Around this same time last year, I embraced courage for the adventure of a lifetime – my first solo travel abroad. As someone who’s always had companions during international travels and someone who has quite a fear of flying (hello, Final Destination), my trip down under aka Australia was a huge thing for me. I traveled to Melbourne, Australia to visit one of my oldest friends who now resides there with her family. I marked three different milestones going on that trip:

  1. First solo travel
  2. First visa country
  3. First country to travel to when it was finally safe to travel again
  4. First country to travel to outside of Asia
  5. First longest travel period
  6. First experience of autumn

I’m not a fan of cold weather but I loved every bit of my autumn visit in Melbourne. I think autumn is such a wonderful season to experience. Walking around feeling a cold breeze on your skin while the sun shines and leaves turn golden yellow and red, what’s not to love?

My friend generously hosted me so I saved money on accommodation and food. For over a month, I spent my days in Melbourne exploring the city and nearby areas as a tourist and like a local.

Melbourne: the coffee capital of the world

As someone who loves coffee and can’t go a day without at least one cup, I was thrilled to discover that Melbourne has so many coffee shops! And since it was autumn days in Melbourne, I always had a hot coffee in hand.

At Beee Happy, a coffee shop near my friend’s apartment building
At Godiva Cafe
Coffee after a visit to the museum, learning all about Melbourne, Victoria’s history
Crepes and coffee after a visit at Albert Park in Port Melbourne
Came for the yummy baked goods and coffee at Heart Bakes in Port Melbourne

My Favorite Way to Get Around Melbourne

While in Melbourne, I often used the trams to get around. It was a convenient way to get to places. One of my most memorable experiences in Melbourne was getting lost riding a tram. Not once, but twice! Once I was going to visit the catacombs at the State Library Victoria but I rode an old tram that didn’t have the LED screen that showed the upcoming station. Even though my friend had told me what station to get off at, I was so confident I could navigate independently that I missed my stop! Needless to say, I missed the catacombs tour. Luckily, I could get off at the next station and transfer across to catch a tram to return. The second time was a funnier experience and my friend couldn’t stop laughing at me when I told her about it. I took the wrong tram going back to Port Melbourne. I got the tram number right but it was going the other way, far away from where I was supposed to alight. I was with another FIlipina at that time, a friend of hers, who went book shopping with me. She’d been living in Port Melbourne for about six months already during that time.I thought she knew how to get home using the tram. Turns out, she was an Uber kind of girl and depended on me, the tourist, to get us back home.

Places I Visited in Melbourne

There are so many things to see and do in Melbourne! I loved that about the place. It felt like my life in Metro Manila, where I am always exploring a new restaurant or cafe, going to an exhibit, etc. Except Melbourne is way better, way cleaner than Metro Manila.

At the Tesselaar KaBloom Festival of Flowers where I wore my white floral Kate Spade dress
At the National Shrine of Remembrance

A photo in front of Flinders Street Station, the second busiest train station in Australia

At the Royal Exhibition Building, an icon of Melbourne’s history. I was right on time for the reopening of its doors to a unique view unseen for 100 years.

In front of the Marvel Stadium, where major sports and entertainment events in Melbourne are held

I also went to visit Daylesford with my friend. It’s a beautiful spa town outside of Melbourne with plenty of restaurants, spas, and gardens. What a charming place it was to visit.

We did wine tasting at Passing Clouds while in Daylesford. No, I couldn’t tell the difference between each wine! LOL!
I didn’t get to join the Catacombs tour but I still got to explore the State Library of Victoria. Opened in 1856, it’s the third oldest public library in the world. It also occupies an entire street block!

My friend also took me to the Royal Botanical Gardens. Sometimes there are events held here. I attended a flower festival show here because I’m a plant tita. But on days without events, you can relax here, commune with nature, read a book, or have a picnic.

Also went to watch the strip tease show, Magic Men and got a photo with Will Parfait. He looks like Channing Tatum doesn’t he?

The Exhibits I Went to

Aside from scoping out the cafes in Melbourne, I also checked out a couple of interesting exhibits while living there.

I went to ACMI to check out Goddess: Power. Glamour. Rebellion. The exhibition honored female celebrities who defied gender norms, took charge of their own careers, and stood up to an oppressive system. The remarkable accomplishments and influence of the screen’s most prominent gender revolutionists are honored in this CMI-curated show. These goddesses are nevertheless much more than clichés, despite being relegated far too frequently to the roles of bombshell, starlet, and film siren.

When I was making my Melbourne itinerary, I learned about the Alexander McQueen Mind Mythos Muse exhibit from one of the Melbourne-based Instagrammers. I thought how cool it would be to see this. After all, he’s a well-known fashion designer! Hello, strange-looking and can-you-really-walk-in-those- shoes, Lady Gaga?

I highly enjoyed my visits to both exhibits. Metro Manila may have a lot of events but certainly no exhibit like those two!

I Left my Heart in Melbourne

When I tell people about my long stay in Melbourne, they look disappointed that I didn’t explore any other Australian territory. But I honestly loved my days in Melbourne. I got to know the place so much and got to appreciate it.

Melbourne’s town hall lit up during the Melbourne International Comedy Festival

This free walking tour allowed me to learn so much more about Melbourne’s history

Did you guys know that Melbourne was the first to implement the 8-hour work week in the state of Victoria? Back in the 1800s, most Victorians worked 14 hours a day, six days a week! Can you imagine that? Now workers enjoy 3 months of paid leave if they’ve been working for 6-8 years already. In the Philippines, you can enjoy paid time offs but the number of vacation leaves you can avail depends on your company. It’s called a long service leave. But it’s still nothing compared to 3 months of paid time off! Melbourne also has a lot of public holidays and yes, there’s overtime pay. As an employee myself, that sounds very appealing. I guess Melbournians value their work-life balance.

I had a great time in Melbourne! I think it’s a wonderful place to live in! Living there for a month, I can see why it makes the list of the top 10 for world happiness. If I’m going to live in another country, Melbourne, Australia would be my choice. Of course, I have yet to see the other parts of Australia! It’s such a big continent!

For now though, I will say that Melbourne has won me over. I would love to come back there and maybe even stay longer.