The London 2012 Olympics Come to Town

 London  has been quite abuzz with activity this year, as it is hosting not just one major global based event, but two.

 On top of the Queen's Diamond Jubilee, it is hosting the 2012 Olympics.  It started with the torch relay, which has been run the length and breadth of the UK, from Lands End in the south to the Scottish Highlands. 

 The relay didn't feel as exciting when it was far away from us in London, but as the final days before the Olympics approached, and the torch grew closer, the excitement mounted.  When it came down Shaftesbury Avenue past my office, everyone ran outside, or stood in the windows for a better look.

Tony and I got up early to walk up to Upper Street to see the torch go by.  It was a great way to start the day.











We'd entered the lottery to have the opportunity to buy tickets, but only came away with tickets for 1 event, Men's Wrestling (more on this later).

Our friend Matthew, back in Los Angeles had also entered to win tickets.  He ended up buying tickets for two events, but that wasn't enough for him to justify flying all the way to London, as if just seeing us wasn't reason enough.  We ended up buying his tickets for Men's Diving (more on that later).











Thankfully, Mark with his connections through Hilton, managed to score some premium tickets for Men's and Women's Beach Volleyball.











 We had amazing seats, which made for a terrifically fun afternoon.  Even the royal marching band was there to kickoff the show.

The women's groups from Russia and Brazil were really terrific. 

 At intermission, to help create a genuine beach-like atmosphere (even in central London), a dance troop came out and did syncronized moves with beach balls to fun beach-like music. 

We had a lot of fun when one of the American teams came out for a game, which was all the more exciting when they won.  There were quite a few Americans in the stands, so it was a lot of fun.






Sadly, despite a fine effort from Team GB, the home team didn't win their game.

We also had tickets for a Men's Preliminary Diving  Event that was held in the Aquatics Center out at the Olympic Park. 

What made this event special was the opportunity to go to the Olympic Park and walk around it. Though we couldn't go inside the Olympic Stadium, it was a real treat to get to walk around the outside of it.







While there, we couldn't miss the opportunity to eat at the official restaurant of the London 2012 Olympics - McDonald's.  I know, strange, but with the sheer numbers of people needing to be fed at the same time, there are few places on the planet with their same degree of (dare I say it) expertise.

Our seats for the diving event were nowhere near the awesomeness of our Beach Volleyball seats, but it was fun to be there nonetheless. 

 People always asked us whether we were seeing Men's or Women's diving.  I would always tell them that at the distance we were sitting, it didn't matter.

It was still exciting to see the venue where Michael Phelps had swam into Olympic history only the day before.

 For our last Olympics event, and the only event we managed to buy tickets for on our own, we took the tube out to the O2 arena, and then took the Emerites Skyride across the Thames to the Excel Center where the Wrestling Event was taking place.

 This gondola was put in for the Olympics, but the view is spectacular, and we expect it will last long afterwards as a new tourist attraction to equal the London Eye.




It has great views of the O2 Arena and Canary Wharf.











There was a fun carnival atmosphere as people from the many countries gathered cheered and dressed up in support of their teams.  I was impressed by how respectful people were of all the different peoples and cultures represented at the games.  It was the last day of the Olympics, and everyone seemed a little subdued, but there was an underlying excitement as well.

Having never been to a wrestling match in my life, I had no idea what to expect.  There were 3 rings laid out, but matches only occured while we were there in the middle ring.  

I had no idea how lucky we were with our tickets, as this turned out to be the final medal matches in Wrestling.  So we were seeing the absolute best of the best.  

Japan's Tatsuhiro Yonemitsu won the lighter weight title, and is was fun to see them win the gold.

The best news came when America was up for winning the gold medal in wrestling. 











And sure enough America's Jacob Varner won!




















It was a real treat to see our flag raised and national anthem played.  I'd always dreamed of one day seeing something like this in person, and I finally got a chance.

On our way out of the stadium to the tube to catch the train home, we came across Akzhurek Tanatarov, the lighter weight wrestling bronze medalist from Kazakhstan .  Tony got a chance to congratulate him and see an Olympic Medal in person.  Seems a perfect end to an amazing Olympic Games.