The Greatest Show on Earth

We have to hand it to London – they put on an amazing Olympics! We had so much fun watching the games every day and going to some of the events. Between requesting vacation days and purchasing tickets through the lottery, we’d been planning for London 2012 for over a year, and it definitely lived up to our expectations!

Olympic Stadium

Volusion also planned for the Olympics by posting 

ads at tube stops in high-traffic areas

The tube ran smoothly most days, even with the extra crowds, and the volunteers and army made getting in/out of the venues easy and efficient. Londoners are not known as the friendliest people, but the volunteers were happily giving directions, offering to take photos for us, dancing, and leading the crowds in cheers.

The crowd outside Wembley trying to get to the Tube in the background.  

The sign says a 20-minute wait, but it was more like an hour....

But that was okay!  There were mariachis to entertain us!

After watching the Opening Ceremony and the first few events, our friends John and Michelle invited us to the Olympic Park with them on Thursday night. Tickets to the park were only £10 but they sold out FAST, and we could see why as the atmosphere inside the park was unlike any other part of the city. We finally felt like we were part of the games when we got to the park on Thursday evening.

Arriving at Olympic Park!  

London's newest observation tower, the Orbit.

We walked around, checking out the different venues, and then ate dinner at the largest McDonalds in the world. London 2012 vowed to be the greenest games ever, so this McDonalds building was made out of recycled materials and after the Paralympics, will be taken down and Moscow’s McD’s will reclaim its title as the biggest globally. We haven’t eaten McDonald’s in I-don’t-even-know-how-long, but this was a special occasion.

Holy long lines!  Even with the huge crowd, they were 

fast and we were enjoying our Big Macs in no time!

We tried to get recycled Water Polo tickets, but the line was way too long. Instead, we opted to watch Swimming at the British Airways open theatre. 

BA outdoor screening area along the Thames.  

I loved their slogan during the games: "Don't Fly. Support Team GB."

David and I were cheering on the Americans, of course, but in our circle of friends we also had a Brit and an Irishman. Behind us, there was a big group of Aussies hoping for a win in the women’s 400m freestyle relay (it looked like they might take it, but America’s anchor clinched it in the end)! There were also some Hungarians sitting next to us, and a man from China took a picture for us. London is already a huge melting pot, but being together with people from around the world celebrating one event was really special.

David (Team USA), Me (Team USA/GB), 

Michelle (Team GB), & John (Team Ireland)

But the largest group of visitors (after the Americans) seemed to be the Brazilians. We watched the Brazilian Men's Beach Volleyball team beat Poland before the US/Latvia game, and Brazil later went on to take Silver. 

Horse Guard's Parade stadium surrounded by other Americans :)

Elaborate sand sculptures outside the beach volleyball arena

Recognize that music?  Yep, it's from Top Gun.  

What woman can forget that beach volleyball scene with 

Tom Cruise and Val Kilmer in their glory days?

When we got to the Women’s Volleyball semi-final match, one of the Games Makers asked us who we would be cheering on since we were in our neutral Team USA gear. We decided to go for Japan instead of Brazil, because the crowd for Brazil was large and loud, so Japan needed all the support they could get! The Brazilians beat Japan, and later went on to beat the USA to claim Gold. 

I wore my UT shirt to support fellow Longhorn

 Destinee Hooker from the US Women's Volleyball team

We figured as Brazil is a growing economy, more people have the disposable income to travel, and because they’re hosting the Olympics next, they are getting really excited about the games and wanted to see them live to compare against their own games in four years.

Brazil warming up before their victory against Japan

On Saturday, we watched the Men’s Semi-Final Football match at Wembley. We had two extra tickets, so Jeff and Karen came with us. I’d never been to a football match in Britain before, but it is just as crazy as everyone makes it out to be! 

The amazing wave at Wembley.  

I don't think I've ever seen 80,000 people that into the wave.  

The crowd outside the stadium was awesome!

