the second available for preorder. Great artwork and sassy story.

Final arty thoughts.

Live your own adventure. Walk your own path. Don’t follow someone else’s blog post tour. Really, this is just some idiot on Steemit sharing crap from a few days in a great city. Go enjoy it yourself and make your own brilliant memories.

No matter where you go, your adventure is your own and you’re the only one who can determine it’s value. While I’ve added a few pieces of art we got a real kick out of, you’ve got to find your own that really resonates with you. You just gotta walk your walk, yo!

While I didn't do it this time round, I could really see myself kicking back against the opposite wall of some new found art with my headphones on listening to some Skrillex dubstep or Daft Punk for ages, as I absorb the colour and line art from across the lane.

Next visit, maybe?

Well, thanks for stopping by, ladies and gents! It's come to that special time where you UPVOTE! (If you're new here, I've not been adding affiliate links or other kinds of promotion...see below!)

All the best,

Nick.

All content is original.

Disclosure: This article was not a paid promotion and was not self-upvoted. Nor were there any affiliate links.

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I’m still looking for an artist to cover my work on my fantasy saga, Adventures in Elowyn Glade. Please make some noise if you’re interested.

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