Olympic Success!
Just returned from one of the most exciting weeks spent in my hometown, London, proud host city to the Summer Olympics. Having always been a big sports fan and patriotic to the Union Jack flag, the combination of colourful, euphoric flag waving and world class sports was like a dream to me.Fistly, our arrival at Heathrow on Day 4 of the Games was such a pleasant and fast experience which was totally unexpected. At first, I was worried that the Games had been cancelled or that maybe it was like throwing a great big party where no-one showed up! London seemed ominously quiet, where the polite, pink and purple-clad volunteers seemed to outnumber us visitors. When I asked "where is everyone?" I got the reply "we put on extra staff and extra transport everywhere. After these next two weeks everything will go back to its normal chaos!" Yeah, this is the best time to visit London, folks!
First we had tickets for Centre Court, Wimbledon where we got to see Andy Murray and Serena Williams in their third round games. Both later went on to win Gold Medals for their countries. I was glad to see that The Pimms No 1 Cup and strawberries and cream tradition were upheld at this hallowed venue alongside the McDonalds stands. Bumped into Roger Federer on his way to Court 18 which was like another dream....
Then onto the Olympic Park to see Basketball and climb the latest London attraction, The Orbit. Now here we encountered some crowds - all packed in civilised fashion into one superb area of stadiums, food stands, arenas, shops, bridges and walkways. But we had the Orbit virtually to ourselves and enjoyed the views from the mirrors and the observatory and got to walk down the spiral 431 metal stairs all on our own.
It was great to be amongst the home supporters at Greenwich Park (pictured above) to see Gold brought home by TEAM GB! We thought the stands would collapse under the weight of the cheers and cries of glory. Singing along to "God Save the Queen" at the Victory Ceremony, another huge highlight!
I was delighted to share this amazing Olympic experience with my loving, patient husband, who had to put up with my giggles and screeches of excitement and nostalgia every few minutes, and my two gorgeous daughters and their boyfriends who were equally enthralled with the euphoria of Team GB and the Olympic hype of their city. LONDON, WELL DONE! Very proud of the British nation at this moment and feeling very privileged to have been brought up here.
