London Olympics

Almost 4 months ago, I fulfilled one of my life list items (yes, I refuse to call it a bucket list) and attended the Summer Olympics. Again, this opportunity was made possible because I have had the chance to meet some incredible people in my journeys abroad. Without the hospitality of Elena, I would not have been able to afford to be in London during the Olympics. AND she was able to set us up with actual tickets!!

Of course, no trip that I take is EVER without it's excitement.....

I flew from Colorado to Philadelphia and then on to London. However, of course there was about a 2 hour delay (this is after a 8 hour layover); however, you could tell that most of the people on the plane were going over for the Olympics as everyone was dressed up in USA gear and in good spirits. Until they starting boarding us. Then it was a mad dash to the jet way. Seriously??!!! We're all going to the same place....we all have assigned seats....relax. It delayed us another 30 minutes because people were crowding the flight attendants and they stopped boarding. Come on!!! Highly annoying.

Oh...before I go on....when we were boarding in Denver, I had checked my suitcase, but had a duffle that was relatively small. As in, I could probably have shoved it under the seat in front of me if I needed to. Definitely not the HUGE rollies people try to take on planes. Anyway....as I was seated way in the back, by the time I got to the door, they asked me to gate check it. OK....fine. The handler asked where my final destination was and I told him London. He immediately asked the flight attendant to store my bag in their closet. This would prove to be very beneficial later.

On to London. Landed at Heathrow....breezed through immigration and customs. Waited for my suitcase...and waited....and waited....and waited. Nothing. Went to the baggage counter. They looked for it....couldn't find it. Had me fill out a form. Fine. I wasn't worried. I had some clothes in my carry-on (one outfit, one pair of shoes, no make-up or toiletries, no jewelry, etc.). And I figured since my layover and delay was so big in Philly that it was in Heathrow somewhere and I would get it in a few hours. OK....took the paperwork, found the cab, headed to Elena's.

Everywhere you turned it was Olympic fever!!! I can't tell you how exciting and electric the atmosphere was...just driving around.

Got to E's, took a shower, took a nap. E came home from work and we went out for drinks and a good catch-up. Had some Mexican for dinner.

The next morning...still no bag... I called the airline and they told me they still couldn't find it, but since it had been 24 hours, I could buy some things to replace my belongings. SHOPPING!!!

Olympic Stadium

Horse Guard Parade

Beach Volleyball Venue

The Mall...and everyone trying to get into Beach Volleyball

Hey, can I get a ticket??

Trafalgar Square

Yay!! Olympics London 2012

Shopping- Covent Garden

There were Union Jacks EVERYWHERE!!!

But first, we headed out to see some of the Olympic venues. We were hoping to score some tickets...to anything. But no luck...everything was done online- bummer. But it still was exciting to see all the venues and all the people. After visiting the Stadium and the basketball venue, we headed over to Horse Guards Parade, where the beach volleyball was held. Beach volleyball was/ is the hottest ticket (wow, I sound like an old lady) at any summer olympics. We were hoping to somehow have some tickets fall into our laps. HAHAHAHAHAAAA!!!! Yeah, good luck with that!!!  There were so many people hanging out and we even saw 2 women get busted for selling counterfeit tickets. We didn't get in, but we did HEAR the crowd :)

Afterwards, we headed to Trafalgar Square and then on to Covent Gardens. And some shopping!! I, naturally, hit up The Gap and went a bit crazy. But, hey, I wasn't paying for it- US Airways was!

The Tube...hey, wait, is that an athlete?!

She even had a handler!

Leaving Hyde Park

My future grand-in-laws!!

Told you I was at a party in the boathouse!!

