When we opened Attakai Carlton on Bouverie Street, I knew we were going to spend a lot of time in the neighbourhood. That is one of the nice things about running a small café. You begin to notice the same streets every morning. You learn which trees are in flower, which parts of the footpath get the afternoon sun, and which people like to come in early for their usual breakfast.
After a while, the neighbourhood starts to feel like part of your home.
Carlton has become that place for Kai and me.
We have our lovely Carlton café, of course, but there is much more around us. On our days away from the counter, we have slowly explored the streets, gardens, museums and old buildings nearby. We rarely make a proper plan. Usually, we just start walking and see where the day takes us.
Sometimes Kai chooses where we go, and on days where we have nothing important to attend to, I’ve learned to follow his whims just as much as I plan out my own. This means we have seen quite a few things that I would probably have walked straight past.
That is one of the nice things about exploring a new place with a child; you are reminded that there is no need to hurry, and that anywhere you end up is a destination of sorts.That is one of the nice things about exploring a new place with a child; you are reminded that there is no need to hurry, and that anywhere you end up is a destination of sorts.
Start with a quiet walk through Lincoln Square
Lincoln Square is one of the easiest places for us to visit because it is just around the corner from Attakai Carlton. It has become one of those places that feels familiar now, even though I still remember the first time Kai and I walked through it.
The large old trees give the square a feeling of being much further away from the busy parts of the city. When the weather is good, people sit beneath the trees, read books, meet friends or simply take a little time outside.
Kai likes to stop and look at everything.
He notices birds that I have missed and small things happening along the edges of the path. Sometimes he watches people for a while and quietly invents stories about where they might be going. I used to think we were wasting time when we did this, but now I understand that this is the point.
A walk does not always need a destination. We get to experience the world a lot more when we aren’t just seeing it as a set of hallways towards a goal. After all, that’s what Attakai’s all about; finding those little moments to take for yourself whilst you watch the world pass by.
If you have just finished breakfast at Attakai, Lincoln Square is an easy place to continue your morning. You can sit for a while, enjoy the trees and let the day begin slowly.
Spend an afternoon in Carlton Gardens
From Lincoln Square, it is not far to Carlton Gardens, and this is probably the place Kai and I visit most often.
The gardens are large enough that you can walk around for quite a while without feeling as though you have seen everything. There are wide paths, old trees, fountains and plenty of open grass. When the weather is warm, people spread out with picnic blankets. On cooler days, there are still plenty of people walking through, often with a dog or a takeaway coffee in hand.
I personally like coming here after a busy morning at the café, as a way to spread my flippers and get rid of some of the stress in my shoulders. Running a café means there are always things to think about. Orders, deliveries, dishes, cleaning, the next morning and the things that did not quite go according to plan. When I walk into the gardens, all of that seems to become a little quieter. ꜀( ˊ̠˂˃ˋ̠ )꜆
Kai has a different way of enjoying the gardens. He wants to see everything, sometimes loudly, though he’s usually very polite and good about it. (●´⌓`●)
He will stop beneath a tree and look up at the branches. He will watch a bird for several minutes. He will notice an interesting-shaped leaf and bring it over to show me, as though he has discovered something nobody else has seen before.
Perhaps he has.
There is something very good about having a place like this close to the café. You can have a busy morning in Carlton and then, only a short walk later, find yourself surrounded by trees.
Look up at the Royal Exhibition Building
Carlton Gardens is also home to one of Melbourne’s most recognisable buildings, the Royal Exhibition Building. (ᵒ̤̑ ₀̑ ᵒ̤̑)wow!*✰
The first time I saw it, I thought it looked almost too grand for the garden around it. Even now, whenever Kai and I walk past, I find myself looking up at the dome and the details on the building.
Kai asked me once why people made buildings so large. I told him that sometimes people simply like making things that are bigger than they need to be.
He thought about this for a while.
Then he asked if our café could have a bigger roof. I told him we probably should not try, especially since it would make the roof very hard to dust for a rather stout penguin.
The building has a long history in Melbourne and remains an important part of the city. Depending on what is happening there, you may be able to visit for exhibitions, events or tours. Even when there is nothing on, I think it is worth walking past and taking a moment to look at it.
It is one of those places where you can feel a little bit of Melbourne’s history without needing to go anywhere special.
Meet the dinosaurs at Melbourne Museum
Just beside the Royal Exhibition Building is Melbourne Museum, and this has become one of Kai’s favourite places.
I should have known it would. (•ө•)♡
There are galleries about natural history, science, culture and the world around us, so there is always something new to see. We have visited on rainy afternoons when the weather has kept us indoors, and we have also gone when we simply had a few hours free.
