A day at the races...

A few months ago, we applied to the Canadian Embassy on the off-chance that we might get lucky and be awarded tickets to the Royal Enclosure at the Royal Ascot horse races.

We were thrilled when we received the notification that we had been selected to receive tickets.

Our elation was quickly followed, however, by the realization that we were woefully unprepared for the event and had none of the required wardrobe to even be allowed into the enclosure area.

Lucky again, we found several places around London for Geoff to rent a morning suit and even found a place for Beth to hire a hat for the day.

Outfitted in our best hired clothes and wearing our personalized entry pins, we hopped on the crowded train to Ascot to collect Beth's hat from a random lady in a random car park and then head into the races.    

As we entered the race grounds, we felt almost like we had stepped back in time.  There was a band playing in the bandstand, vendors selling betting tickets and concessions and hats galore.  At the end of the day they even had a sing-song with tunes of yore and flags for everyone to wave!

Although the official program didn't start until 2pm, they advise you to arrive early to enjoy the grounds and activities.  A bit suspicious at first about how we would pass the time, we were amazed at how quickly three hours could pass just wandering the grounds, especially as we quickly ate our high-brow Pizza Express lunch standing up.

There are three different areas of the race grounds.  It is odd to look down the field and see two of the areas totally packed and the third area, the Royal Enclosure, comfortably spacious and with plenty of available seats so not to feel too overcrowded!

We were lucky to grab some front row seats on the balcony right before 2pm to watch the Queen and her royal entourage arrive in horse and carriage.

And then the races began...

There were six races in total.  Four were invite-only and two were open to any horse.  No matter what type of race, the crowd was electric,  watching focusedly and up off their seats as the horses made their final turn.

The races themselves were the only time that day we were weren't lucky - having abyssmal success picking the winners.   A small price to pay for such a memorable day.