Friday was the end of our road trip...we strolled around Surfers Paradise for an hour and headed to Brisbane. Surfers Paradise is not what I imagined...it had a lovely long white sand beach with great blue sea, but right next to this was a load of skyscrapers. All hotels! It was weird and not much was going on. It didn't take us long to grasp the vibe so we headed off to finally arrive in Brisbane. We found a hostel in West End for Lisa to stay and park her car for free then washed the dishes, packed our stuff up, sorted money out, said goodbye to the girls and off I went to find my long lost friend Kayleigh!

Wahoo...I found where she was working, said a quick hi and headed to her apartment which is a 3 minute walk from her work place! Ideal! It's a lovely little apartment with a nice big balcony. I sorted some stuff, took a shower and then chilled with Kayleigh and Matt all night in the flat with some beers, cheese and biscuits.

We headed out into the town for a few more beers, and a few more...found some cool bars, ended up crashing a gig which was meant to be $30 but somehow we planned it perfectly so we entered the building just before the band was about to start so I think they though we just went outside for a fag break! Haha. Danced all night there, danced all night at another bar and eventually made it home at about 2am. Good night...but not a good morning for hungover Kayleigh and Matt! They were hilarious. It was amazing to see them and felt like we saw each other just yesterday. It's so odd meeting up with friends here because it just seems so normal, nothing odd about meeting on the other side of the world at all, it's such a great feeling and so cool to catch up with close friends.

Saturday was a great wondering day. Kayleigh and Matt did a walking tour for me around Brisbane. I like it. We went through the CBD, Botanical Gardens, South Bank Parkland which had a pool & sand area, on through to South Brisbane, took a coffee in West End which is where Lisa is based then took the ferry back at sunset back to New Farm for another drink and then home to get ready. Ian arrived, guy from New Zealand who has been living in Oz for 5 years. He seemed really cool and chilled so after a couple of beers on the balcony we all headed out to a German cuisine along Eagle Street. It's a classy restaurant bar area which is right by the river and full of atmosphere and young good looking people.

It was a great evening with great food (even if it was $29 plus a bottle of red wine to share...I was happy - a lovely bit of veal schnitzel with potatoes) and great company! After dinner and a few more drinks we decided to chill back at the apartment in the rooftop Jacuzzi with a few more beers. Incredible evening relaxing with some great people (love you Kayleigh & Matt), chatting, looking at the stars.

Despite a late night, Matt, Ian and I were up at 8am; we chilled on the balcony with a cuppa tea and banana and then Mat and I went on a run, and a long one at that! 14k in fact (ran 13k and walked the last...it took us an hour and 15 minutes - I was so proud I managed to run that far, I think it's probably the furthest I have ran before and Mat has been training for ages as he's doing a marathon in a couple of months time so he's all fit already)! He took me on a really scenic route along the river/sea it was cool. He was a good running partner. For the rest of the morning we munched on cheese and crackers, I did some washing and then we went to Kangaroo Point for a public BBQ with Lisa and some other backpackers she met in the hostel. It was so busy, everyone seemed to have the same idea as all the BBQ's were taken. We managed find a great spot by the cliffs looking out at the sea. There ended up being 8 of us, it was lovely and Kayleigh cooked us a burger and chicken leg. Yummy. We then headed to a free comedy night at an old powerhouse, which now has a couple of bars/restaurants and a stage for gigs and comedy nights, some of which are free to see. Kayleighs house mate was there with his girlfriend, and Ian was too so we listened to some good comedy (yes, I even understood all the jokes. Ok, well not all, but most!) When we got back we chilled in the living room chatting and munching nuts and biscuits before we all crashed and headed to bed. I have been sleeping on the sofa, but it's a flippin' comfy sofa I LOVE it! I don't ever wake up, it's perfect.

Monday 29 April...we skyped Niamh and wished her a belated birthday! Sounded like you had a great weekend Niamh hun...hope the hangover goes soon ;) hehe. Sorry we couldn't make it! I did Davina then started mopping the floor in my gym stuff...now this moment was slightly embarrassing as Kayleighs housemate decided to walk in on me (I was not expecting him to return today) in my sports bra and shorts...yes mopping the floor all sweaty! Nice! I was rather embarrassed but somehow we managed to laugh it off together. I quickly got in the shower to scrub up! We had a good chat and I have been chilling here all day having another sorting day...oh fun times. Online banking, facebook messages, reading Lucy's blog and now writing mine J In an hour (that's 4pm) Cassies friend is coming to pick me up so I have an hour to either sort photos or have a nap...ohh nap sounds tempting I must admit!

All up to date again, yippee. Miss you all back home but glad the sunshine has decided to make an appearance for you.