Olympic Fever

I definitely have it. I grew up playing sports. Lots of sports. Soccer (my true love), track and field, basketball, volleyball. I loved competing (and still do!). In fact, I just recently started playing on my work soccer team again and I'm having so much fun! I'm not nearly as good as I used to be (if I was even good back then - ha!) but it feels good to get back out there and compete. 

Watching the Olympics is just as fun for me. I get so into it and I'm definitely bursting with pride for our beautiful USofA. The athletes competing at that level are just so insanely good and I love watching them leave it all out there. The husband loves it too. We have a lot of fun watching on TV and making our own "color commentary." 

What is my favorite sport to watch, you might ask? I have come around to like the swimming. Especially with the last Olympics and Phelps doing so awesome and now this year with the rivalry built up with Lochte. I am also digging the volleyball - women's beach volleyball and men's indoor. They spike it so hard! Holy cow. I also like watching the random sports that you don't get to see on a regular basis, especially in the US. Like archery (have you seen those crazy hi-tech bows?) and shooting. Love it all. 

Oh, and what about the Queen "sky diving" into the stadium? Pretty funny. My favorite part of the opening ceremonies was the lighting of the torch. So cool with the young athletes running in and then lighting the 240 pieces from each country to create one unified flame. So awesome. I loved it. 

With the Olympics in London this year, it brings me back to memories of our London trip last summer. We loved that city so much. A ridiculous amount of history mixed with all things royal and a ton of beautiful old buildings. I loved every minute of it. Read more about our London travels right here. 

Are you a crazy USA super fan like me? What are your favorite sports to watch? 

Photo source: 1, 2, 3

London: Day 4

Well, we made it through London. Day 4 was our last day and we took it a bit easier. We slept in a bit and started out on a Double Decker Bus Tour. We did The Original Tour and it was pretty good, with one exception. We started at Victoria Station and went out along the river, got to the Parliament Building and decided to get off the bus and grab some pics (since you can hop back on at any stop).

The building is huge and pretty amazing with all the Gothic architecture. It was interesting to find out that the different parties (Lords and Earls) enter through different doors, as well as the Queen has her own door when she comes for a visit.

London: Day 3 Part II

Alright. Time to finish this bad boy known as Day 3 of our London trip. Like I said, it was a beast. From the Tower of London, we grabbed some coffee at Starbucks (I know, I know but we needed a little energy boost after the Tower) under the Tower Bridge and then started walking towards St. Paul's. St. Paul's was probably my favorite church (and one of my favorite sites in general) on our trip. It was awe-inspiring. I thought I liked Westminster, but I had an "experience" at St. Paul's. We realized St. Paul's was where Princess Diana and Prince Charles were married. 

London: Day 3 Part I

Day three? Also jam packed (of course)! We spent most of the day at the Tower of London (spoiler alert - it's not just one tower, but like 15 towers). We got there right when it opened to avoid as many lines as possible and went straight for the Crown Jewels since we heard it gets super crowded. No line for us and we were able to go right in. We saw lots of gaudy gold chalices, plates, serving dishes, punch bowls, etc. as well as some royal robes and other royal wear. But the best part was the Crown Jewels. 

London: Day 2

Get ready, because day two was jam packed! This is a long one, people. Day Two was our Royal London day! I had been waiting for this day ever since April 29th when I got up at 1:30 AM to watch the Royal wedding. I love all things Royal and thus, all things London. We learned that Londoners are very proud of the Monarchy. Very proud. It is pretty cool though, just because there is so much history. I mean some of the buildings date back over 1,000 years! So crazy.

London: Day 1

We started our trip off on the right note - got into Heathrow Airport at 7am after traveling for 24 hours (only about 15 hours with the time change), waited in line for customs for an hour and a half, couldn't get cash out of the ATMs, and took the Double Decker bus the wrong way. What a way to start a trip, right? We were just glad we started in London where people at least spoke some form of English.

After finally figuring out our daily cash withdrawal limit (shame on us for not checking before we went), we got to our hotel (Manor Hotel in the South Kensington & Chelsea District) in Earl's Court five hours later. Took a little two hour nap in our 4 x 5 hotel room (with a shared bathroom) and then we got to it and started walking. The view from our room...

With no plan in mind, we stumbled on the Victoria & Albert Museum. We hit it up right before they closed, but the best part is that all the museums in London are FREE! (How's that for the spending diet abroad?) The V&A had lots of medieval artifacts, some Greek statues, and a royal wing that had this HUGE famous bed. It was literally like two kings put together. I wish I would have gotten Zach in the shot for scale.

Next we stumbled on Harrod's. AKA Super-Fancy-Nordstrom. I felt out of place just walking through there (never mind that we looked like tourists already in our jeans and t-shirts). It is ginormous and had tons of fancy stuff. 

From there, it was on through Mayfair to scope out a Rick Steeve's recommended bar that was completely packed. So it was on to Hyde Park, then Picadilly Circus where we found a nice little place called The Stockpot that served traditional English fare. It was Shepard's Pie for the Hubby and Fish n' Chips for me. So good.

We wandered some more through Picadilly and SoHo (avoiding the "adult" alley... haha) then took the Tube home.

The best part about the Tube is the British lady that tells you where you are and where you're going at each stop. Picture in your best British accent the lady saying, "Please mind the gap between the train and the platform. This has been a Picadilly line service to Cockfosters." We cracked up whenever she would say Cockfosters. Yes, we are twelve year-olds.

Here are some more random shots from the day...

Without the signs on the roads, I'm positive I would have been hit by a car.

London, we loved you from the start.

I See London, I See France...

Here we go! I finally got my 2,500 + photos on to my computer, and I'm ready to share all our European adventures! Sorry if it gets a little boring, but since this is kind of like our little family scrapbook, I'm not going to spare any details. :) So buckle your seat belts, people! And get ready for some wicked awesome stories of our travels to London, Paris and Schwäbisch Hall, Germany. Here's a sneak peak...

Lots more to come!

Suggestions?

Boy am I glad the world didn't end on Saturday, because that means my Europe trip didn't get postponed yet again! Our plane tickets have been purchased and now we are trying to figure out the rest of the details. We leave July 11th and arrive in London on July 12th (yay for 24 hour plane rides in coach...). The plan is London for 5 days,

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Paris for 5 days,

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and Germany for 5 days to see my baby brother play some football! I've asked some friends, but does anyone have any suggestions on places to see/stay/eat in London or Paris? I'd love to hear any advise you have (what to skip, what's a must see)!