"Now there's something we don't usually see," I said to Hans and nodded towards the woman. She looked stylish, but just not quite right. Shortly afterwards, we saw a couple and the lady was wearing a pretty slinky black dress with a frivolous little netted hat perched rakishly on the side of her head, big red bow adding a splash of drama. Her companion was dressed in a dark suit and I thought, she's either a hooker or they're part of a theatre group in dress rehearsal taking a quick break for lunch.
Finally we just had to stop some of them and ask. Turns out, today was the day they ran the Melbourne Cup, a hugely popular horse race in, well, Melbourne. It's a big deal even in Sydney and companies usually shut down at noon giving their staff the afternoon off to watch the race on TV. Many bars and hotels and taken over by corporations who lay out a sumptuous spread of food and drink for their staff to enjoy. Amidst all the private parties we saw going on in various bars downtown, there were also a few public watering holes. We chose one outdoors where we slipped in the with locals and enjoyed a glass of wine while watching the race unfold.
"Who won?" Hans asked someone after the race was run and a raucous cheer went up from the crowd.
"No idea, mate."
But a good time was had by all.
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