With the alarm set at 5.30, we quickly dressed and went down to reception. Luck was on our side and a cab was waiting at the front of the hotel. After explaining where we needed to go, the driver found it on Google maps and we were off to Zillmere Parkrun around 30 mins away.

So in Brisbane as the temperature is generally between 20 and 35 degrees all year round, Parkruns start at 7. Bizarrely even though this is one of the elusive ‘Z’ locations it is a fairly quiet event with only around 100 participants. So just to explain in the whole of the UK, with over 900 parkrun locations, none begin with Z, so it’s a little tricky trying to do the alphabet of parkruns.

There were a few of us from the UK and it was a pleasant enough 2 lap run round the edge of some fields. The temperature already low 20’s. After the run we went to a cafe with Stewart and Sarah from the UK (new Parkrun friends) for egg and bacon muffins. 

We then caught the bus back to the city and returned to the hotel for showers. 

By 11 we were back out in the sunshine and walking to the Queensland Museum, we went around some of the exhibits but it was very busy with families being Easter. 

We walked along the very crowded South Bank to The Plough Inn, a heritage listed hotel built in 1885. The temperature was around 30 so we found a table in the shade and ordered some chips and calamari to share along with our drinks. It was absolutely rammed and we waited almost an hour for the food but 2.5 hours later we were still sitting there drinking as a Marco Pierre White look-a-like had turned up to do some live singing with his guitar. He was actually quite good! 

I was having a bit of trouble with my ankles after the run so we took a very slow walk back to the hotel to take shelter in our nice air conditioned room and rest my leg. We had a read and another shower before changing for dinner 

We were meeting Garry at 7.30 at Pochana, a Thai restaurant luckily only a 8 min walk from the hotel. There must have been 20 people queuing outside so it was a good job Garry had booked our table. The food was absolutely amazing and we just dived into eating it so I didn’t get a picture. Dave had beef panang curry and I had chilli basil crispy pork with some sides of steamed rice and noodles. It was some of the nicest thai food we have ever had.

Next we visited Gilhooleys, an Irish bar in case you hadn’t guessed, to catch up with Garry as we hadn’t seen him since 2012 (apart from yesterday!). We had a very enjoyable evening listening to his music interests and sharing stories of each other’s travels. We also found out he does a weekly radio show about films on the 4ZZZ station. 

Around 11.30 we said our goodbyes and headed back to the hotel.