Grand Prix day!!!!!!

Woke up early feeling fresh and excited for what was in store for me today. I got showered and changed then walked out onto the city streets with a spring in my step.

I sought after some breakfast from one of the many backstreet cafes I had been reading about. It wasn't long before I found a line of cafes down a small cobbled side street covered from head to toe in grafiti. I went for the poached eggs on toast and a mochachino which was superb and set me up for the day nicely.

I then walked down to Federation Square opposite Flinders Street Station, the heart of the city.. where I sat and watched a live African style band whilst the Grand Prix goers began to quickly multiply. It was still only about 10.30am but the vibe around the Square had increased rapidly so I decided to make my way down to Albert Park on the free tram.

I collected my ticket from the box office without a problem and headed into the Grand Prix at only 11am. The race track winds it's way through the park, around numerous lakes and St Kilda Golf Course which became walkways and viewing points for spectators for the day. With the race starting at 5pm local time I wondered how I was going to pass 6 hours of time but there was plenty of other things going on.. Jet-ski and water-ski stunt shows on the lake, vintage and supercar shows around the park, Porsche and V8 supercar races on the track, the F1 drivers parade, various helicopter shows in the air, and I also spent an hour around the drivers enclosure getting snaps of some of the biggest names in F1 as they drove in to prepare for the race (I will post these on my Facebook page asap).

The time soon passed and with the anticipation growing in the crowd it was time to take my seat.. on the second row in the new Webber Stand on the main straight across from the pit lane. Absolutely awesome seats in the heart of the action!

The cars made their way onto the starting grid to prepare for the race as the Australian national anthem bellowed out and a massive Quantas Airliner (race sponsor) flew low overhead signalling the start of the race. The cars set off on their warm-up lap and the noise generated was absolutely ridiculous.. thank god I had brought my ear plugs with me!!

The cars lined up in their qualifying positions.. Vettel on pole, Hamilton second and Webber third. I was routing for Hamilton.. one of only two Brits in the race, the other Jensen Button.

The race got underway without any problems and I was astonished to see how fast and how loud these cars travelled at as they came round to complete the first lap. With being in one of the main grandstands I was able to keep track of the race on a big screen across from me once they had passed my position. I would have liked to see a bit more overtaking and incident in the race but it was still great nevertheless.

58 laps and 90 minutes later the race finished with Vettel winning, Hamilton second and Petrov taking third. Vettel in the Red Bull car put in a faultless display and was too fast for Hamilton in the McClaren to get near him.

As soon as the race ended I quickly made my way to one of the exits to try and avoid the rush. Luckily I jumped straight onto one of the free trams taking me back into the city.

I decided to go back to Chinatown again for some more Chinese food after the success of the previous night.. it was good but not as good as the Shanghai Dumpling House. I bought myself some pic 'n' mix for dessert with the change I had left and chilled for an hour where I started the day, in Federation Square. Tired from the days events and all the walking around I headed back to the hostel to get a good nights sleep.

What a great day!!! Really enjoyed myself :)

xx