We headed back to Hyde Park. The grounds were fenced in and it was turned into a huge Olympic watching party. There were maybe 10 HUGE screens that were playing various events, tons of food booths and beer gardens. We got some food- I had ridiculously expensive sushi- and picked a screen to watch. We ended up watching the women's 10,000 meter race. It was crazy, we were sitting in front and I turned around and there were hundreds (it seemed like thousands) of people watching with us. People had on their Tshirts, flags, face paint, etc. all supporting their country. And by the time the end of the race came around, everyone was cheering and screaming and clapping. And I'm pretty sure there weren't a lot of people from the countries who were in the running for gold and silver. It was so incredible to feel such positive energy from strangers. We all were bonded in awe over the feat of the women in the race. Truly a once-in-a-lifetime moment.

OH...and on the way to Hyde Park, we were in the Tube and saw a Chinese athlete (well, at least that's what I'm telling myself) and I got my picture taken with her!!

The next day we went to Windsor for a party. What a beautiful area. The boats on the water, the castle in the background, the quaint little village. It was lovely.

Windsor Castle

Does the flag mean the Queen is in?

Still no idea what these things were supposed to be!

Then....it was time for the main event. Sunday we headed to Earls Court for volleyball. Yep, I didn't just get to see the outside of the Olympic venues, I actually got to go in and watch an event. We had tickets for the morning session of women's volleyball- Algeria vs. Dominican Republic and China vs. S. Korea. I'm not going to lie...the first game was a bit of a snooze. But China vs. S. Korea was quite a good game. There were so many fans from both countries and they were soo loud. And the players were phenomenal!!!! Some of the points were unbelievable. Because we had the morning session, after the 2nd game we had to leave. Ah, but the second session started with Great Britain vs. Japan. Ummmmm....I think Elena & I want to see that game. So, we kind of hung back and started to ask people if we could get tickets or if we could just sit in the empty seats (because sadly there were a lot of them). We kept getting shot down...but we would not be deterred. Finally, we found some young men who were ushers...and they were enamored by Elena and her sister and let us sneak in!! haha....the young ones are soo easy. Anyway, we watched the GB vs. Japan game and saw another amazing match (well, Japan). And then......I had had enough volleyball for a long time!! We went to Hyde Park again and got to see the big British super star athlete, Jessica Ennis, on the main stage. Seeing all the kids in the audience going crazy for a female athlete was terrific.

The main event- The Olympics!!

Cheerleaders

Walking to Earls Court

Representing Bucky!!! And, yes, there is a USA Tshirt underneath!

All the flags

Waiting for the game to begin

The Union Jack and Stars and Stripes

People were crazy

This baby was quite possibly the cutest thing I've ever seen in my life!!

GB vs. Japan

Jessica Ennis on the big screen

Monday morning I got up and headed over to my future home, Buckingham Palace, (yes, I am going to marry the Ginger Prince) and went on a tour of the interior. Which I guess only happens in the summer. I had to make a reservation. It was pretty impressive....lots of art!! But, alas, the Ginge wasn't there for me to sweep him off his feet. Ah well, next time.

After the Palace, I met up with Paul (of Japan fame). It was so great to have lunch and hang out for a bit. It seems crazy that Japan was a while ago now...and how things have changed, but still the same. Finally, it was time to get my bags and head to the airport. I met up with Elena for a quick goodbye and then it was time to say goodbye to Londontown.

Along the Thames

Buckingham Palace's back 

After the tour

In my future back yard :)

I just missed the changing of the Guards

Meeting up with Paul

OH- my luggage was delivered after 3 days. And it had been opened and ransacked. My grandmother's jewelry was stolen, my Ipad camera adapter was stolen, my jeans were stolen, my Target tshirt was stolen, even my Oil of Olay was gone!!!!!! After much yelling, emailing and crying, I did get reimbursed for a lot of the things. But still...a crappy way to end a fantastic summer tour.

I spent a few days resting at Lyn's in Prague before heading home to Ostrava. I unpacked, did laundry, repacked and then headed out to ISO Summer Camp- one day rest at home. But that is for another post.

I had SUCH a great summer holiday!!! I wish I could have seen all of my family and friends, but next time.