QLD

Brisbane Park Run Tour – New Farm

April 7, 2019 by Vicky Leave a Comment

Of all of the Park Runs I have tried so far I would say that New Farm is my favourite. Me, Naomi and the Aussie have visited a few times so far and I plan to go back again.

1. Course

The course is lovely, it runs along the river which is one of my favourite places to visit in the city, and back again.

2. Accessibility / Manoeuvrability

The course has nice wide paths so it is easy to go past the other participants and people also enjoying the river on foot/scooter/bikes. Another plus is that it is mainly flat and there are markets nearby which you can enjoy after your run.

3. Volunteers

The volunteers are lovely, very helpful and informative. They are also very encouraging as you go past.

4. Photography

So far I have liked the photos which they publish after the event. They usually take them by the finish line when I try and get that last minute burst of energy to run!

5. Ambience

The best thing about Park Run is the ambience. Everyone is very supportive and positive and it really doesn’t matter if you run it in under 20 minutes or walk it in an hour. The main thing is that you are there giving it a go and getting better every week.

My February Faves & Things I have loved in February 2019

March 10, 2019 by Vicky Leave a Comment

Another month has flown by in a whirlwind but also felt quite slow as I was working my notice at my old company!

I didn’t take a lot of photos it seems but here are my favourites:

During February, Naomi and I went to a recording of The Guilty Feminist at the Powerhouse in New Farm which was brilliant and very amusing. This photo was taken as I walked from my car. I love the city view, especially at sunrise or sunset.
This photo is of a bunch of Galahs which I encountered on one of my morning walks. I walk around the park area a couple of times to make up my 5km’s and so passed them twice. The birds were not too impressed that I interrupted their breakfast on either occasion!
(middle) I took this photo which is literally a giant spiders web that was across the driveway to the house. I have a bit of a problem with spiders and am about as keen about their webs so was not very impressed that one kept making its home across the driveway which I had to walk out of in the morning to go exercise! After a few days the Aussie move the spider and luckily he / she has not returned yet!
We went to watch the fabulous Sarah Millican on her tour around Australia. I think we laughed from the very first moment until she left the stage. At the end she was handing out “No” and “Champion” badges and somehow we ended up with 3!
This photo was taken outside of Brisbane City Hall just before we went inside to watch Sarah Millican.

MOVIES:

On the basis of Sex – This movie is based on the true story of an American Lawyer (Ruth Bader Ginsberg) and her first sex discrimination case when she was acting for a man in a tax law case. Despite the subject of the case itself (tax law cannot be very interesting at all) the movie is brilliant (you should also watch R.G.B ) and I would highly highly recommend it (even if you are not interested in law!)

Stan and Ollie – This is the story of Laurel and Hardy who it turns out I didn’t know very much about. The story was funny as you would expect but also sad when you learnt what actually happened between them. I would recommend the movie.

TV SHOWS:

Berlin Station – the Aussie and I binge watched the three series of the show during February. The show is about American CIA Agents who have been placed in the Berlin Embassy and carry out all kinds of espionage antics all across Europe. If you like a good spy thriller and a good guy/bad guy show then Berlin Station might be for you!

BOOKS:

Two Women by Martina Cole – I haven’t read any books by Martina Cole before and picked the book at random on my Kindle app but really enjoyed the book. The book starts with a woman being transported to a new prison whilst she appeals a murder conviction and jumps back and fourth from her brutal childhood up to the present day. The twists and turns keep you guessing about what actually happened to result in her incarceration.

Things I have Loved This Month – November 2018 – Blogmas Day 12

December 12, 2018 by Vicky Leave a Comment

November was a fantastic month, not least because I had my birthday but also because we got out and about again.

Theatre
Don Quixote at QPAC – I was lucky enough to be gifted a double pass ticket to the ballet to watch La Scala’s Don Quixote. I love going to the theatre and always enjoy the ballet and I was not disappointed by Don Quixote. If the tour reaches your city I can highly recommend it.

Movies
As a result of not reading the listing correctly we saw not only Fantastic Beasts and Where to find them and Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald. I booked us tickets to what I thought was an advance screening of The Crimes of Grindelwald and about 2 minutes in realised it was not a recap of what happened in Where to Find them, it was in fact a screening of that movie! A couple of weeks later we made it to The Crimes of Grindelwald which I quite enjoyed. I am not keen that Johnny Depp is in either movie for the various reasons which are set out in various reviews of the movies. I also prefer the Harry Potter franchise. However, it is also lovely to be immersed back into the world of Harry Potter again.

Exploring
The Aussie and I visited Redcliffe at the start of this month. The Aussie had been before but I hadn’t. We fancied going for an afternoon walk and after searching for locations for sunset, settled on Redcliffe. You can read about our trip here.

My Birthday Adventures – this had to be on the list! I had a really lovely birthday weekend which you can read about here.

Things I have Loved this Month – September 2018

October 3, 2018 by Vicky Leave a Comment

September is done and we are now well into spring here in Brisbane and I cannot wait for the Jacaranda trees to bloom and to spend time out in the sunshine.

Below are a few of the things I loved.

Movies
The House with a Clock in its wall – this was very sweet film cast with Jack Black and Cate Blanchett would were perfect. The storyline is as simple as the title suggests but the film is filled with positive messages, quite cute “bad guys” and great acting. We managed to see the movie before it was actually released but we would definitely recommend giving it a go.

Live / Theatre & Shows

Brisbane Festival – the Aussie, Naomi and I had some tickets for the Brisbane Festival and we got to enjoy Bang! Bang!, En Masse and Seance. I really enjoyed the shows we saw / participated in but my favourite was definitely En Masse which was a production at QPAC which was created by Circa who are a Brisbane based performance company. The performers were exceptional, it was amazing what they could do with their bodies and just the trust they had in each other as they literally threw themselves at and from each other. I will definitely look out for their future tours.

Adventures

Walkabout Creek Adventures – At the start of the month we had the Aussie’s sister to stay and spent the day at D’Aguiler National Park kayaking, playing on segways and enjoying being outside in nature. We bought tickets for Walkabout Creek Adventures on Groupon which gave us access to the kayaks, paddle boards, mountain bikes and segways for the day. We didn’t get through everything which was available but it is a place where we will get back and the Groupon discount helped a lot!

Glasshouse Mountains – we also visited the Glasshouse Mountains with the Aussie’s sister which included a lovely trip to beautiful and quaint Montville. Montville is full of historical buildings and lots of lovely little shops selling everything from ginger to cuckoo clocks. A day was not enough time and it is on the agenda for when we can get away for a few nights to explore.