So Spring Carnival week in Melbourne can only be described as, simply amazing, with all sorts of meanings. There are 4 races during the week, each sponsored by a big company. The week starts off with Derby Day on Saturday, followed by Melbourne Cup on Tuesday, Oaks Day sponsored by Crown on Thursday, and Emirates Stakes the following weekend. Everyone is not only totally psyched about betting on their favorite horses but even more excited about the Fashion. Extreme fashion has completely taken over this event and it is a time for elegance and extravagance. The main attractions are the women's hats or fascinators (ornaments for your hair) and matching dress/ensemble all the way to your shoes, purse, and jewelry. Each day has its designated dress day (i.e. black/white classic, subtle colors, extravant colors, etc.) and every woman is carefully and beautifully dressed. The men wear suits, vintage and modern, and the occasional top hat. It is really serious business! Each race day is packed with people sitting in the stands or camped out on the lawns leading right up to the track with blankets, chairs, and coolers full of beer and spirits. (The boys really love their premixed Rum and Cola in the can, while the girls drink champagne). Each day is all about fun, fashion, drinking, betting, and cheering during the incremental horse races throughout the day, and this goes on all week!
Since we are only here for a year, Jaime and I try to do everything we can and so going to some of the races was a definite must. I had so much fun trying on a billion hats! I tried on everything from the little flower clip to the $2,000 brim hat. It was amazing that I could actually wear something huge on my head and it was completely normal. Jaime had to work during the week and my sister-in-law Caitlin was arriving from China on Melbourne Cup day so we decided to go to the first race of the week, Derby Day. I picked out my little fascinator and carefully placed it on my head. I wore my classic black and white dress with my purple ashmina and Jaime looked great in his proclaimed "sporty suit". And we were off to the races! The weather predicted rain, which it started to sprinkle by the time we got our start to the day. It then proceeded to pour steady buckets and buckets of rain throughout the rest of the day.
Now, on a side note, apparently the weather here is completely abnormal, no matter what happens, such as monsooning for a full day without stop, abnormally cold days in November, everyone always says..."It's never like this." I am starting to get a little skeptical about this whole "really hot summer" thing. The weather is better described as...Spring...kinda...ah,Summer...No, Winter, No...wait...Monsoon!...ok...Summer? (shrug).
We were told over and over again that last year Derby Day was "roasting hot". But this year, while wearing my cute little hat, the 10 year drought finally came to an end.
Here we are wet.
Here is everyone else...wet.
Jaime and I stuck it out, we had a beer and a "gourmet" hot dog, and cheered on a few races. It wasn't the total feel of what the day is usually like, but the racecourse was beautiful and the horses were powerful, and we got the general idea.
Then we got ready for our first guest! Jaime's sister, Caitlin, arrived on Tuesday, Melbourne Cup Day, and we were so excited to pick her up! The next few days were a whirlwind of activities. I was so excited to have a companion to run around with during the day that each night Cait and I came home exhausted! On Wednesday, Jaime got out of work early and we drove an hour and a half south of Melbourne to Phillip Island. This is where you get to see the most amazing show, the absolute best one I have ever seen. The Penguin Parade. You walk along the boardwalk to your viewing area where you sit and look out onto the beach. Then you wait until the sun just goes down, and then you see it. All these little native penguins, only 3 inches tall full-grown, they are going home from a day of fishing at sea. They first have to cross the open beach before they get into the brush and make their journey to their little dug-out homes. They wait until sundown to ensure all the predators have gone to sleep before they are exposed as they run across the open beach. Then as they waddle down the path, we got up from our viewing area and followed them as they were alongside the boardwalk. They were absolutely amazing. They usually stayed in groups, some stopped to rest or preen their feathers, some were mating, some were fighting, and some came home to feed their babies. We could watch them for hours. The coolest part was that they didn't even care that we were there. They just went about their routine walking alongside or under the boardwalk, some even made their way out to the parking lot! Jaime mentioned that it was almost like a zoo in reverse as we were maintained on this man-made boardwalk while viewing them in their completely natural habitat and their normal daily life. It was so cool. So come visit me, and I take you!
The next day Cait and I went out to find her a fascinator for her hair so that we could get all dressed up for Oaks Day. We got all dolled up, put some funky things on our heads, and we were off! This day was beautiful, a little chilly, but sunny and nice and we had a great day checking out the fashion, drinking our champagne on the lawn, and cheering for our favorite horses right up by the track.
Cait and I in our fascinators!
The Lawn leading up to the track at Flemington Racecourse.
C'mon #2!
Just another day at the Races.
