Adventures: Port Melbourne
I had lived an apartment right by the 109 tram not too far away from Port Melbourne for a few months before I finally decided to see what it was like. I arrived in Australia at the end of summer. I was busy adjusting and exploring the CBD for the first time, I didn't think to go to a beach or check out the ocean until later. So one day I decided I would go exploring on my own (as I usually do) and took the 109 to its last stop. It was very quiet and serene when I went. It was the middle of winter in late June, so there was no one around. The nice thing about the 109 tram stop here is that it stops literally right by the ocean. You'll most likely be greated by the sight of a large ship here. Cruises are quite popular from Melbourne to Tasmania so you might see one of those ships around the Harbour.
After I got off it and saw the ship I decided to take a right towards some beaches and walking path. (You'll see the path in the first snapchat) This area is where a lot of condos and apartments are. The beaches here are considered private beaches, not publicly owned beaches. This really just means the management is different. You're allowed to venture off into this area, it's not restricted. I saw a lot of people walking their dogs in this spot, and I saw tons of paw prints in the sand. Overall though, there's next to no people in this area during the winter so it was very nice and peaceful.
I was excited for spring to come soon because that meant that eventually, in the later half, I could go in the water. I had ventured off to a beach in St. Kilda after going on my Shrine of Remembrance adventure for a short while and got a look at the ocean but I didn't get to really see it by myself.
This little adventure was meditative for that because I could take my time being a weirdo and walking by the water when it's super cold out and looking at all the shells. Speaking of which, there were TONS and TONS of shells washed up on this beach. I assume that it just wasn't being maintained during the winter because it was painful to walk on them (poor doggies!). The nice thing about that though is that I was able to pick up quite a few of them and take them with me. I still have mine and keep them in a jar along with the spare Aussie cash I didn't spend yet.
After sitting in the sun (and the cold) for a while on some benches on the walking path by the beach I decided I was going to venture off and explore some more of the suburb. I walked along the beach that was on the other side of the tram stop and could tell by all the seasonally closed food stands along the sidewalk that this was a popular spot. I really wish I could've seen what it was like during the summer months. While I was walking along this area I ran into a small Australian parakeet! You can see him in the snapchat video. Funnily enough, I took a picture of this exact type of bird at the zoo just a couple months before! I was super amazed and impressed. Where I'm from, the most colorful birds you'll see are cardinals. I never thought I'd stumble upon a parakeet in person while walking down the street. It was awesome, and probably stupid to be excited over to Australians.
After that, I was hungry and did some more adventuring. I tried to find a place to eat but I was super intimidated by the small and seemingly empty shops in Port Melb and took the 12 tram back into the CBD. I decided I was feeling especially adventurous and tried a couple places in QV I never had before: Grill'd and Cupcake Family. Grill'd was a little pricey. I also had a strange realization at this point that I was used to calling ketchup "tomato sauce" and that tomato sauce doesn't really taste like ketchup. The strawberry cupcake from Cupcake Family was THE BOMB though
Overall, it was a very adventurous day and a day well spent. Thinking back on this day reminds me of why I want to continue to explore the rest of Melbourne when I return.I hope you all had a great and adventurous day as well!
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