Every morning, I would get on the subway, and someone would shove a free copy of this bi-daily newspaper in my hands. The Evening Standard has a reputation around London to be, because it's free, a little biased. After reading several papers over the course of 3 weeks, I saw what they meant. But it was still good for big, colorful pictures!
This is Chris Hoy, one of Britains' most famous Olympians. His sport is indoor cycling, which actually turned out to be very exciting to watch in person. They move so fast!
Here is Sir Chris Hoy. He won 5 gold medals and 1 silver in 2012, he's in his early 40's, and when all was said and done, became Britain's most successful Olympian of all time. Here he displayed a lot of emotion on the medal platform, a moment that later would come to be described by the International Olympic Committee's president Jacques Rogge as "the defining moment of the Games". (I've asked around back home here in the States...no one I talked to had heard of Chris Hoy. Ugh, we have such biased TV coverage here.)
I'd have to say one of the things that moved me the most at Olympics were the medal ceremonies. Here's a moment where someone, who's worked and sacrificed and dedicated almost their whole life to achieving their dream - and representing their country (sometimes, a country that barely gets any recognition) - finally realizes that dream. Their flag is raised, and they know in that moment...I did it.
The USA Basketball Team decided not to stay in the Olympic Village, but rather in some very nice hotels in the center of London. But they decided to slum it (at least once) on the train to get back home one night.
Here's our USA Beach Volleyball team on the eve of clinching their third straight gold medal!
We had another day off again, and decided to rent some bikes and cruise around London and see what we could see.
I'm always on the lookout for local food. "What can I get here that I can't get anywhere else?" That's what I think. What's big in East London is "pie and mash" shops. This one came very highly recommended.
Basically the pie is a pot pie filled with meat, veggies, and gravy, with mashed potatoes on the side. And then, if you noticed on the front of the shop...a cup of eels on the side. Several pieces of bony fish swam in this herby gravy. It was ok, not amazing. I probably wouldn't order it again, but it basically just tasted like and old fish, and I'm glad I tried it.
One of the things I love about wandering a city is the cool things you'll find. Like this Floating Market. Dozens of boats selling all kinds of things - food, drink, books, music, etc - were docked in this canal, and bunch of hippies were just hanging out, having a chill time.
Talked to a lot of cool people around here. Everyone was so easy going. Check out the drying rack on the boat there. That's how almost everyone in Europe dried their clothes. Buildings are older and utilities like dryers are expensive, so nearly everyone on the continent hang dries their clothes. It's not uncommon for this thing to just be sitting in the living room.
I boarded a boat that sold books and just browsed for a while. Here's a dog that was having SO much fun with that wooden block. Yes, I did play fetch with that dog later.
Dogs aren't the only ones enjoying the Floating Market. Here a cat finds a lovely couch corner to take a nap amongst the books.
There are so many pubs in London. This is one called "The Gun". It's in Canary Wharf, which is where the MS Deutschland was docked. This was such a charming place...old guns on the wall, stuff pigeons and fading globes...it was like the private study of The Most Interesting Man in the World.
I agree! Check out the old subway cars on the roof of this building too.
Taekwondo
I was really excited to see Taekwondo, partially because of my martial arts background, and also because I knew that many different countries would be competing (and cheering from the stands) in a short amount of time. The matches are only about 5 minutes long!
However, there have been some recent changes to Olympic Taekwondo, and most agree they're not for the best. The biggest change has been to the scoring system. Instead of the judge who circles the two competitors calling the points, they've implemented the an electronic scoring system similar to that of Fencing. Fighters wear special socks and chest pads with sensors in them to register points when hit in a certain place. Sounds good in theory, but as we all came to see, it dramatically changed the way the fighters actually fought. Many types of kicks, punches, knees and elbow strikes that would normally count in a Taekwondo match didn't count anymore, and the fighters ended up only trying to hit the pads, instead of fighting with traditional Taekwondo.
