mEMYries: June 1st

DERBY DAY! As Allison says, a major bucket list item for her! She really wanted to go to something that we had to wear hats and she got us tickets in the Queen’s Grandstand! Might as well do it right! We took a cab to the Epsom Downs, had a bit of food and a Pimm’s Cup (the traditional derby drink) and enjoyed admiring all of the ladies in their wonderful outfits and the men in their top hats and tails! Not long after we got there the Queen arrived! It was so exciting to be in the same section as her! Eugenie, Beatrice, Duke of York (Andrew), and Duke of Edinburgh (Phillip) all came with her. Once she arrived we decided to try and bet even though neither of us really knew what we were doing. Allison placed a bet on the first race and lost but not long after, and true to Allison and Emy form, we made some friends! Naturally our new friends are in the British Army, we just can’t get away from military men! But they were very nice, a lot of fun, and taught a bit more about betting. I actually bet on a horse that won and got $150!!! Pretty exciting! A retired Air Force General (in his mess dress) and his wife were at the races and after a few Pimms cups I introduced myself! They were very lovely and on vacation, his wife really wanted to see the Queen!

After watching all of the races we went to find a cab and ended up in an area where we did not fit in with our fabulous outfits! After a very long time and one of our new friends paying a bunch of money to one cab driver we got back to the hotel. We all had dinner together.

Derby day was definitely a highlight of our time together! Definitely worth the expensive outfits and tickets! Which BTW… I got my dress for free. It ripped in the cab on the way home and the store took it back and gave me a full refund! I really like the dress so I’m a little sad about it but I wore a free and fabulous dress to the derby!