A bit of Pimms, fancy bags, over the top hats.....must be that time. Royal Ascot!! In my quest to do as many things "British" before my stint in the mother country comes to an end, my friends (Sarah squared) and I snagged some tickets to the premier racing event in Berkshire. After weeks of picking the perfect dress, bag, shoes, and head-wear, we were off on a gray and chilly summer's day.Admittedly we felt a bit silly walking thru Reading all dressed up, but as we pulled into Ascot station, we realized we fit right in as we were surrounded with some....well....interesting hats and fascinators. Luckily, the weather mostly held out as we toured around the grounds, finally settling on a tent to enjoy a few pitchers of Pimm's and watch the constant parade of race-goers.
Finally, it was time to start the show, and we set off to nab a good spot to watch the Royal Procession. And what a good spot it was!! Finally, after 16 months in the UK, I got to see the Queen, mostly up close and personal! Well....she was about 30 yards away, and there were some security people in between us, but I am sure I saw her smile and wave AT ME!!!! (well.....maybe not :) ).
The rest of the day went by entirely too quickly. In the spirit of things, we places our 2 pound bets on the races, and as luck would have it, I actually picked the winning horse twice! The biggest pay-out being the last race of the day, the Buckingham Stakes, were the winning horse was Manassas. Of course I picked this horse based on the face that it shared a name with the next closest town to my home in Virginia. And it paid off! With my 37 GBP winnings, we celebrated the day with a bottle of bubbly. After all, it just seemed appropriate!
