people of melbourne...help me please!

To the babes and lads of Melbourne;

I need your help... but first let me explain.
I've never been one to while away the summer months with work and more work. I seem to need something to enliven me and get me out of the house.
this summer's project? explore Melbourne, suburb by suburb. Reach into her hidden nooks and crannies, traipse across her warm footpaths and sip coffee in her shady cafes until she feels like a well-worn boot.

I only moved to Melbourne at the beginning of this year... I grew up in little old Tasmania for the first 18 years of my life and travelled for 1 year before floating down to roost amongst Melbourne's buildings and trams.
And here's where I make my embarrassing confession: amongst the initial flurry of house-finding, job finding and beginning university, and then the following months of to and fro-ing from my job to my studies; throw in several trips to Tasmania to see my family and one to New Zealand, i've come to the realisation that I hardly know Melbourne at all. If people ask me for directions or tram advice, i'm less use than than the tourist  in sensible shoes speaking rapid polish and holding a guide book. If someone mentions which area they're from, I feign knowledge and sagely nod as they complain about commuting times, whilst I conduct a frantic search of my brain to find any scrap of information about the said suburb, whether it be  Moonee Ponds, Footscray or South Yarra. Without fail, the result will be zilch. My head is an empty attic with cobwebs in the corner and floating dust mites when it comes to Melbourne and its high time I rectify the situation.

enter the 2012/13 summer project: learn Melbourne to the point its as familiar as the back of my hand, or at least to the point that I no longer get into embarrassing arguments over whether Melbourne is on the coast or not... (needless to say I lost that one!).

But I can't do this alone my dears... as informative as guidebooks can be, they only give the cliff-notes version, and I want the Hemingway masterpiece with the poetry of Frost thrown in for good measure. Thus, I am sending out a plea to all the Melbournians out there (or anyone who has been to Melbourne for that matter-i'll wager you could help me more than you know) ... tell me all about your 'burb. What's your local watering hole? where do you go for second-hand bargains? are there any nifty places or unnaturally green parks nearby? Which fruit and veggie shop has the gorgeous Greek guy working on sundays? Tell me about local superstitions and claims to fame; enlighten me on the fabled east/south/north/inner/outer/whatever else competition and regale me with the absolute must-sees of the city.

I have little more than a month before my Summer begins and I set out on my bike, long-suffering sister in tow, bathers shoved in the bottom of my bag as a just in case. I beg of you, please, help me create my map, fill my backpack with tidbits of information, even tell me what I shouldn't be doing. Or, if you are the most amazing person ever, offer to meet me in person and drag me to the places that define Melbourne for you.

i can't wait to hear from you! i can't wait to start! what area will it be?
lots of love,
Caitlin