Sept 16 - The Final Hunt!

  Around 10am this morning Mum and Dad were getting coffees, I was showering and Mr Smart was slowly waking up while waiting for his coffee before he headed home.  At this same time Bertie and my nephew arrived with freshly baked banana bread eager for the hunt to begin!  This kicked off 'packing for the picnic' activities and before we knew it we were all piled into the car, four adults and a three year old, off to hunt for the final seven Mali the elephant statues!

Botani and Mali Dreams

  In all the excitement of getting ready for a fun family day out I forgot to eat breakfast!  This wasn't necessarily a bad thing though, after all the overeating yesterday my blood sugar was only down to 6.0 by this morning.  We parked in Rathdowne Street opposite the Melbourne Museum and set off, turning left at Pelham.  I was carrying the picnic pack which was rather heavy but in fact still weighed less than what I've lost so far!  At the end of Pelham we hit Lygon Street and in Argyle Square we found today's first two Malis.
  We continued through to Lincoln Square for our third Mali, crossing at the Swanston Street tram stops.  My nephew eagerly looked about and said "Can we go on a ride?".  He loves his trams but alas, no tram rides for him today.  I promised that I would take him on a long tram ride the next time we had an Auntie/Nephew day.
  After Lincoln Square we wiggled through to Grattan Street to the front of the University of Melbourne Medical building for a fourth Mali.  My nephew was quite chuffed to see the University and learn that one of his new favourite people studies there.  He had his jumper on at this point as the weather was quite overcast and cool and he enjoyed running along with his jumper arms stretched out, attached to the two adults responsible for keeping him off the road.  We took that duty in turns all day.
  After the Uni it was quite a long walk up Flemington Road to the new Royal Children's Hospital building.  Our fifth Mali awaited us in the foyer.  The new hospital building looks amazing!  They have a two story tall aquarium in there as well as some fantastic brightly coloured and entering art works.  I was really impressed.
  We were all getting a bit peckish by this time and it was a further 1km walk to the zoo through Royal Park following the tram line.  As we reached the top of the path we began to search for a suitable spot to eat our picnic.  We couldn't find a picnic table anywhere!  We did find a number of friendly dogs, one of which insisted on playing fetch with my nephew (much to his delight) and we did eventually find and settle on a park bench.

  The picnic was zucchini slice (I ate three pieces.. I think), Mission wholegrain wraps spread lightly with mayonnaise then layered with Dorsogna triple-smoked ham, Jarlsberg cheese and sliced tomato (I ate three quarters of one), fresh baked banana bread a la Bertie (I had two slices, one at lunch and one at afternoon tea) and ripe strawberries (no idea how many I had, but some!).  Also at lunch there was a very fat unafraid magpie, who came very close to retrieve my nephew's leftovers.
  With lunch finished we pushed on to the front entrance of the Melbourne Zoo.  We were very close so that didn't take long and we found our sixth and seventh Malis.  Yes folks, with that I have now visited all 50 Mali statues!
I'm inordinately proud of the accomplishment, however meaningless it may be.  Here I am pictured with my 50th and final Mali.

  To see my final seven Malis, click here and scroll down to the September 16 heading.

  With all Malis found and my nephew's energy levels flagging (well he had just walked or scootered 4km with the grown ups) Mum and Dad offered to go and get the car and come back for Bertie, my nephew and I.  Bertie and I are both Zoo members which means we get into the Zoo for free along with any children under 16.  So while Mum and Dad took a shorter walk back to the car, Bertie and I took my nephew to see the real live Mali!

  We got there just in time to see elephant snack time!  The elephants had been penned away while the keepers dropped apples, oranges, button squash and other treats all over the enclosure and in their puzzle food boxes.  As we arrived they let the elephants back in, made them all line up and raise their left front feet simultaneously (part of their engagement and training for medical inspections) and then off they went!
  We only spent about half an hour in the Zoo, a luxury you can afford to indulge in as a member, and then Mum and Dad rang to say they would be there to collect us shortly.  We headed to the front of the zoo and piled in the car, exhausted, for the trip home.  Somewhere along the way my nephew and I ended up with matching Mali soft toys.  Can't imagine how that happened... it's not like I spoil him.
   Once we got back home, my nephew fell asleep on the couch watching a cartoon DVD Mr Smart had brought for him while everyone else had a cuppa.  It was a tiring day, rewarding but exhausting.  Bertie soon decided to take her sleeping son off home and prepare herself for the week ahead.  I sat down at my computer and updated the Mali Hunt post!  And wrote as far as this before Mum, Dad and I had to head back into the city for dinner at Cafe 58 with Mr Smart.
  Unfortunately, on our way to the Eastern Freeway I received a text from Mr Smart, on his way to meet us, advising that Cafe 58 was not in fact open on Sunday nights.  As our hurried search for back ups was undertaken, it turns out a lot of restaurants aren't open on a Sunday night!  I would've thought Monday night was a more sensible night to close myself but then I'm not a restauranteur.  Eventually we settled for 'meet near Cafe 58 and pick a place that is open and looks good'.
  So it was that we ended up dining at Colmao Flamenco, a Spanish restaurant about four doors down from Cafe 58 that Mr Smart and I had passed many times and I'd always been curious about.  We went with their Banquet 1 which was well presented, very tasty and had good portion sizes.  We left full but not quite waddling.

    Our starters were a wedge of Spanish Omelette topped with aioli and a dish of chorizo and prawns in a rich spiced tomato concoction (one dish between two people).  I managed to be my clutzy self and splatted my wedge of omelette almost upside down in the chorizo.  The others chose to serve theirs rather more carefully after my demonstration of 'things that can go wrong serving your entree'.
  I had a glass of Jacob's Creek Moscato with dinner that the ever thoughtful Mr Smart brought.  Main course was a lovely chicken and seafood paella.  I got to have two of the mussels because Mum is not over keen on them!  It was a nice sized dish to share between four and they did a clever thing which was only giving you small plates to serve it onto.  As a result you could go back for seconds and still not be overeating.
  Dessert was traditional churros, spanish donuts, with a chocolate dipping sauce and vanilla icecream.  I had two churros and dipped each of them in both available options!
  The staff were a little bit over-attentive during the meal and a little bit under-attentive when it came time to get the bill but over all they were friendly and brought food out at good intervals.  The space is a little bit loud, we all had trouble hearing over the large party seated at the table in front of us but overall we had a good night out.
We will just have to get Mum and Dad to Cafe 58 next time!
  So there you have it, a lovely big day out to cap off a great weekend.  I even remembered tonight that I have my diabetic educator appointment first thing tomorrow morning so I'll be able to sneak in an extra half an hour of sleep!
  Wishing you a pleasant easy-going Monday,
  Jess