If you had said to eleven years old me that at twenty-four, I would be living abroad in Australia, I would have been over the moon. Although Melbourne feels like home these days, I still walk over the Princes Bridge on a Friday night with Melbourne’s skyline lit up in front of me, and my heart skips a beat.
Of course, think anyone in their twenties will relate to having those- what the hell am I doing moments. Well, throw a pandemic in the midst and we’ve got a whole load of new crisis’s. I had a small epiphany the other day (in between work and my internship when I was trying to work out if I wanted a coffee job forever, a marketing/PR one or maybe something in-between the two). I realised that maybe there are some benefits of this pandemic. For example, in normal times, If I got to thirty and admitted I had no clue what I was doing, It would be met with sympathetic eyes. However, these days, If I managed to wrangle a job in a supermarket, the response would probably be, ‘high five-you go girl’. Thanks, Covid, It’s nice to have something to blame for the lack of direction.
Anyway, back to where was, in an attempt to cure my wanderlust the other day I decided to go on a little adventure. South America and Asia are off of the cards right now but you know what the next best thing is? A bike ride to Williamstown.
In all seriousness though, I did have a lot of fun. There’s a 12k bike route that takes you from Melbourne CBD via Docklands and Footscray to Williamstown. The ride is really straightforward and incredibly scenic. One of the perks is that you can break it up with some delicious food in Footscray ( I had the best brunch at Rudimentary, which I will do a write up of soon). There’s also this incredibly scenic part of the ride along the bay, which has specular views of Melbourne’s skyline framed by the West Gate bridge. It’s nice when I am feeling a little bit travel Sick to see views like this and reflect that I am very lucky to be where I am right now. The ride ends in Williamstown, Melbourne’s beautiful colonial port settlement and a gorgeous place to wander around and reflect a little.
I am grateful for days like this, especially when I don’t know how much longer I will stay here in Australia either. I don’t know what I will be doing in five weeks, let alone five months. However, there will come a time when I have to make the call to go home, and that’s one of the hardest things about this pandemic, not being able to plan.
I’ve come to realise that all any of us can do these days is collect as many new experiences as we can. Whether that means going on a bike ride you haven’t been on before or just trying somewhere new for dinner. It’s not travelling but it is the basis of it.
Passport Please 