The Race that Stops The Nation

That's what the Melbourne Cup is called, and it really is true! The Melbourne Cup is a horse race (in Melbourne!) that is similar to the Kentucky Derby. Some differences:

• It's held on a Tuesday afternoon at 3, so lots of people leave work early to watch it. (And I mean LOTS!)
• As far as I can tell, there isn't a traditional drink or food (like Derby pie or mint juleps) that are associated with the day. Just any ole alcohol will do!

There are lots of similarities:

• Everyone dresses up: guys wear suits and bowties and/or hats, girls wear dresses and hats/fascinators.
• Lots of betting AKA sweeps.
• Lots of partying!!

Atlassian set up a celebration on the Starship Sydney, a really nice boat that does harbor cruises. We left work at 12 to walk down to the wharf. Since the event started at 12, most everyone came into work already dressed for the day. Here's me, ready for work:

Had to buy all of this because my formal clothes are on their way across the ocean =\

 

And here's me, falling over two seconds after Toby took the first picture.

Don't worry, I too flip flops to do all my real walking in!

 

I felt pretty self-conscious going to work like that, but I saw other people on the train dressed out too, so it made me feel a little less weird.

 

At work, there was quite a flurry of guys trying to tie their bowties. The guy I sit two desks down from called in an expert from a different floor. Here they are, getting started.

 

 

And then resorting to YouTube.

There was success eventually!

I attended my meetings and got some work done in the morning. Then, before I knew it, it was time to head down to the boat!

We were on that black UFO-looking boat

 

It was weird seeing everyone from work all dressed up

It was really nice. We had drinks and appetizers on the second deck and then headed down for lunch.

We all got a random ticket so even for people like me who hadn't placed a bet, there was something to root for when the race was on.

None of these were winners =(

The Australian Mentalist came by our tables and read our minds for entertainment before the big race.

He guessed Susan's card, but he didn't guess that Holly was the name I wrote down of someone close to me. I think it might be because I switched and used a different pen from the one he gave me? ;-)

There were also contests for the best dressed. This was a pretty difficult thing to vote for. Sooo many people looked nice! And some people took the funny route instead.

This guy made his bowtie from nerf gun darts

 

And this guy was a write-in winner for women's best hairpiece

After lunch, most people headed up to the top deck to enjoy the weather and views.

This guy won men's best dressed

 

We donned the bowties from the centerpieces so we all looked good together

We partied on the boat until about 4:30, then headed down to a bar for an after party. I didn't stay too long, but long enough to have a nice time hanging out with more work people.

On the way home, I saw lots of people really dressed for the races.

I had a really wonderful time. It was fun to see people all dressed up, the food and drinks were lovely, I got to know people that I work with better, and it was a lovely day to be on a boat. I'm a fan of the Melbourne Cup!

Posted with Blogsy