Tourist in Your Own Town

I love to travel. Each year I want to do something grand and I’m searching for that unforgettable experience, but it doesn’t happen that often.

My wife and I love getting down to Melbourne - it’s a great city. We stay in the heart of the CBD and plan adventures from there - mainly centered around food and shopping. We visit a string of cafes, cake shops, and hidden laneways. As the day goes on, we find exhibitions, rooftop bars and pizza joints. We're proper tourists and we love it.

After our last trip, I realised that I’ve never given my home town (Sydney) the same opportunity to entertain me like that. I’ve spent a lot of time in Sydney CBD, but that isn’t the same as being a tourist. When you’re a tourist you look for new experiences and adventure - you're open to new things.

This year, that is what we are going to do - plan a ‘holiday’ in our home town and experience the best of it.

Here's what we are thinking:

Accommodation

To take yourself out of the ‘norm’, I reckon you need to stay somewhere different. It could be house sitting for someone, it could be staying in a hotel, or (my preference), finding a rad place on AirBnB for a few days and live the high life.

Transport

When we can, we'll take public transport. Not having to worry about driving and parking will really change the experience - we'll see way more of the city this way too. When you drive yourself around, you'll stick the routes you are comfortable with and it won't feel so foreign.

Travel Light

Since you'll be close to home, there's no reason to pack everything you own. Pack light and simple and leave the rest at home. Exactly like the Bare Bones wallet :)

Attractions

My wife and I did a whole weekend in Melbourne with all the recommendations coming from The Thousands - an online magazine about cities written by locals. It was great! We found some incredible places we wouldn’t have otherwise.

Another option is to go to the most ‘touristy’ places and see what else they recommend to travellers.

The idea is to visit places you wouldn’t normally. Make it feel like a city you’ve never been to.

Capture the Kodak Moments

We're going to photo document the whole thing and make it feel like a holiday we don't want to forget. The photos aren't for social media and I'm not going to spend time with filters. Just point, shoot, capture for later.

For my family (my wife and 2 kids) this will be a lot of fun. It’ll make travelling a lot more simple and leave us heaps of space to find the good times.


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