#melbmoment

Sometime last year, I had a conversation with someone I met through work that went something like this:

Me: “Boysenberry ice-cream is my favourite, but you can just never get it anywhere besides in Choc Top form at the cinemas”. (All of my conversations are always about food, just in case you didn’t know. Even when I’m working.)

Work client: “Do you know there’s actually an amazing homemade ice-cream shop outside that big wheel in the Docklands that does the best boysenberry? Shop isn’t too flash but ice-cream is great”...

Me: “Oh really? What a shame, I never go to the Docklands”.

I remember this conversation well because I think about it every time I want ice-cream and am disappointed that there are so many variations of salted caramel available and no boysenberry.

In early December while in my car I heard a radio ad on Nova 100 calling for applications to be a Melbourne City Reporter for Summer for The City of Melbourne. And I excitedly applied because I love Melbourne and like to think I know a lot about it. Fast forward to now and I have just wrapped up the gig. And while I’m still confident I was the right person for the job, I’m surprised to say that I learnt a heck of a lot!

When you live in such a vibrant, dynamic city like Melbourne, there is never a shortage of ways to go out and have fun. But there are so many things that you simply don’t think about, unless you get the opportunity to look at them through the eyes of a tourist. That was what this competition made me do, if by chance or on purpose. Why wouldn’t I, a self-proclaimed “Melbourne expert”, be well-versed on the Docklands when it’s only five minutes from the CBD via a free tram? The same can be said about outdoor cinemas in Parkville, shopping in North Melbourne or, as demonstrated in the photo above, the bikes you can hire in the city. It’s almost as if as locals we love being the first to jump onto the next craze and then the next, but forget about all the other truly amazing things always around us we haven’t even explored. Hiring one of these bikes, for example, is perfect for me because I love to ride but I’m really lazy and get over it really quickly, so I can get my bike fix so easily with these! And I probably never would have tried it if it weren’t for this competition - I would’ve just continued to walk past them everyday and not even think twice.