there are a lot of things i love about melbourne.

the lazy drives with me sitting on the passenger seat staring into an endless stretch of bushes and landscapes and clouds. it seems to go on and on forever and i seem to lose myself in the vastness of the scenery. the blueness of the skies. the fluffiness of the clouds. the skinny branches of the trees. the depth of my thoughts.

i love the train rides when it’s not rush hour and i get to sit by the window. especially on the weekends because that means unlimited bus, train, and tram rides to anywhere and everywhere for half the regular fare.

i even came to love the deafening silence during those daily 4:52am commute. watching the rest of melbourne slowly wake up with every train stop that opened the doors to more early birds like me.

you tell me how lucky i was that nothing bad happened to me during my 15-minute walks back and forth to rosanna train station every day for six weeks during such ungodly hours. while i’m grateful to my angels for keeping me alive, i’m happy to have experienced that ritual just the same. there was me, my music, and my five layers of clothing to keep me from freezing in the biting winter cold. watching in fascination the condensed vapor coming out of my breath.

i love the sound of the warning bells that signals an oncoming train. the boom easing itself down. red lights flashing. it’s always a treat for me when we happen to stop right in front of the railway crossing and the train whizzes past my eyes. the boom lifts and everything’s back to normal again.

and how can i not love that bridge whose name escapes me now? where you get a nice view of the melbourne star. even snap a quick phone picture when you’re lucky it doesn’t come out blurry. always a hit-or-miss, that one.

and, of course, there’s the graffiti that grab your attention wherever you are. authentic street art images that bring out the philosopher in you. demystifying the inner workings of life while you perpetually figure out yours.

i love the random creatures i see — horses on the side of the road; snails on our mails; a kangaroo running in the wild. the very first time i saw one that wasn’t fenced in. you were busy looking for the quadcopter you just crashed near that buddhist temple and i literally stopped dead on my tracks to mentally exclaim, “omigod! a kangaroo!”

except for spiders. that’s where i draw the line as far as loving random creatures is concerned. and snakes too. and worms. and grizzly bears if austalia’s got them.

and then there are the beaches that we go to. you buying me strawberry gelato while i wait in the car because the heater is warm and i feel cold. an outdoor version of us sharing a tub of connoisseur pistachio ice cream at home on a really cold night standing right next to the heater.

other nights when we happen to be in the city, there’s hot lemon at dessert story to beat the cold. i never fail to get kiwi forest whenever we’re there, though. yep, even when i’m fcking cold. and when i’m all frozen inside and out, i beg you to help me finish it before i steal a couple of sips from your hot lemon drink to thaw me. leaving me with a scalded tongue that i nurse during the entire ride back home.

hot chocolates were never really my thing but they were yours. you claimed that they made you fat. i worried that they were gonna give you diabetes. but i have to agree. it is kind of sweet sharing a cup with you. like that time we accidentally stumbled into a lindt chocolate cafe at chapel street.

if it’s not food that’s making me warm (and fat) all throughout autumn and winter and spring (because who am i kidding? melbourne’s cold practically all year round!), there’s my trusty old booties to keep my toes warm and comfy.

and when the sun sets into fiery reds and oranges against the black silhouette of trees and its branches, i love to stand outside our window upstairs and watch the world graciously transform itself.

tomorrow’s another day.

but out of all things melbourne that i love, hands down, you’re the one i love the most.