The Faces of the Olympics

So, London 2012 is drawing to a close, and our Olympics activities will soon all be just a memory. This will be my last blog about the Olympics, and I thought it might be fitting to share with you some of the "faces" of the Olympics that have made it such a success.

From the moment that I was greeted upon arrival at the airport by my own personal volunteer (and friend)

throughout all the Olympics, the 70,000 volunteers and the security made the event flow smoothly

without hassles,

and thankfully safe and secure.

Attending the events with friends

made the experience even that much 

richer and more memorable.

There was a whole lot of red,

white,

and blue around London.

Some of it was from the US supporters,

but a lot more was, of course, in honor of Team GB.

The countrymen and women of England

should be proud of the way it all sorted out!

From scores of countries, they came 

for the party.

I think the Netherlands fans were the biggest party animals of all, 

for they were dressed to the nines every time I saw them in the stands.

And then there are the Aussie's, who will "do anything 4 tickets."

There were a lot of veterans in the group, including these chaps

who had quite a collection of "pins" going.

If you looked hard enough and had a bit of luck, you could catch glimpses of celebrities. The NBC crew was filming for the Today show, so Ryan Seacrest, Al Roker, Matt Lauer and all the gang were on hand to report

back on their observations.

Swimmers Conor Dwyer

and Ricky Berens, gold medalists in the 4 x 200meter freestyle relay along with  Phelps and Lochte, were there eating cheese with Giada de Laurentiis and signing autographs.

We spotted Ryan Bailey in the mall, so generously taking time to be photographed with the kids who seemed to idolize him. He later ran the 100 meter race, coming in fifth.

His buddy with him, Duane Solomon, placed fourth in the 800 meter final.

Celebrities in their own right, both Mandeville

and Wenlock seemed to pop up everywhere.

And now it's time to close the games. I'll always cherish the spirit of these London 2012 games--ask anyone who lives in the city and they'll surely agree that Londoners and their guests from around the world were at their very friendliest, as we all linked arms to celebrate the aspirations and accomplishments of some 10,000 athletes.

I'm excited now for the "after party," The Closing Ceremonies, which is titled A Symphony of British Music. Some 4100 performers are reported to be entertaining on this world wide stage, and a parade of British musical greats are rumored to be lined up for the performance. British papers are reporting that 20 or more original artists are scheduled to perform. It's very likely we are going to see a reunion of the Spice Girls as they've been spotted around town rehearsing, and secret rehearsals with others have been taking place in a Ford factory outside London.

Rumored stars perhaps to perform, but not confirmed, are  Adele, The Who, Russell Brand, Queen, Annie Lennox, Paul McCartney, Rolling Stones, Jessie J, Take That, Muse, One Direction and George Michael.

Now you know they aren't all going to show up for the party, but won't it be fun to see this Sunday who does come?

Me, I'm crossing my fingers for Adele....

How about you?

Cruising Olympic Park

Take a stroll with me through Olympic Park. When early plans were made to host the London 2012 Olympics, as many existing venues in London as possible were selected for use, but there was an enormous project underway to build an Olympic Park that would be environmentally sound, and could be converted into a useable community following the Olympics completion.

The first buildings greeting you upon entrance are those of the Aquatic Center. In the foreground, you see the facility used for water polo, and behind it

the beautiful Aquatic Center which features an S-shaped roof inspired by the flow of water. Although it will be reduced in size going forward, it will become part of the community with 2 50 meter pools and a 25 meter diving pool, all with moveable floors.

Over a year ago, we visited the construction site, and wondered what the red tower might be. Aquatic buildings in the background here....

And now we know--it's the Orbit, which at 377 feet is the tallest art structure in Britain. Designed by internationally acclaimed Anish Kapoor, it has received mixed reviews, but with an elevator carrying you up to the observation deck which offers stunning views I am told, a restaurant yet to open, 455 steps to descend and a fascinating twisted design, it hopes to remain a huge attraction in the future. 

Closing temporarily after the Olympics until late 2013, it will give everyone a chance to decide if they admire it or not. 

Remember, the Eiffel Tower was hated at first, and almost taken down, but look how it is adored today!

Reigning side by side along the Orbit is the centerpiece of the park: The Olympic Stadium. Currently able to hold 80,000 spectators, it is possible to remove 25,000 seats if the new tenant so desires. Currently, that is up for grabs, as a final decision has not been made about its future. West Ham football team was one of the forerunners who were being considered as tenants, but that remains to be seen.