The dinosaur displays are particularly popular with Kai.
Horridus, the Triceratops, is hard to miss. Standing beside a creature that lived millions of years ago makes the world feel very large. Kai can spend a surprisingly long time looking at the fossils and imagining what these animals were like when they were alive.
I enjoy watching him more than I expected, though it means I often miss parts of the exhibits myself. Luckily, Kai is there to excitedly catch me up on everything, even though I suspect some of what he tells me he has made up. ╮(╯∀╰)╭
There is a special kind of excitement in seeing something through someone else’s eyes. A museum that I might once have thought of as a quiet place to spend an hour becomes a whole afternoon when Kai starts asking questions about everything he has seen.
The museum is also home to Bunjilaka Aboriginal Cultural Centre, which shares stories and perspectives from Aboriginal Victoria. We have found that there is always something to learn, even on a visit that starts with the intention of simply looking at dinosaurs.
See something enormous at IMAX Melbourne
Inside the museum complex is IMAX Melbourne, which gives us another option when we have an afternoon free.
Kai likes the size of the screen.
I think he likes telling people about the size of the screen even more.
We have gone to see films there when we want something a little different from our usual routine. After spending so much time in the café, sitting down in a dark cinema can be a very pleasant way to spend a couple of hours.
There is no rushing around. No dishes to wash. No one is asking where the extra napkins are.
Just a large screen and a little time to ourselves.
It is especially nice on a rainy Melbourne day, when you can leave the café under grey skies and spend the afternoon somewhere warm and dark before coming back out into the city again.
Take your time along Lygon Street
When we want to keep walking, we often make our way towards Lygon Street.
This part of Carlton has such a different feeling from the gardens. There are more people, more shops and more movement. Lygon Street has been closely connected with Melbourne’s Italian community and café culture for generations, and you can feel that history as you walk along it.
Kai likes looking through shop windows.
I like watching the people pass by, and remembering how big the world really is.
There are students heading somewhere, families walking together, people meeting friends and visitors discovering the street for the first time. It is a good place to wander without needing to know exactly where you are going.
Sometimes we end up at a little bookshop on Lygon Street that we frequented when we first arrived. This is where I have learned that taking Kai book shopping is rarely a quick activity.
He likes to look through the shelves carefully. I do the same, although I tell him I am only looking at books about cooking; neither of us is particularly good at leaving with nothing.
There is something lovely about spending time in a bookshop after walking around the gardens or visiting the museum. It slows the afternoon down again. You can browse without needing to hurry, find something interesting and carry a little piece of the afternoon home with you.
Finish the day with a film
Sometimes, after a long day of walking, we end up at Cinema Nova.
It is a nice way to finish an afternoon in Carlton. By then, our feet are tired and Kai has usually told me several times that he is hungry.
We settle into our seats, the lights go down, and the rest of the city disappears for a while.
I like that feeling.
One of the things I enjoy about Carlton is that you can make your day as busy or as quiet as you want. You can spend hours exploring museums and gardens, or you can have a slow breakfast, sit beneath a tree and watch the afternoon pass.
There is no correct way to explore a neighbourhood. ¯\(ツ)/¯
Come and explore Carlton with us
When people visit Attakai Carlton, they sometimes ask me what they should do after breakfast. Quite frankly, I never know exactly what to tell them.
Not because there is nothing to do. Quite the opposite.
There is enough around us that I think everyone should make their own little route. Have breakfast at Attakai, walk around Lincoln Square, continue into Carlton Gardens and look up at the Royal Exhibition Building. Spend some time at Melbourne Museum. Watch a film at IMAX. Wander down Lygon Street. Browse the shelves at Readings. If you still have some energy, finish the day at Cinema Nova.
Or do none of those things; sit under a tree instead.
That is what I have come to like about Carlton. There is always somewhere to go, but there is never a need to hurry particularly.
Kai has taught me that part.
When we first came to Melbourne, I thought exploring a new city meant seeing as much as possible. Now I think it means returning to the same places often enough that they begin to feel familiar.
We have our favourite tree in the gardens.
Our favourite path, our favourite place to sit, our favourite little alcoves that feel like they were made just for us. We know which way to walk when the weather is warm and which way to go when the rain starts.
And after all this time, I still find something new.
Usually, Kai notices it first.
So if you are visiting Attakai Carlton, take your time after your meal. Walk a little further than you planned. Look up at the old buildings. Sit beneath a tree. Go and meet a dinosaur. Find a book you did not know you wanted.
Then, when you are ready, you can always come back to Bouverie Street for some food and refreshments.
We will be here.
~Atta