Nick in Knightland - The View From Across the Pond

Note to readers:  Jefferson City resident Nick Rackers has just arrived in London to attend the Olympics.  He has graciously agreed to file reports from London for the benefit Reece's Pieces readers.  Here is Nick's first report from London dated August 3, 2012 at 3:52 PM:

As I landed in London there was no doubt I was in Olympic land.  As our plane approached Heathrow airport there were giant Olympic rings mowed in a large field.  Apparently, large draft horses pull reel-type mowers to create the pattern.  After deboarding the plane and breezing through Customs, I set out to board a train toward the city.  One problem -  I didn't have a reference number I needed.   Luckily,  last week I reserved a 3G hotspot device I could carry around with me so I could stay connected with my trusty iPhone.   It came in handy.  I booted up the device and connected to
wi-fi.   I searched my emails,  found the reference number, and was then able to receive the tickets I had paid for in advance.   Problem averted!

With all of the hype about how crowded London was going to be for the Olympics I would say nothing has been too bad. No wait at customs, not much wait at tube stations. We did have to wait about 20 minutes to get into Hyde Park, a royal park that hosted live music and large big screens on which to watch live Olympic events. We shopped at the famous Harrods department store and it felt more crowded than anything.   Tomorrow I go to Wembley Arena, one of the only venues to be used in the 1948 Olympics.  In '48 it hosted swimming in the Olympics' first indoor pool. Fast forward to 2012 and it hosts badminton.

The problem with buying tickets so far in advance is that you have no idea if you're going to get to see any USA athletes.  Events I will see are badminton, beach volleyball, table tennis, football (soccer), and the finals of women's 3m springboard diving. Hopefully the US streak of making the podium in diving will continue and I'll get to see the Stars and Stripes raised up on Sunday.

Good news is for beach volleyball:  I'll get to see one women's match and one men's match.  A U.S. team will be competing in both!   Bad news is that the weather really is pretty chilly here.   That probably means no bikinis at Horse Guards Parade because it really is cool here.   So cool, in fact, that I wore a windbreaker most of the day because, when the sun went behind the clouds and the wind picked up, I actually shivered a little. I can't tell you the last time I shivered in August.

I'm sure the Olympic action will heat things up.


Horse Guards Parade - site of the London Beach Volleyball Competition

                                                 Seating for Triathalon in Hyde Park
                                                 

                                              Swimming in Serpentine Lake - Hyde Park

                                                     Harrods Department Store

                                                Live site security queue in Hyde Park


Thanks, Nick!  Too bad about the cool weather attire in the women's beach volleyball competition, but I imagine more readers are fantasizing about shivering than about bikini-clad beach volleyball players right now.

More live reports will be posted as they are received!