I love traveling solo. I have been doing it since I was 8 years old, when my parents first sent me on an international flight to Indonesia. There is something whimsical and and adventurous about taking on a city, state, country, or continent by yourself. It's a great time to reflect and do things that you might not otherwise have done with a group of friends. You get to go at your own pace, see what you want to see, and it's nice to have alone time. Instead of being distracted with conversation, you're able to engage more with your surroundings and fully utilize your senses. I find that I'm able to take in more and let the sights, sounds, and smells of wherever I am wash over me in a way that they wouldn't if I had company.
So I took a day to explore parts of Melbourne by myself. I started in the Carlton Gardens, which is just a block away from where I live.
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| A view of the city from the Gardens |
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| The Royal Exhibition Building is one of the world's oldest remaining exhibition pavilions! It is also where I take my law school exams |
After my stroll through the Gardens, I decided to take the City Circle Tram to wherever it decided to go. The City Circle Trams are a free service that make a circle through the city and hit all the main attractions. I believe there are two of them, but I only took the one.
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| Tram stop! |
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| Our first stop was at the Parliament House! |
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| This is what the city looks like from Parliament! |
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| Bourke Street. Look at the trams! And Christmas decorations! |
Once the tram left from Parliament, it went all the way over to Docklands! And I'm a sucker for nice boats, so I had a lot of fun walking around.
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| Water! |
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| Boats! |
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| Odd sculpture! |
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| More boats! |
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| Maybe I should reserve a docking space :) |
After I drooled over boats in Docklands, I went back into the city to walk around Flinder's Lane and its iconic laneways. They are filled with cafes, shops, and restaurants, and it is so cool to walk into a random alley and find a new coffee place to hang out in. There is so much to see and do!
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| Looking into Degraves Street |
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| It is lined with cafes and restaurants! |
One of the coolest things about these alleys is all of the amazing street art and graffiti that you see on the walls. It's so colorful and edgy, and the pictures are nice to look at :)
Melbourne doesn't floor you with amazing architecture or attractions. Its beauty is a lot more subtle, and you have to make a bit of an effort to find its charm. My favorite thing about Melbourne is being able to duck into an alley and always find something interesting. Whether it's a cool bar, cafe, shop, or street art, I know I can count on finding bits of magic scattered everywhere.
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