We decided to be Team GB on Saturday

Jordan and his friends from Alaska coincidentally had tickets to the 

same game as us! The US didn't even qualify in Football, but it didn't matter to them!

Even though we were wearing our Team GB shirts for the Mexico/Senegal match, we were cheering for our neighbors to the south. Mexico beat Senegal and later went on to win the Gold. So at each event we went to, we saw a medal-winning team.

The day before the Closing ceremony, we headed to Constitution Hill in Green Park to watch the Race Walk.  OMG, I cannot believe this is an Olympic sport.  I couldn't stop laughing!  I know it must be really tough, because guys were dropping like flies along the route, but still... 

With all of the planning and anticipation, it was hard to believe that after two short weeks, it was all over! But not to worry… David and I have tickets to the Paralympics, so we will continue to celebrate London 2012 in early September!

Less than 2 weeks to go!

Arundel

When my dad and Uncle Paul visited a few months ago, they told us that they saw a beautiful castle, Arundel, on the train while they were on their way to Portsmouth. Then a few days later I was reading People magazine and saw the cast of Snow White and the Huntsman posing in front of the same castle. The movie wasn’t filmed there, but The Young Victoria was. So my interest was piqued and this past weekend, we took a family trip to the South Downs coast to check it out!

The castle overlooks the riverside village

Arundel Castle has been the home of the Dukes of Norfolk for 500 years. The Third Duke of Norfolk was Thomas Howard, the uncle of two of Henry VIII’s ill-fated wives – Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard. He was even imprisoned himself and only escaped execution because the king died and Bloody Mary needed his help securing her throne, as he was a very prominent Catholic.

Today, the Duke holds the position of Earl Marshal and is therefore responsible for organizing state occasions like the Opening of Parliament and the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee.

Arundel is only about an hour from Karen’s house, so we headed out on Saturday afternoon and got there in time to see the Medieval Joust and Tournament.  I haven’t been to a Renaissance Fair since I was a little girl, but this felt just like one, except it was even better because it was held on a real castle’s grounds.

The jousting knights must’ve been so hot 
wearing that heavy armor and those blinding helmets.

These guys really went at each other during the tournament!  

Earlier in the day, there was even some blood!

We did an interior castle tour, which featured the family’s private chapel (which was larger than the chapel David and I got married in), the bedrooms, armory, baron’s hall, and library.  I wonder how the family still lives there with visitors like us walking through all of the time.  It's strange to not be allowed inside parts of your own house, but then again, with a house that big, I’m sure there's plenty of space to hang out elsewhere!

The grounds of the castle were really beautiful.  First we walked through the Fitzalan Chapel, and then made our way to the Castle Gardens and Glasshouses.

Arundel Cathedral from the gardens

What nice pictures of Jeff and me outside Fitzalan chapel...

Ah!  Never mind...  

(I warned him I would put this on the blog if he posed like that)

We stopped for dinner at a pub in a small village called Petworth on the way home, where we could watch the Olympics.  With all of the London 2012 visitors and extra traffic around the city, it was nice to escape the chaos with an afternoon in the country.

Let the Games Begin!

The Olympic Torch is making its way through all of London’s boroughs this week during the final stage of the torch relay. 

My bucket list includes going to the Olympics (as a fan, not an athlete!) so living in London this summer has made me one lucky lady!

Our luck didn’t run out when we applied for tickets through the lottery. UK residents with visa cards were offered tickets before anyone else. So after my lost-wallet debacle where my first order of tickets was cancelled along with all of my credit cards, we re-applied during Round 2 and were able to snag Men’s Beach Volleyball (David is really looking forward to that), Men’s Soccer, and Women’s Volleyball. So watch for us in the cheering crowds on TV on August 4th, 6th and 9th!

When we heard the torch was making its way through Ealing a few days before the Opening Ceremony, we applied for tickets to a local party in the park and won those too! 

