London 2012

This summer was so exciting with the Olympics coming to London.  In the run-up there was a torch relay which went all over Britain and when it came to Kent we knew the Games were only days away and it everyone had such a buzz.

We were lucky enough to get two lots of Olympic tickets and had two absolutely brilliant days out. To be honest we were a bit disappointed a year ago when we heard that we had only got beach volleyball and handball tickets as I'd have loved to have gone to some athletics in the stadium, but the two events we went to were absolutely brilliant and so much better than we could ever have imagined.

The beach volleyball was in Horse Guards Parade and from the moment we stepped off the train in London to the moment we got back on to go home, we were looked after by the wonderful volunteers. There were people greeting at every station with loads of signs up for all the venues and they were all so happy and cheerful, it gave London such a lease of life that there was just an energy and vibe to the city which was brilliant.  When we got to Horse Guards Parade, the troops doing the security were fantastic and quick and we were soon inside and greeted by a military band playing loads of tunes to the crowds as they went by.  Once inside we went into the beach volleyball stadium and it was huge - so much bigger than we imagined it would be. Our seats were right at the top and we had Horse Guards Parade on our left with the London Eye soaring above it. Big Ben and the houses of Parliament were in front of us and it was simply breath-taking to be in the middle of all this wonderful London history and buildings and staring down on an Olympic event!

And the volleyball itself was great, really entertaining. They have a man on a microphone commentating and at each point and break in play they play music and get the crowd clapping and singing. They even have time-outs where dancing girls come on and they get the crowd to do the conga and things. It was such good fun and a brilliant atmosphere. 

Our second trip was then to the mens quarter-final of the handball which was in the Olympic Park so we got to go and have a walk around the whole Park and see the Stadium and all the venues. The place is simply breath-taking, the river winds through the middle and it's been landscaped with tons of wild-flowers and plants throughout.  They had a big screen in the middle and were giving out Union Jack mats for people to sit on and enjoy their picnics on the grass to watch what was going on in the various venues. 

So we had a big walk around to look at everything and then went in to watch our event. It was France against Spain and there were SO many French and Spanish supporters all dressed up in their colours and very vocal and singing their songs as we went in. I immediately decided to be French for the day whilst Rob just to be annoying decided to support Spain ha ha.  It was BRILLIANT! The atmosphere inside was just fantastic and the fans were so noisy - I joined in all the French chants and National Anthem and the handball was really exciting. In the end the French won (yay!) but by just one point which was scored with around 10 seconds to spare - it was so exciting.  As this session was an afternoon one, we then got ourselves a Pimms and went and sat to watch the action on the big screen.  There were so many people there, all different nationalities and all having a good time.  At one point the hockey stadium opened and out poured the Dutch fans who had been watching their team, all happy because they had won and all dressed in orange :)

I can't praise London enough for how they handled all the masses of people and how the transport system stood up to it perfectly and how wonderful the volunteers were.  We were so so lucky to have got tickets, many of our friends were desperately trying to get tickets at the last minute and were unable to get any so we were really blessed to get in and have such a fabulous time.