I wasn't the only one.
We have just "woken up" and it is 12.30pm! Skip breakfast, go straight to lunch!!
The rush and exertion of the last couple of days has finally taken its toll and we all slept like logs for over 12 hours! The kids are heading down to the bakery to get some food while I catch up on the blog.
So, let's recap the last couple of days.
Friday was our last full day in Melbourne so we were up early to make the most of it. First task, find Glenroy post office and collect Sophie's wallet which she left in a shop in Ballarat on Wednesday. The shop express posted it to her at Glenroy, all good.
Next stop DFO (Direct Factory Outlet) at Essendon airport where I gave the kids a strict 45 minute deadline to be back on the bus. They made it, with the obligatory bags of goods.
We drove to Coburg station and took the train into town, then onto Richmond. We were hoping to see the Tigers train at Punt Rd but they were finished by the time we got there so no Cousins or Richo. We hung around for a while and the kids had a game of footy on the oval. A few fans were hanging around for pictures and autographs but the only person to come out was Damian Monkhorst, the former Collingwood ruckman and no-one wanted their picture taken with him! I saw swimmer Michael Klim as I was walking around to the merchandise store where I bought a very nice hard cover book on the centenary of Richmond FC which will make a good present for my brother Bruce if I get him in the Christmas draw.
From Richmond we walked to Fitzroy Gardens, stopping on the way to get some lunch at a great little cafe. The focacia I had was great but the triple choc muffin that followed was "the best muffin I've ever had in my life". My glowing review prompted Joel to get one and he agreed. Alex and Sam decided to try a muffin too on the strength of our recommendations.
At Fitzroy Gardens we tried kicking the footy through the forks of trees and wondered why so many of the trees had large sheets of metal wrapped around them like bracelets. I speculated it was to prevent animals climbing them and a passer-by confirmed it is indeed to keep possums out of the trees. Why they want to keep possums out of the trees remains a mystery.
Our objective was to find Captain Cook's cottage. It was dismantled in his hometown in England transported to Australia and presented to the state of Victoria as a gift on the 100th anniversary of the founding of the state. The cottage was rebuilt in the gardens and is now a tourist attraction. We didn't go in but I did give a brief lesson on the history of white exploration and settlement compared with the occupation of indigenous people. I noted with interest on part of the display at the cottage that Cook was described as the "discoverer of eastern Australia" which is different (and more accurate) than what we were taught at school.
We walked on up to Parliament station and caught a city loop train then made our way to the Queen Vic markets so that I could get Sophie's portrait done by one of the artists there. Haydn got his done as well and described it on the phone to his mum as "hell good". I bought a couple of hoodies for $15 and some more socks. Joel bought a bracelet and Zak bought a carved wooden West Coast eagles "thing". Unfortunately I couldn't find the stall selling "snuggles" so I was unable to buy one for Carolyn.
The markets closed at three and we headed back into town. I had to forgo the visit to the museum to see Phar Lap in favour of getting a picture printed to give to Box Forest as a thank you gift for allowing us to stay at the school. We took the picture in a shop full of AFL gear and got it printed at a place on Elizabeth St while the kids went to Rebel Sport so Tekira could buy a Sherrin footy. He hasn't bough much since he's been here but Aex and Haydn's footies finally tempted him to get one too. I found a frame at a discount store and our thank you gift was complete.
We all met back at the bottom of the Bourke St mall where a South American band was busking. There was a group of kids from Kingsley Football club there too, watching not busking!
Our final destination was Docklands for the big Friday night game and the Bulldogs and Magpies didn't let us down, it was another corker of a game. Collingwood jumped out of the blocks and the Bulldogs had to play catch up, twice trailing by 41 points. They stormed home in the last quarter when Josh Fraser was off the ground injured and got within a point. Daisy Thomas kicked a goal that looked to have sealed it for the Pies but Griffen kicked a goal with 20 seconds to go on the clock! The last 17 seconds was like a furnace but Collingwood prevailed by 1 point and the crowd went through the roof! It was a brilliant game and unbelievable atmosphere and a fitting way to complete our footy program in Melbourne. The kids were all pretty pumped and the Collingwood fans on the train home were in fine voice!
It seems pretty apparent that Geelong StKilda Collingwood and the Western Bulldogs are the stand-out teams in the competition and one of them should be premiers this year.
We had a bit of frenetic confusion at Southern Cross station on the way home, Some trains were delayed and I suggested that Sophie take the kids home to Glenroy on the Craigieburn train while I catch the train to Coburg, on the Upfield line, and pick up the bus. The confusion came when I misheard a Connex announcement and thought I should take the same train as the others and change at Flinders St. I had to jump back off the train as the doors were closing, just managing to drag my backpack through before it pulled out!
They got home first after a change at Flagstaff and I didn't have to wait long for the Coburg train and arrived back at the school not too long after the kids.
It was nearly 12.30 and I sent them to bed as we had a very early, and busy, start to the day next morning.
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