The result was many boos and groans from the crowd, and exasperation from certain competitors who thought that their strikes should have counted. It was just really muddled and seemed to take the fun and fierceness out of a sport that centers around quick, surprise hits and kicks. I hope in the future they do away with this stupid electronic sensor business and just get back to calling kicks and punches as usual. What they have right now is not Taekwondo.
After the match, Andy and I took the subway a few stops to find a pub to watch the Women's Gold Medal Beach Volleyball match (we won! USA!) After the match, I struck up a conversation with locals in this cockney British pub, who seemed more interested in billiards than any sport on TV. It all started when I challenged the guy with the cue at the end of the table 10 pounds that he couldn't make a trick shot that involved 3 different balls. I lost. We all ended up laughing and playing pool all night.
Rhythmic Gymnastics
There are two types of Gymnastics: the kind with vaults, rings, horsies, balance beams, and floor routines. That's the one you know about. Then there's the other type: Rhythmic Gymnastics. Instead of all of those things, it's only four different types of floor routines where gymnasts handle a ball, a club, a hoola hoop, and a ribbon (not at the same type). Rhythmic Gymnastics isn't as popular as the other kind, and some would consider it to be kind of silly as well (this guy included). But I have to say, it's very, very entertaining. It's kind of comical to see a gymnast throwing a hoola hoop in the air and then to twists and turns on the ground and then catch it with their feet while looking the other way, but it's also fascinating in a way too, because they're really talented, and it takes a lot of practice and concentration to do that kind of stuff.
Here's a group floor routine with the ball. The crowd was really into it. You know how "dance moms" and parents of 5 year old pageant queens get really into their kids' routines? Same type of thing here. People take it really seriously, haha. What a crowd!
On the way out, we ran into these patriotic guys. Nothing says "America" more than four human flags. USA!
Back in Hyde Park, many people gather around one of several huge screens to watch of the Track & Field events. I believe this is where Usain Bolt won one of his races. He's so fast!
The next day, I grabbed one of the free papers, as I usually did, and of course, Bolt was the big story!
London is a great place to walk around and just explore. And it's impossible to explore without seeing many different types of pubs. This pub claimed to be "The Best Pub in London". One day I'll have to return and see if they're right.
The Shakespeare's Head! I think there may even be a small theatre in the back.
Here's a sight every day...the subway map above our heads. Check out the special marking on the Stratford exit for "Olympic Park". The public transportation during the Olympics was top-notch, right down to the labels on subway stops.
Not sure what this business was, but some days I feel this way.
The next day in Olympic Park, I visited the Velodrome, the brand new permanent building that houses the indoor bicycle races. It was designed by Sir Chris Hoy, the British cyclist that dominated his sport. The building is also lovingly called the "Pringle" because of it's resemblance to a certain potato "crisp".
Medal ceremony in Olympic Stadium! My favorite!
Notting Hill
One of the highlights about visiting London is visiting the Portobello Market in Notting Hill. Every Saturday, many antique dealers open shop and display all kinds of rare collectibles. There's also a bunch of cheap tourist stuff out as well, so it's a great place to walk around and people watch, and maybe pick up something cool.
It tends to be a pretty popular place :)
Don't let this modest awning fool you...this is a huge antique market, that goes waaay back in there. It's tight and a bit cramped, but everywhere you look is something cool.
Noticed this on the wall. Apparently if you try and shoplift, you get your photo on the Wall of Shame.
Here's something that I found particularly fascinating. I'm not sure this pipe would be considered politically correct today...
Cheese! I love old cameras.
These were some of my favorite items that I found. Vintage match strikers. You strike the match vertically along the rippled side of the colored glass. The tops are solid silver...each one of these is about $250.
There were a lot of these around, but the colored glass ones were my favorite. These one are only 130 pounds (about $180) because they're clear. Check out those fancy binoculars in the background!
This lady was hilarious. "5 pounds!" she would yell as people walked past and inspected her necklaces.
Good to remember.
Street art is everywhere in London. Here's one of the many that had to do with the Olympics.
Notting Hill is famous for it's many colorful apartment buildings. I imagine that this would be Notting Hill's Little Italy.
In front of my favorite yellow building. Check out the little Olympic flags!
