We had a productive, tiring, and really fun weekend!
We spent Saturday basically doing errands. We basically walked across downtown Nairobi in the morning to go to a repair shop to try to fix a wireless modem (no luck), and we spent the afternoon at one of the local malls (the Sarit Center) getting a new wireless modem, going grocery shopping, etc.
Sunday was the fun day. First we went to the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust Elephant Orphanage, where we got to pet baby elephants! I have been so excited to do this with Toby. We happened to be right near where the elephants walk to get to where they are fed bottles of milk and tree branches, so Toby got to touch one little one when it was walking in, and most of the group of 10 slightly older ones when they were done eating and left to forage in the bush for the day. It's only open to the public from 11am-12pm each day, and it was totally mobbed today, but I'm still glad we went.
Then we went to a lovely nearby restaurant and art gallery called Matbronze for lunch.
After that, we went to the African Fund for Endangered Wildlife Giraffe Center, where you can feed giraffes! I've also been so excited to do this with Toby.
We got home mid-afternoon, and relaxed for a few hours. Then we went to what is probably my favorite restaurant in Nairobi: Furusato Japanese Restaurant! That might seem like an odd choice, but they have really delicious sushi, especially their tuna avocado soyuae - which is sort of famous among those of us who come to Nairobi to do prehistory research. Given Toby's bedtime and Nairobi rush hour traffic the likelihood of us going out to dinner on a weeknight is slim (except to the restaurants at the two hotels within close walking distance), so I figured Sunday night would be the best option. We were joined by my friends/colleagues Katie, Jen, Tom, and Shara. It was a great way to end the weekend, even if the evening started with Toby putting his napkin on his head. (To be fair, I suggested he try it.)
We spent Saturday basically doing errands. We basically walked across downtown Nairobi in the morning to go to a repair shop to try to fix a wireless modem (no luck), and we spent the afternoon at one of the local malls (the Sarit Center) getting a new wireless modem, going grocery shopping, etc.
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| A view of a Nairobi street from a pedestrian bridge |
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| We walked by a large market downtown |
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| Someone has opinions about mangoes, which we eat most nights for dessert |
Sunday was the fun day. First we went to the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust Elephant Orphanage, where we got to pet baby elephants! I have been so excited to do this with Toby. We happened to be right near where the elephants walk to get to where they are fed bottles of milk and tree branches, so Toby got to touch one little one when it was walking in, and most of the group of 10 slightly older ones when they were done eating and left to forage in the bush for the day. It's only open to the public from 11am-12pm each day, and it was totally mobbed today, but I'm still glad we went.
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| Seems like a reasonable warning |
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| The elephants are coming in to eat! |
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| One elephant went a little off the main path and right by Toby, so got to pet it |
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| Yay baby elephants! |
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| They drink milk from their bottles like it's their jobs! Oh, wait... |
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| They also eat tree branches |
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| This little one seemed to like lying in the dirt |
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| Elephants at play |
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| This one kept waving one ear at a time |
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| I couldn't help thinking about the elephant hokey pokey: "you put your right ear in, you take you right ear out, you put your right ear in, and you shake it all about..." |
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| The second group came in about 2/3 of the way through the hour - slightly older babies |
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| The bigger babies and their keepers - each has a special keeper who takes care of it |
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| Yum yum tree branches |
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| Chomp |
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| As the second group left, we made our way to where they were walking. I was trying to get the Toby petting the parade of elephants on video, but one walked right behind me and rubbed my back and I got so startled that I forgot to push play on the video! I'm glad I got this photo at least. |
Then we went to a lovely nearby restaurant and art gallery called Matbronze for lunch.
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| Bronze sculptures all around |
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| They had really amazing art |
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| Toby really liked this seahorse sculpture |
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| Toby with a larger than life sculpture of a pair of crested cranes, one of my favorite East African birds |
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| He spent quite a bit of time looking at everything |
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| He was very intrigued by this elephant head sculpture with eyes that changed colors. "But mom, where's the body?" |
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| Lunch: a burger and salad for mom, pizza and a smoothie for Toby |
After that, we went to the African Fund for Endangered Wildlife Giraffe Center, where you can feed giraffes! I've also been so excited to do this with Toby.
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| Details of who's who |
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| Getting ready to go feed the giraffes! |
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| First giraffe pellet, down the hatch! |
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| "Mom, that was awesome!" |
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| Not your usual view of a giraffe |
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| Toby also enjoyed petting this giraffe's neck |
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| Check out that amazing, long, slimy giraffe tongue! |
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| He kept bouncing over to me with excitement after each time he fed a giraffe |
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| More feeding |
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| There's a giraffe behind us |
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| Whew, that was fun! |
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| Adult giraffe with 6 year old human for scale |
We got home mid-afternoon, and relaxed for a few hours. Then we went to what is probably my favorite restaurant in Nairobi: Furusato Japanese Restaurant! That might seem like an odd choice, but they have really delicious sushi, especially their tuna avocado soyuae - which is sort of famous among those of us who come to Nairobi to do prehistory research. Given Toby's bedtime and Nairobi rush hour traffic the likelihood of us going out to dinner on a weeknight is slim (except to the restaurants at the two hotels within close walking distance), so I figured Sunday night would be the best option. We were joined by my friends/colleagues Katie, Jen, Tom, and Shara. It was a great way to end the weekend, even if the evening started with Toby putting his napkin on his head. (To be fair, I suggested he try it.)
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