05/01/2023
Since arriving in Australia, Lachlan has been absolutely smashing the Nutri Grain, on average he has three bowls a morning. No wonder he has been climbing and jumping all over the place.
It was a short drive down the Parade and into the city. Grandpa DAVE was hobbling along strongly, Eloise was not taking any excuses and Her Royal Highness took to her favourite method of transportation. We rendezvoused with Grandma Nicholls and Aunty Amy and headed to the playground.
It was nice and a little strange to be strolling down Rundle Mall, Radelaide’s Style Mile.
We had to take Lachlan to visit the Mall’s Balls, although he fell asleep just before we arrived.
The Spheres (affectionately titled the ‘Mall’s Balls’ by locals) is Rundle Mall’s most iconic artwork. Made from a pair of larger-than-life stainless steel spheres sitting one atop the other, the artwork measures just over 4 metres tall and was brought to life by Vienna-born artist Bert Flugelman. The Hindmarsh Building Society donated The Spheres to the City of Adelaide in 1977 to mark their centenary. Today, The Spheres is a popular meeting place, with most Adelaide locals having met someone at the Mall’s Balls when visiting Rundle Mall. Their shape has become synonymous with Rundle Mall and Adelaide as a whole, appearing on posters, t-shirts — and even the Rundle Mall logo. You’ll often see kids playing with the artwork’s reflections and tourists taking a photo of themselves using The Spheres as a backdrop.
We thought Lachlan, king of the pigeons would be excited to see the statue of his pals but he was still catching up on some much-needed sleep.
As we headed off Eloise found the perfect cooking book for Jo.
In the afternoon we checked out the park with Lachlan riding up top again and having a great time.
The kids’ swingset has been getting a good workout recently.
In the evening, good friends of the blog, the Millards were over for dinner. Grandpa DAVE had his famous Green Egg fired up.
Eloise and Lachlan discovered the hammock which is potentially their new favourite thing.
It was finally the night, or finally the knight, the Glaswegian Knight that is, we cracked into Grandpa DAVE’s and Nali’s Glaswegian blend. While knocking off a few SA Brainwave quizzes, we have a good 18-odd months to catch up on.
This morning it was nice to wake up with no real plans and see where the day takes us. Lachlan was obviously gearing up for a much more adventurous day than what was trending as he tried to kickstart the action. We think it is safe to say he is not scared of dogs anymore.
It was a Special Aussie edition of everyone’s favourite show, Sewing with Sophie, today as the camera crew followed her through her natural habitat scouting out Aussie fabrics.
Eloise then decided that she needed both a new dress and an ice cream so we headed to Norwood Parade for a look-see, it was disappointing to see Manto Cafe gone. It turned into a longer than expected trip as Lachlan was done with the morning.
In her favourite shop, Eloise spotted a hooped green and white jumper, she must be an Aaron Mooy fan.
Once Lachlan had woken up, we returned back to HQ for lunch and a read of the Scottish Banner at Erindale. Supposedly “Scotland’s the place to be in 2023”.
The rest of the evening was spent trying to keep up with Lachlan who had discovered both the staircase of doom and the rocket chair.
In the evening we were lucky enough to get free tickets to the Big Bash, Adelaide Strikers vs Hobart Hurricanes at the majestic Adelaide Oval. Eloise was excited for just her second trip to Adelaide Oval although she was not going anywhere near the mascots outside, she has never been a mascot fan.
Adelaide Oval is a sports ground in Adelaide, South Australia, located in the parklands between the city centre and North Adelaide. The venue is predominantly used for cricket and Australian rules football, but has also played host to rugby league, rugby union, soccer, tennis among other sports as well as regularly being used to hold concerts. Austadiums.com described Adelaide Oval as being “one of the most picturesque Test cricket grounds in Australia, if not the world.” After the completion of the ground’s most recent redevelopment in 2014, sports journalist Gerard Whateley described the venue as being “the most perfect piece of modern architecture because it’s a thoroughly contemporary stadium with all the character that it’s had in the past.”… Its record crowd for cricket was 55,317 for the Second Ashes Test on 2 December 2017 and its record crowd for an Australian rules football match was 62,543 at the 1965 SANFL Grand Final between Port Adelaide and Sturt. Adelaide Oval has also hosted the AFLW Grand Final since 2019… In 1871 the ground was established after the formation of South Australian Cricket Association.
Once we had made it in and away from the mascots we picked up some bucket hats and she was all smiles again.
With no Super Mum or Lachlan about it was a cheeky pre-dinner Calippo. In my defence, it was melting rapidly.
Super Mum, Eloise did actually have a huge dinner, tucking into the seafood basket while enjoying the atmosphere. She was fascinated by the “really small people” up on the roof.
The Hurricanes were battering the Strikers all throughout the ground, Eloise was having a fantastic time. There was a bit of a nervy period when between innings she turned to Hugh and I and passionately requested a balloon, uh oh, we were not sure where we were going to find one of those.
Unbelievably, Hugh’s mate summoned a minion who appeared out of nowhere and gifted Eloise a free members pack, she had so much sweet merch she was a wee unsure what to do with it all. Eloise does love a good flag though and that was more than enough to satisfy the balloon cravings.
As soon as Eloise had got to the Strikers trading cards she said “Dad, I will keep these for Lachlan, Lachlan will like these”, very thoughtful.
It was an unbelievable match as “the Adelaide Strikers pull off the greatest run chase in BBL history[with only three balls remaining]”, this meant lots of fireworks, flames and dancing.
Chris, “the homing pigeon”, then took us the scenic way back but Eloise did not mind she was still waving that flag strongly. Another great Daddy-daughter date!
The Adelaide Strikers are an Australian professional Twenty20 franchise cricket team based in Adelaide, South Australia that compete in the Big Bash League (BBL). Their home ground is the Adelaide Oval, and they play in a cornflower blue uniform. The Strikers were formed in 2011 to play in the BBL, succeeding the Southern Redbacks, who played in the now-defunct KFC Twenty20 Big Bash competition. Their sole victory in the BBL came in 2017–18… The Adelaide Strikers were formed in 2011, as a result of the formation of the Big Bash League.
[…] The kids were excited when they woke up Friday morning. Eloise had to tell Lachlan all about the Big Bash and gave him his special Strikers trading cards. […]