Vienna, Austria

Hey guys!

Sorry this is so delayed but I’ve been super busy since my last post. So if you can’t tell by the title of this post I went to Austria. About 3 days after the Isle of Wight my mom came to London and later that day we went to Vienna. We had been planning this trip for a little while and I was super excited to go.

We arrived in Vienna and just hung out in our hotel the first night as we had to get up early the next day to explore the city. The first place we went was the Spanish Riding School as we were going to see a performance and go on a tour there the next day. We explored that area before we kept going. I made a friend in London who was actually from Austria so she gave us some hints of good places to see as well as things to try. We then went to the palace and got to go inside of it as well as into five different gardens. We then went to the Prater, which is an amusement park area, and explored for a bit and had dinner around there.

 

The next day we woke up early and headed to the Spanish Riding School and saw the performance which was amazing. We then went on a tour of the yard and stables of the school and got to see all of the horses. After we went shopping on the two high streets in Vienna and then went to try some different foods. We tried Radler, a beer and lemonade mix, as well as this Austrian dessert that my friend told me was like cut up pancakes. I will put a picture below due to my terrible explanation. It was really good though.

Even though we only had 2 days in Vienna it was a lot of fun and I would defiantly go back but maybe for a bit longer. The Spanish Riding School was most defiantly the highlight of this trip for me. I have heard about that school since I was very little and to be able to finally see it in person was just amazing.

I will be posting keeping up posts like this until I catch up to where I am now.

Ashley xx

Ascot (Victoria Cup)

Hey guys,

So something super exciting happened last weekend. I went to Ascot to see the Victoria Cup!! I’ve always wanted to see a horse race and go to Ascot so when I knew I was coming to England for a year it was a must see on my bucket list. I had looked at races before but just had nobody to go with me. When I found out my friend actually wanted to go too but she had just never heard about it before I took the opportunity to go with her. We decided to go on May 9th (Saturday) as we both were free and it was the last race while I am still here. We met up a couple times before to pick out hats and make sure we had our outfits all together before we went to the races. When the day of the race came I was super excited. We both got all dressed up and met up on the train heading to Ascot. When we got there there were a lot of people as well as people selling and buying tickets.

We got into Ascot racecourse and it was like I had walked into a dream land. As a horse lover already this was like the top of the top for me. It was defiantly one of the top highlights of 2015 already for me. The grounds by themselves were amazing. We headed up to see the racecourse and I was just blown away. It was huge! It was so green and just more than I could have ever expected. The racecourse itself was massive to what I thought it would be. I had only seen a few races on tv before and was never a huge racehorse fan. I am defiantly more into the jumping side of things. Ascot just blew my mind though and defiantly made me rethink racing.

 

When we got there we had quite a bit of time to kill before the first race started. We decided to explore the grounds and just get everything out of Ascot that we could. We also decided that we would try to place a bet just to saw we’ve done that at Ascot as well. For the first race I placed a bet on number 10 and my friend on number 9. After that we went to the parade ring to see the horses before the race. We watched them walk around and the jockeys come in and mount their horses and head to the race. We went to the racecourse as well and the race started. It was once again amazing. When you are sitting there and there is such a competitive atmosphere and you are invested in the race it just takes the whole thing to another level. When you watch the race it seems like it takes forever for the horses to come close enough to the finish line where you are sitting and there is so much tension built up on which horse will win. It feels like time just stops while they are racing. After they cross the finish line and you look at the clock to see that it has only been about a minute and thirty seconds from when they started it just boggles my mind.

 

My friend’s horse she bet on won the first race so we went to collect her winnings and started talking to a couple of guys in line and convinced ourselves to try betting once more. Each time we bet we only bet £2 but it was just the feeling of investment in the race that just made it all the better. We both went for the same horse this time and the races started again. We didn’t win but it was still a sight to see. We also bet on the fourth race, the Victoria Cup, neither of us won again but it was a lot of fun. There were six races that day and after every race they would have the horses, riders, owners, and trainers all in the parade ring and award their trophies.

 

I don’t want to go on too much about this but it is something that I really love and have a passion for. This is defiantly something I am so happy that I got to experience. Ascot will be something I remember forever and have very fond memories of. Of my time here Ascot is defiantly one of my top five things that I’ve experienced since I’ve been here. I highly suggest if you are ever in England when there is a race at Ascot and you have the opportunity to go that you should take it.

All in all I had a wonderful magical day at Ascot and I wouldn’t change it for anything.

Ashley xx.