Royal Treatment

Watching the races
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Patrick and I attended Royal Ascot in the Royal Enclosure.  We had such a fun day.  We took the train to Ascot and quickly found ourselves in the Pimms tent.  Horse racing and Pimms seem to go hand in hand in this country, and we were not complaining about that.

After our bevies, we headed into the Royal Enclosure and though we weren't sure what to expect, we were sure that we would be awed.  And boy were we.  The money that surrounded us was amazing - I have never felt so poor or so priveledged in my life.

favorite part of the day was looking at all of the fancy hats

He looks so handsome in his morning suit
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After a quick bite to eat and a trip to the betting office, we took our position (front and center) to see the enterance of the Queen.  Although my pictures turned out a bit crap, we were quite close to her and just awestruck by the regality of it all.

Once the races began we had even more fun.  If you can believe it we won a bit of money - £23, but its better than a kick in the teeth.  Seeing all of these people go crazy for horse racing was way more exciting than I imagined possible.

Ascot race course
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My favorite part of the day was looking at all of the fancy hats.  Women at Ascot are required to wear a hat, and in the Royal Enclosure, men are required to wear a morning suit.  Everyone there looked so posh, but some of the things that pass for hats are crazy.  We saw one that looked like it could have been a satelite dish it was so huge.

For any Canadians who will be in London for any upcoming Royal Ascots, it is worth getting in touch with the Canadian High Commission to see if you can get an invite to attend.  It was quite expensive for our lowly budget, but well worth it.