London 2012

Ahhhhh how great were last years Olympics?! I was so lucky to be in the UK. Not only did I get to experience the buzz of the Diamond Jubilee {even though it was raining!} but I got to experience the hype of living in the hosting country of the 2012 Olympics! It all started with the countdown for the torch to reach the UK from it's home in Athens. Then we watched it wander all over the country. When it came to Canterbury, I made sure to leave work a little early to see it. As you can probably imagine, the town was buzzing with excitement. There were dancers, music and rows & rows of people who had been waiting for hours. Since I got into town so late, I didn't get the best view (below), and although that picture obviously does not do it any justice, it was the vibe of the atmosphere that was the real kicker. I even got a little emotional to be there - seeing it in person. When I traveled to London in 2009, I remember telling myself I would be here for the Olympics, and here I was, seeing the torch run by me in person. My view was no where near as good as Peter's (below mine), but I was still extremely thankful to be there. Everyone was so happy and excited to see it go by. It felt like the best party I'd ever been to.

The Friday night of the opening ceremony, the three of us {P & JP} sat together at home anxious for the games to begin! We were in complete awe the entire time & I could tell the boys felt really proud of their country that night. I felt proud, too! We all loved each moment of it (except maybe the hour of calling out countries we'd never knew existed!) and I was honestly shocked when I heard so many negative reviews on facebook & news articles from America. I guess I probably would have had different feelings had I not lived here and understood some of it's history and humor? Or, if I was watching back home instead of with my proud and excited Brits? Either way, I really loved it. Well done Danny Boyle. If you're in the UK and fancy another watch, you can go here. I don't think that link will work in the US...but based on your reviews, you probably don't care anyway ;-)

Peter and I didn't actually go up to London to watch any of it in the end. The weather wasn't ever really nice enough to go last minute (because it's hard to plan things around this weather, even in summer....!!) and we couldn't really be bothered to worry about parking & deal with all the madness. But we did go to London just 3 days before they started. So we saw all the preparations up and ready to go, and even then, you could feel the excitement in the air. 

My favorite event to watch was the long distance running. I was so excited by the marathon and the 10,000 meters. I loved watching Ethiopia's Tirunesh Dibaba win first place in her 10,000m run. I think I connected with running the most just because I can kind of empathize and only wish I could be as wonderful of a runner as they! Seriously, 6 miles in 29 minutes as a woman?! Course, I also liked the swimming events & watching Michael Phelps kick everyone's asses. I love this video of the US swim team below and it's even better because this song reminds me so much of last summer anyway!