So Tuesday evening Jordan, David, and I headed to Walpole Park to see the final leg of the Ealing Torch Relay.

At the party, David and I got the chance to hold a London 2012 torch!  Each runner gets to keep their torch because it’s the flame that’s continuous throughout the relay, not the hardware.

High five, Wenlock!

Jordan and me with our commemorative Torch Relay 2012 Coca-Colas

I sported my London 2012 T while David donned his red, white, and blue and Jordan waved the Union Jack!

Here it comes!

Ealing’s Torch Runner

The grand finale – lighting the cauldron for the flame to continue 

its journey across London’s neighborhoods the next day.

We are counting down the days now until we get to witness the events first-hand. Go Team USA and Team GB!!

Running in the Rain

Last November, I joined a ‘Couch to 5k’ running club.  I’ve never really been a runner, but I thought I’d give it a shot.

Our instructor started our group off with a 6-week program, but then modified it to 12 weeks after sizing us up during the first class.  We met every Thursday but had homework to run at least 2-3 more times during the week on our own. 

November has got to be the worst time of year to start a running regime.  There’s the cold, rainy weather discouraging anyone without a treadmill at home.  Plus the holiday feasts of Thanksgiving and Christmas, and of course all that travel…

So I failed my homework.

In February, to motivate myself to get back into a running routine, I signed up for the JP Morgan Corporate Challenge, a 5k charity run that JP Morgan organizes all over the world.  They hold the annual race everywhere from London to Boston, Shanghai to San Francisco.  This year, there were 595 London companies that signed up a total of 26,000 entrants.  So JP Morgan split the London event into two separate race days.

The Dell London team consisted of 20 racers, including a team captain.  On our race day, there were 13,000 people running in Battersea Park.  We obviously all couldn’t start at once, so when we signed up, we gave an estimated finish time and were split into different groups based on that time. 

The race was actually a 5.6k, not a 5k, so I put down a time of 40 minutes and was placed in the Yellow group (the slowest one).  One of the other women in my ‘Couch to 5k’ running club signed up, also.  But Julie is a superstar, stuck with her homework, and now runs an average of 4 miles 3 times a week, at a much faster pace than me.  So she was on the Green team.  But I found a bunch of other people from Dell at my level and we started off together.  The great thing about the challenge is you get to meet new people within your corporation from other departments that you wouldn’t normally interact with. 

Thursday morning started off bright and beautiful.  But of course when it came time to head to the park, it started pouring!  And it didn’t stop.  (On a quick side note, this has to be the WORST summer in England EVER!  We had ONE good weekend when we took Kirby to the pub, but I jinxed us by writing in the blog, ‘Summer has finally arrived!’  So Summer packed up her bags and left… and that makes me very, very sad.)

That isn’t sweat covering the winner – it’s rainwater!

I toughed it out with the Brits, though.  My group, the Yellows, were the last to take off.  The Blues (serious competitors) started first, then the Reds, the Greens, and finally we were up!  By the time we started the race, the Blues had already finished!  We stood around getting soaked in the downpour for over 20 minutes.  The gloomy weather made the temperature plummet, too.  I could actually see my breath!  That kind of cold in July is not okay.

And the Red Team is off!  Only one more group to go...

Once we actually started, our little Dell Yellow group split up.  Some sped up, others started to walk, but my goal was not to walk any of it.  A 5k may not be hard for most people, but as Billy Madison would say, “It was tough for me – so back off!” 

In the past, my problem was endurance. Before Thursday, I'd only run a full 5k once a couple of weeks ago. Since this was a bit longer, I took my friend Joey’s advice and instead of walking, slowed down to the slowest jog possible when I needed to. 

We were all forced to slow down in some places.  Between weaving through the huge crowd, and the rain, we also had to make it through really slippery, muddy grass where the track ran out.  So once again, I was trudging through the mud for a charity event.  But these places gave us a good chance to slow down a bit (but not walk!) and catch our breath.

