Girls' Melbourne Cup Trip

(More photos on left)
Alyssa: After 6 months of planning in advance, the girls, Angela, Amy and Jody finally arrived in Melbourne on Saturday morning for a 3 and 1/2 days break in time for the spring race carnival. We hit the streets of Melbourne for some serious shopping not too long after the plane touched down and spent the rest of Saturday night (and early Sunday morning)dancing away at a city club confident that we still have all the moves and stamina for this recreational past time.

By Sunday, Melbourne city was buzzing with the spring race carnival and the upcoming Melbourne Cup race. Caught up in the 'Cup' atmosphere, Angela and I enjoyed many hours that Sunday hunting for the perfect 'fascinator' to co-ordinate with our Cup outfit along with many other like minded females flocking the hat boutiques. Sunday night we slowed down the pace with an early dinner at a popular Melbourne restaurant, La Cicciolina, followed by a quiet night in watching horror DVDs whilst sipping wine and feasting on chocolates and strawberries.

Monday was our indulgence day where we treated ourselves to a 90 minute massage and facial at the lush Chuan Day Spa. We spent the rest of the afternoon at the Chuan lazing around the pool and jacuzzi overlooking Melbourne city and enjoying total hedonism. That night we had dinner at a lovely Japanese restaurant where we were delighted to engage in conversation (and exchanged betting tips for the Melbourne cup!) with Darryl Somers from Hey Hey it's Saturday and Ian Dickson from Dancing with the Stars. Our encounter with minor celebrities during dinner provided us with entertainment as we were momentarily reduced to pubescent girliness, however, we managed to regain composure by the time we finished our desserts!

Tuesday was an early start for us girls as we frocked up, dolled up and got ready for the buzzing excitement of the Melbourne cup carnival. With fascinators in place, we headed to Flemington race course for the big event. We dodged our way through the crowd of thousands of people and placed our bets with fingers cross that we may be able to collect enough winning for a serious shopping spree. The crowd atmosphere was phenomenal as we witnessed history in the making with Makybe Diva crossing the finish line right in front of us. Angela and Jody won on their bets with Makybe Diva, however for Amy and I, our box trifector unfortunately did not make us rich.

The girls left for the airport after the race this afternoon in high spirits and contemplated on including the boys in the fun for next years' Melbourne Cup trip!