Chelsea Football Club Stadium |
We had an equally un-hassley tube trip over to Chelsea (you know we got to sit down on virtually every tube train we went on - now that's unheard of in 'normal' times!) We stayed at an hotel in the grounds of the world famous football club, Chelsea. The photo above is their stadium.
We watched the opening ceremony in our hotel room, sitting on the bed eating pizza and drinking red wine! I thought it was great, a bit baffling at times but entertaining and very British! When did the Queen learn to parachute out of a helicopter? I thought the way they lit the cauldron was fantastic too!
Hubby and I waiting for the road race to pass! |
Leaders in Men's Road Race |
Olympic Rings on the Thames |
Airport style security at Horse Guards Parade |
If you have ever been to Horse Guards Parade before you would not have realised that such a huge stadium could be constructed on that spot! It can accommodate 15,000 spectators.
Me at Horse Guards Parade stadium |
Before things got under way we were treated to interviews with Lord Coe (a former Olympic champion himself) and
former Olympic athlete Colin Jackson.
Then the tournament began. I managed to get a few photos, though the zoom on my camera is not too great!
Austria vs Czech republic |
Brazil vs Mauritius |
China vs Switzerland |
Great Britain vs Canada |
Sunday required an early start - 5.30am. Our next event, judo, started at 9.30am and we were supposed to arrive a good 1 to one and a half hours early. The event was at the Excel Centre in the East End of London. Chelsea is in the West End. So we had to get right across London for about 8.00am!
Excel Centre |
Looking back at crowds at Excel centre. London Docklands in background. |
Inside the North Arena - the judo mats |
Knowing that most of the crowd won't have watched a judo competition before they helpfully showed a few short videos outlining the rules and basic techniques of judo. Again I was a bit far away to take really good shots but here's a taste of what I got...
The guy in blue is Israeli but I can't remember who the other guy is! |
The guy in blue is Colin Oates - GBR, he won this round |
You would not believe the noise when a Briton came onto the mats - it was ear shattering! Sophie Cox and Colin Oates were competing for Britain in the half heavy weight category. Unfortunately Sophie was knocked out in her first match but Colin got through two rounds before being knocked out by a golden score in the quarter-finals. The support they received from the crowd though was phenomenal!
All in all it was a brilliant weekend in a wonderful Olympic atmosphere. I'm so glad we were able to go and experience it first hand - an experience I'll never forget. However, it was tiring and we both came home completely shattered! Just like this dog who we saw in St James's Park:
Dog tired! No it's not me! |
7 comments:
It looks and sounds like you had an amazing time, Sue. I hear Judo and TKD are in the same venue (as are wrestling and weightlifting), but I don't think anything other than Judo has started yet - not sure.
Hi Felicia. Yes the weightlifting, boxing and table-tennis were all going on at the same time as the judo. TKD hasn't started yet - must be next week...
Wonderfully told itinerary of your time at the games :-) Really cool.
Sounds like you had a real blast. Next time The Games come to the USA I'll have to snag some tickets.
Thanks Charles:)
Brett, why not go to Rio?
Very jealous! Sounds like fun. So far, London seems to have done a fine job hosting the Olympics.
Not personally a fan of the TKD, but I'm looking forward to the streams of the wrestling and weightlifting.
Hi Steve, I think London's doing a great job too! Thanks for commenting...
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