The second study break for this semester is finally here, and it couldn't have come soon enough. I really needed this one, I have so much work to catch up on. So since I've got the whole week off, I thought that sparing just one day couldn't hurt. The Royal Show has finally come, so I asked my friend Cass if she wanted to come with me. Money is still a little tight right now but most of the stuff I wanted to do was free, so I thought as long as I set myself a budget, I'd be all good. Unfortunately, a few days ago I got really sick, but I was determined to have at least one day stress free so I pulled myself together and went anyway. I was a little worried that I'd regret my choice to go while still sick, but honestly it wasn't even a problem and I'm so glad I decided to go~
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We started off at the animal nursery. These kinds of places always make me feel a bit sad because I think of how the animals must have so sit there all day in a constant crowd of kids screaming and trying to touch them, but they seemed pretty chill and were free to walk around and had plenty of food and water, which was good. There were so many goats, it was amazing. I was surprised that there were a few cats and dogs, too. I've never seen house pets at the show before, it's usually just farm animals. There was also a separate display for the baby goats who had their own little playground and were super active. They even had a ramp where they could come up to the fence and be patted if they wanted to. It was adorable how much energy they had.
After we thought we had petted every animal available, we decided to stop in at the pavilion where traders come from all over the world to sell weird stuff. I went over to a lonely looking stall for magic pens where there was a woman who must have been in her mid 40s sitting there looking a bit pissed off. Even though I wasn't planning on buying anything, sometimes I like to talk to the people who look lonely because it makes me sad when they try to get somebodies attention and people just ignore them. She did the demonstration of the pens and Cassidy actually bought some, which I didn't mean to happen, I just wanted to find out what a magic pen was. I hope they're actually good quality. As a rule, I don't like buying anything from the show that I don't already know and trust (it's expensive and a lot of people get conned).
After we had a look at everything, we got some sour ice cream and then went to the cow show to sit down for a bit and eat the sandwiches I bought with me. The cow show was entertaining, but I had no idea what they were talking about or even how you would go about judging a cow and picking a winner. All the cows were cute to me~
We crossed through Sideshow Alley - which is where all the rides are - to get to the second petting zoo. I wanted to show Cass beforehand the ride that I wanted to go on later. It's called the Waveswinger and it's a big disc with a bunch of long chain swings hanging down from it. You strap yourself into the swing and then the ride goes up about 20 meters into the air, the disc tilts and it spins the swings around like a merry-go-round. It's really relaxing to me. As I've gotten older, I've moved on from the big thrill rides that make me feel sick in the stomach, but this is a perfect middle ground between adrenaline and kiddie rides. Cassidy was a bit uncertain because of the height and the angle of the swings, but she didn't say no~
We had a bit of a look at all the rides before passing through to the animals just to get a feel of what was there this year, and Cass gravitated toward the ghost train. Because it's not really a ride that requires anything of you, we thought we'd give that one a go first. The train carriage was so small we were squished together and the decorations outside were so tacky that we went in there laughing because it was for children. But once we were in the building, it was pitch black. The jumpscares were so tacky but there were people in there that kept touching my hair and one even yanked my arm that we were equal parts screaming and laughing the entire time. It was a fun time.
After calming down from the ghost train, we finally found our way to the second petting zoo. Although some might be disappointed, I was amazed that it was 90% alpacas. I love alpacas and they had them in every shape and size. Fluffy ones, shaved ones, ones with long stringy hair. Even baby ones that fought over who got to be at the top of the haystack (which we watched for longer that we could probably justify). There were a few baby pigs as well, but they were all sleeping. I was a bit disappointed that the actual 'petting' portion of the petting zoo was only open to kids. The people working there were really rude about it, too. They completely ignored me and Cass, not even saying we couldn't hold an animal. The people guarding the gates held it shut in front of us, so we assumed they were making sure there weren't too many people in there. But then they opened it for the small children running past and then closed it again. I even spoke up about how I wanted to hold a baby chick and they literally just turned their head away. So that happened. Poor game, guys. Poor game.
We took a small break to watch the jumping pigs, but there were a lot of people and very little shade so we decided to head off to our next stop. It was half an hour until the water puppet show and an hour and a half until the cat parade. We had planned to go to both, but as we were walking to the puppets, I really just felt like going on some more rides. I asked Cass how bad she wanted to go to the shows and she reminded me that they were my idea anyway..
..the Waveswinger was awesome and Cassidy even went hands free and asked if we could go on again later. I'm super happy that she liked it, most people don't want to go on it with me because they want to go on the more in your face rides.
We went on the Thunderbolt next, which is another merry-go-round-like ride; except you're strapped into a racecar carriage and race around the track at a super fast speed that yanks your head back in your seat. I forgot it goes backwards, which was a bit of a shock but still super fun. It was the most intense ride we went on that day and even though it was fun, it confirmed that I really enjoy the more chill rides as I've gotten older. Especially because after that, we sat on the grass for a while because Cass felt sick. In my defence, I did warn her about eating that ice cream.. and the fairy floss.. and the candy apple all before we had gone on any rides.
After we were rested up, we checked out the food pavilion and I got a sausage on a stick which I so desperately hoped they had this year. I don't know what it is about eating foods of sticks I like so much, but it made me so happy.
After we felt like we had seen everything, we decided to wrap up the day with a ride on the Farris Wheel. I always get anxious when it stops and starts to let everyone on. Especially when you're at an odd angle or at the very top and you're swinging around because of the sudden break. But once it was in motion I was able to relax. I didn't take any photos up there because I just wanted to focus on how nice it was. I love being up high and feeling the breeze in my hair. It was a really nice way to end things and we both left super relaxed.
As per Royal Show tradition, before we went home there was one quick stop to grab us our showbags. I decided to only get one this year, not only because of money but because I'm obsessed with Kit Kats and only Kit Kats. Cassidy got her sour one and then we were off.
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I had such a lovely time, it was probably my best Royal Show experience yet, just because of how chill it was. When I was younger I would race to Sideshow Alley with my dad and want to go on every adrenaline ride there was and eat all the food and buy all the things and get all the showbags and even though I knew it wasn't realistic, I got a little disappointed when I couldn't experience everything. Not because I was greedy or spoiled, but because my family only went every 3 years and I wanted to experience as much of it as I could and take in everything it had to offer. Now that I'm older, I can appreciate the little things and be satisfied without having to do and eat everything there is to offer. I only originally planned to go on the Waveswinger, get a Kit Kat showbag, pet some goats and go home, so the way things panned out satisfied what little there is of the child left in me more than most people might think.
I've definitely made my sickness worse by going because on the way home, it started to get a little cold and I was coughing up my lungs; but I think I can forgive myself. It's the study break and I was only going to stay home and catch up on assignments all week anyway.
I'll see you puddings soon with more adventures sprouting from reckless decision making but for now, stay kawaii! ♡