Back on the subway, I spotted this guy rocking the keytar as people passed by. The particular spot usually had some sort of musician entertaining the masses.
Gotta get my pic with Bobbie, right?!
Here I am with friends on the night bus: Callum, Charlie, Me, and Andy. We tried take a "bored out of our minds" pic. Apparently Charlie is very worried when she's bored.
Check out that beautiful London sky!
Renting bikes again, we rode around town without a plan. We stumbled upon this street art, which we suspected could be by London-based street artist Banksy. (If you dont know Banksy, click here) Turns out it wasn't Banksy, but rather a local artist. But our search great street art continued...
This made me smile. :)
What a charming way to encourage people to obey the speed limit. Who doesn't want to slow for a turtle?
It think we may have found a Banksy!
Mr. Brainwash is a street artist that first began his artistic career documenting Banksy's career, and then later he branched out and started making his own art. (Some would say he say 'copied' Banksy, but I'm staying out of that.) Riding down the street, Andy and I stumbled upon his art show! This is where it all started!
On one of the walls outside, there's this giant mural featuring the Fab Four...in some different digs.
Mr. Brainwash, much like great artists like Andy Warhol, likes to take existing images and tweak them a bit for social commentary.
Here's the gate finally opening up! The Olympic Rings made out of paint cans on the wall.
Then we went inside....and he was there! What a surprise! Check out King Kong made entirely out of car tires.
A very futuristic, globular chair. Actually pretty comfortable. I felt like a robot should have brought me a beverage.
Great British pop art here. Brainwash uses one of his favorite mediums, vinyl records, to create something cool.
Here's a close up of Ringo's droopy face. So cool, you can really see the records.
Turned up to 11.
Mega-sized Polaroid.
We caught up with Mr. Brainwash outside of the exhibit on the sidewalk. Someone had asked him to sign something, and all they had was a 10 pound note. He defaces it in his own unique way.
He's always up for a pic, why not?
Life is beautiful - agreed!
Time for the Closing Ceremonies! I wish I could say that I had tickets to it...not so much. The best way to watch the ceremonies is just hanging out with friends in front of a big screen. We first tried to get into one of the public parks where they had set up several giant screens. As you can see...we weren't the only ones with that idea. Turns out, it had filled up several hours before we got there.
Some people got the idea to use these bikes to climb over the fence and into the park. Most got caught, but a few made it.
Rather than fight our way into the park, we decided to go to a nearby pub and watch in on TV. Turned out to be the best idea! We got to sit down and hang out with a bunch of news friends...isn't that what pubs are all about?
Afterwards, we got hungry, as you do. Here we are enjoying a kebab on the sidewalk. Andy is caught blinking, as usual.
On the bus ride home, we ran into someone who had volunteered for the Closing Ceremonies. She got to keep her outfit, including this cool hat with a working light bulb.
The next day, the free British paper showed a great shot of the fireworks coming off of Olympic Stadium.
Last day in London, time to get out there and look for some good food! What else says "British food" than...Dutch food! We found this great pancake house that make enormous pancakes.
Here's my breakfast. Looks like a pizza, eh? It's one huge pancake. Kind of like a crepe that's not folded up.
Then it was time for a classic tourist hop-on hop-off bus ride around town. It really is the best way to hear about cool things of the city and see many things. Here's looking at Big Ben in central London.
Jessica Ennis, the hometown hero. By the way, so tired of seeing hashtags in things. I can't wait for that to eventually go away (or turn into something else, whatever).
One of the many colorful, flowers-laiden pubs in London.
One more shot of the Tower Bridge! Why not, it's a classic London rainy day.
These are the rental bikes all over the city that we used several times.
Countdown to the Para Olympics! This is in front of the National Gallery in central London.
Street art just fascinates me. Sometimes it doesn't even really make much sense, but you can just tell creative people live nearby.
More colorful pubs and flowers!
Our bus tour ended with a river cruise on the Thames. This giant poster of the royal family from the 60's (I think) hung over the river. And of course, here's the London Eye.
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