judyw9
02-01-2007, 09:49 PM
Pics are posted here and are the first three shots in my photobucket album below: http://www.crossdressers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=50972
During my recent business trip to Australia, I brought some of my femme things with me so I could do some international CDing. It was a two week trip and I had one weekend free so I got up early on Saturday January 27th, got ready in my apartment (I stayed in a one bedroom furnished apartment in Burleigh Heads, Queensland) and headed out.
My first destination was the Pacific Fair Mall in Gold Coast, about a fifteen minute drive from my apartment. The mall is half indoors and half outdoors, a nice setting, very tropical and close to the beach (Gold Coast is a resort area about an hour south of Brisbane on the east coast of Australia). I was not as comfortable in the mall as I normally am at home in Florida for several reasons. First it was very hot that day (it’s summer in Australia) and air conditioning in Australia just is not the same caliber as in Florida. Second, even though I was dressed pretty casually, I was still a little over-dressed compared to the other women at the mall. Most of them were wearing beach attire, no panty hose, flats, and sleeveless tops (unfortunately, I would not be very passable dressed like that since I’m a little too muscular to pull it off without drawing a lot of attention to myself). Third, I was conspicuous because of my America accent so I was not as comfortable interacting with people as I am in the US.
Despite these issues, I still enjoyed my time at the mall. I used the Ladies room several times, it was crowded each time and, even though I got looks from a few of the women in there , I still think I passed reasonably well (i.e., I either didn’t get read or did and no one cared). I also had a product demonstration of a skin softener made from salt from the Dead Sea from a young woman who I think was Israeli. I enjoyed that and it really did seem to make my hand feel much softer (although I didn’t buy it).
I left the mall and went across the street to the Conrad Jupiter Casino. It was a bit cooler in there so I was more comfortable. I went to a fairly nice restaurant and ordered lunch. This was the first time I have eaten at a restaurant en femme. It was an enjoyable experience. I then walked around the casino for a while and used the Ladies room a few times. I fit in much better in the casino vis-Ã*-vis my outfit so I went to one of the bars and ordered a drink. It was Australia day weekend so they had a band there playing music and I sat at a table and listened for a while. I then left the casino and headed back to my apartment.
On the way home, I remembered I needed some groceries so I stopped in at a supermarket (Woolworth’s) and did some food shopping. This was the first time I had gone food shopping en femme. One thing that I noticed immediately is that it is very difficult to push a shopping cart wearing heels (I had on three inch heels). I checked out and drove back to my apartment.
When I got back, I went into the elevator and inserted my security card (needed to operate the elevator) and it didn’t work! I was upset and started thinking of what I needed to do. I didn’t want to go to the front desk or ask the security guard for help as I had interacted with them en drab, and they would certainly ask for my room number, and recognize me by my accent. My company had paid for the room directly so it would certainly be risky to ask for help. I determined that the only thing I could do was wait for someone else to come in and ride up in the elevator with them. Well, that took quite a while (about 15 minutes). I got in the elevator with a family (husband, wife, and two daughters). They noticed that I was waiting for them so I showed them my card and told them that it had stopped working. The husband then inserted his and I pressed my floor. The husband, wife, and both children said that they also had had problems with their card. I got off the elevator at my floor and went to my room—safe and sound.
Aside from this debacle, it was a fun day and a welcome respite from the business part of the trip.
During my recent business trip to Australia, I brought some of my femme things with me so I could do some international CDing. It was a two week trip and I had one weekend free so I got up early on Saturday January 27th, got ready in my apartment (I stayed in a one bedroom furnished apartment in Burleigh Heads, Queensland) and headed out.
My first destination was the Pacific Fair Mall in Gold Coast, about a fifteen minute drive from my apartment. The mall is half indoors and half outdoors, a nice setting, very tropical and close to the beach (Gold Coast is a resort area about an hour south of Brisbane on the east coast of Australia). I was not as comfortable in the mall as I normally am at home in Florida for several reasons. First it was very hot that day (it’s summer in Australia) and air conditioning in Australia just is not the same caliber as in Florida. Second, even though I was dressed pretty casually, I was still a little over-dressed compared to the other women at the mall. Most of them were wearing beach attire, no panty hose, flats, and sleeveless tops (unfortunately, I would not be very passable dressed like that since I’m a little too muscular to pull it off without drawing a lot of attention to myself). Third, I was conspicuous because of my America accent so I was not as comfortable interacting with people as I am in the US.
Despite these issues, I still enjoyed my time at the mall. I used the Ladies room several times, it was crowded each time and, even though I got looks from a few of the women in there , I still think I passed reasonably well (i.e., I either didn’t get read or did and no one cared). I also had a product demonstration of a skin softener made from salt from the Dead Sea from a young woman who I think was Israeli. I enjoyed that and it really did seem to make my hand feel much softer (although I didn’t buy it).
I left the mall and went across the street to the Conrad Jupiter Casino. It was a bit cooler in there so I was more comfortable. I went to a fairly nice restaurant and ordered lunch. This was the first time I have eaten at a restaurant en femme. It was an enjoyable experience. I then walked around the casino for a while and used the Ladies room a few times. I fit in much better in the casino vis-Ã*-vis my outfit so I went to one of the bars and ordered a drink. It was Australia day weekend so they had a band there playing music and I sat at a table and listened for a while. I then left the casino and headed back to my apartment.
On the way home, I remembered I needed some groceries so I stopped in at a supermarket (Woolworth’s) and did some food shopping. This was the first time I had gone food shopping en femme. One thing that I noticed immediately is that it is very difficult to push a shopping cart wearing heels (I had on three inch heels). I checked out and drove back to my apartment.
When I got back, I went into the elevator and inserted my security card (needed to operate the elevator) and it didn’t work! I was upset and started thinking of what I needed to do. I didn’t want to go to the front desk or ask the security guard for help as I had interacted with them en drab, and they would certainly ask for my room number, and recognize me by my accent. My company had paid for the room directly so it would certainly be risky to ask for help. I determined that the only thing I could do was wait for someone else to come in and ride up in the elevator with them. Well, that took quite a while (about 15 minutes). I got in the elevator with a family (husband, wife, and two daughters). They noticed that I was waiting for them so I showed them my card and told them that it had stopped working. The husband then inserted his and I pressed my floor. The husband, wife, and both children said that they also had had problems with their card. I got off the elevator at my floor and went to my room—safe and sound.
Aside from this debacle, it was a fun day and a welcome respite from the business part of the trip.