Jogging through the mud

And I had cheerleaders to keep me motivated!  David, Jeff, and our friend Jordan all came out to support me!  It meant a lot, considering they were standing in the cold rain for over an hour carefully scanning the crowd of thousands, trying not to miss me.  Thanks guys!

I found David along the Thames!

I also found a running buddy in James, who works on the Dell Services team and also recently joined a ‘Couch to 5k’ club.  

James and me near Chelsea Bridge

We kept each other motivated and finished together with a time of 41:10. So not quite the 40 minutes I was hoping for, but I'm blaming the weather!

Our photo finish!  Yahoo for the race!  Yahoo for me!

Great British Summer

This summer is one of the best times ever to be living in London. First there was the Queen's Diamond Jubilee - celebrating Queen Elizabeth's 60 years on the throne. Then the annual Trooping the Colour took place to wish the Queen a very happy 86th birthday. And in August, London will host the Summer Olympics!

Even though the royal establishment is a completely foreign concept to me and I find it very hard to support a monarchy when America’s fore founders fought and died to make America a free nation, I must admit that today, the British royals mostly use their power and money to do a lot of good. Kate supports multiple charities and both William and Harry are on active military duty supporting their country. 

Even with my not-so-favourable opinion of a monarchy in general, David and I felt like this was the summer to start participating in some of the royal hoopla to see what all of the fuss is about. So before we used our extra Jubilee vacation days to head to Africa, we went to a local Jubilee street party. We enjoyed the entertainment, drank some Pimm’s cups, and bought some festive sweets!

The weekend after we returned from Tanzania, we went to Buckingham Palace with our houseguests, Emily and Erin, to see the Trooping the Colour parade. I’ve never even seen the Changing of the Guard, but the Trooping was like the Changing on crack! There were hundreds of household cavalry and Welsh guards marching down the Mall. We arrived after the royal family made their procession from Buckingham Palace down the Mall to the Horseguards Parade, so we were able to snag some great spots on a small hill between Green Park and the Palace gates.

Union Jacks flying proudly next to the palace gates

When the royal family came out for their annual balcony appearance, the crowd went nuts for Kate!  People definitely cheered when the Queen walked out, but everyone adores the Duchess and cheered loudest for her.

The Queen was then honored with a royal air force flyover

After two years of living in London and plenty of opportunities, we finally saw the royal family!  And Kate even gave a smile for David! ;)

And this past weekend, we attended our first British wedding! 

One of David’s friends from high school, Natalie, got married in Exeter.  So Friday after work, we took the train out to Karen’s and then the three of us drove through the Southwest to Devon to attend the ceremony and reception.

We made a weekend trip out of the wedding with a nice, relaxing stay in Sidmouth on the coast.  Devon was just as beautiful as War Horse made it out to be.  We really enjoyed the drive through the countryside and our stay on the beach.

We stayed in Sidmouth at a turn of the century Victorian hotel on the beachfront.  It was a beautiful hotel but we were definitely the youngest people there by 40 years. 

Dipping my feet in the cold water along the Jurassic Coast

Esplanade

Town centre

For the wedding, David rented a traditional morning suit. 

I was so excited to wear a hat to event, 

and so were most of the American girls David went to high school with!  

Kristen, Emily, Stephanie, and Katie flew in 

from the states to support Natalie.

It was Karen's first British wedding, too.  Nice hat!

The ceremony was at a church in Exeter and the reception was at a 

17^th century manor the family had rented for the week. 

The grounds of the home were beautiful

Natalie’s mom, Michelle, did a great job 

planning and decorating the marquee.

The tables were named after Greek gods.  

We were at Aphrodite (for all the beautiful ladies at our table).

The happy couple, Guy and Natalie 

Natalie and her TASIS girlfriends

Mr. Hurst, Karen, and David.  It was a TASIS reunion!

Cheers to the Queen and congratulations Natalie and Guy!