At the height of speculation about just how the Olympic flame would be lit, Hubby speculated the Orbit would unwind and reach over into the stadium to light the fire. I must admit that would have been pretty spectacular!

What happens to the Park? A £300 million plan is in place to convert the park into the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park with green space

and facilities that will become an active part of a revitalized community in what was once

one of the poorest areas of London. What once was an undeveloped area in east London, will be regenerated into a vital community

that will be supported by new parks, open spaces, community facilities and excellent transport links.

The basketball arena is one of those temporary structures that will be removed and relocated.

A Road Cycle Circuit and Mountain Bike course will be added to the Velodome and BMX Circuit to create a state of the art Velopark, available primarily to the public but also to be used as training facilities as needed.

The Olympic Village, which has been home to 17,000 athletes and officials will become part of Stratford City. With 3600 apartments, it will be a hub of commerce, retail and leisure, once the plans have come to fruition.

Just in front and to the left, the white roof you can see is the home of NBC broadcasting. Stay tuned for more about that in the next blog.

BBC studios are perched on top of 18 recycled shipping containers, and with a staff of 765, their number pales in comparison to the swarm of 2,700 staff members of NBC who are here in London to cover the big event.

And what would the Olympics be without the presence of that international phenomenon knows as McDonald's? 

The biggest McDonald's in the world has been built in the park--all temporary with 75% of the building materials to be used after the tear-down to aid in future company buildings.

With a capacity to seat 1500, and serve 1000 people in an hour this 3000 square feet restaurant is a sight to see in itself. And so we did, dining in style with good friends on Big Macs and Quarter Pounders!

And to end on a piece of trivia, where is the next biggest McDonald's in the world?

If you guessed Moscow, you would have been right!!

The "people" of the Olympics coming up in the next blog, so come back for more.

Go USA!

Time for Some Beach Volleyball

Surely the most spectacular venue of the London Olympics is the Beach Volleyball site inserted smack into the Horse Guard Parade and in the shadow of Whitehall, the London Eye,

Big Ben and the Prime Minster's Doorstep at 10 Downing Street. Here 96 athletes are battling it out on a stretch of sand 30 miles from the nearest real beach. 4115 tons of sand from a quarry in Surrey, England were shipped in, and in a matter of 6 weeks from the Trooping of the Colour in this very location, the stage was set up for the biggest party event of the Olympics.

As you enter the surroundings, you are greeted by a 25 foot sculpture of Kerry Walsh, an American beach volleyball player and two time Gold medalist, who is aiming for another gold this year.

Some amazing sand sculptures are up for view,

and this artist is working on his rendition of the Beach Volleyball venue surrounded by all the historical buildings.

Bright and early one morning, we took in the match between the Chinese girls and Greece.

The women beach volleyball players are some lean, mean machines!

Xue Chan and Zhang Xi of China easily mastered this match to move on,

and then posed kindly for us. They were an awesome pair and will be a formidable competitor against Americans Kerri Walsh and Misty May-Treanor in Tuesday's semi-finals.

Germany easily defeated crowd favorites from Mauritius,

and then it was time for the men. 

Russia played up to the crowd, and defeated China to move on,

followed by Poland's defeat of South Africa.

And then there was this little group called The Horse Guards dancers who charmed the crowd

with every kick, twist

and shimmy turning the event into one of the most coveted tickets of this year's Olympics.

Certainly the most festive atmosphere of all the competitions!

A DJ, congo lines, macarena, rock&roll, and a bit of flirting made the time outs and intermissions as entertaining as the volleyball.

And since I've been sharing with you some of the friends we made in the crowd, let me introduce you to little Johnny of Team GB who came for the show with his mommy and daddy who were celebrating their anniversary with a champagne toast.

He was a little young to appreciate the "view" that this event offered, but his daddy sure did appreciate the players' "talents" and physique.

This sport definitely includes a hug-fest

after each point

with the gals,

a bit of a squeeze

and even some lovin' with the guys. Awww.....

Tuesday holds the semi-finals for the women's teams. Both American teams have made it to this point--one of them will be playing China, the other team playing Brazil. In what could be an interesting scenario, if both American teams win the semi-finals, they could end up playing each other in the finals.

There is one men's team playing today, Monday, in the quarter finals--wishing them the best as they aim to win.

Lots of good beach volleyball ahead--come join the party!