Last post on this trip

Wednesday, Sean was in remarkably good condition. We had a leisurely start and headed into the city to do the London Eye. There seemed to be quite long queues but James hating queues found a Fast track process where you pay a little bit more and bypass all the queues and get onto the next gondola. It's pretty impressive, very comfortable air conditioned etc. the views are superb and it would be worthwhile repeating at night. We then returned to Ealing and said good bye to Merryn. Teva had decided the new TV was too small for the wall space and was off to get a bigger one. We really enjoyed our time in Ealing and it was so nice to catch up with Teva and Merryn again. They have a really nice house, lots of room anhawser wonderful hosts. We packed up the car and set off for Woking. By now James navigating skills were mproving with some help from Nicola we found our way straight to Woking, located he supermarket, petrol station, car wash and even a bike shop,for Nicola. We had a lovely evening with Marion and Sam, our last evening in London. The next morning we were up early packing and showering etc. we were sad to say goodbye to Sam as he as off to work. Hopefully we will see him in New Zealand on one trip. Marion kindly took us to the airport included our expanded luggage and waistlines. This made our travel so easy, hassle free and enjoyable. We were sad to wave goodbye to Marion and will definitely meet up with Sam and Marion again somewhere.

The return travel went very smoothly with all flights on time. Sean and Nicola had a bad few hours coming into Singapore with some travel sickness. Once we got some motion sickness pills into Singapore they were both great. Lots of sleep on the next leg to Auckland for the entire crew. Nicola and James seat separately ended up with sharing 3 seats with one other person. A long delay waiting for our bags at Auckland airport. I think ours were the last 4 bags off the plane, and that was tagged as priority in Business class.

We did a quick sort of our luggage at home and went to bed around 1am. We awoke to a nice start to the day after 6 to 7 hours sleep. Holiday over 

Tuesday

Initially we split into two groups. James and Teva went off to pick up some electronics for Teva and Merryns new house including a couple of new Tvs etc. Meren, Sean and Nicola headed into Oxford Street where Sean successfully purchased a new suit. James joined them in Oxform Circus and then after a quick lunch we headed to the tube and went to the Green Park station which was absolutely heaving with people. The authorities basically reconfigured the station so it was one way in and one way out. It took a while in a big crown to eventually make our way into the park. We then walked the 5 minutes down to Buckingham Palace. We then discovered that the Triathlon had been run around here earlier in the day. While standing at the main gates, we ran into to Aaron Gate's parents Murray and Annete, slong with their son Daniel and Aarons girlfriend Kristie. Aaron was part of the bronze medal winning Team Pursuit, and as I have told everybody before was coached in soccer by myself, do I taught him everything he knows about sport.  We then headed to Victoria tube station with a few stops in tourist shops and a cafe on the way. Meren was keen to hit the London Eye but was out voted. So we came back to Ealing and watched the Kerien semi final and final. Simon van Velthooven rode very smartly and fully deserved his Bronze medal. Quite unique awarding two bronzes because they could not separate the two riders. Teva prepared home made Pizzas for tea and a great night was had by all. Sean went out at 5:30pm to meet up with a mate and got back in the wee small hours. So I presume had a good night. We will see when he surfaces.

Monday

We set off around 10am to visit the Natural History Museum. Nicola opted out and went out shopping with Mackenzie Loos later in the day. Great museum, it's worth visiting just to admire the building itself. The exhibits were excellent, dinosaur skeletons, a decent sized Moa, huge wing on minerals, stones gems etc. Unfortunately quite a few section were closed because they were 'evolving' - their words not mine. Including the Darwin section. We then went to the Bank tube stop and met up with Ethan and Sam. We had a nice lunch together enjoying a special bottle of wine given to Sam for is 21st by his coach. Very pleasant. After that we tubed back to Ealing to watch the track cycling session on Tv which included the individual sprint final. Teva and Merryn invited another Kiwi couple over for a BBQ and a great night was had by all. The bed was particularly welcoming that night.

Only a few days to go, James is set on seeing the British Museum in next couple of days, the Elgin marbles and Egyptian section of particular interest.

Sunday

Sunday began as it meant to continue with showers on and off. Still warm enough, in fact hot, when the sun came out. We decided it was time to culture up the trip. We set off into town and visited the Tate Modern gallery, the primary interest was to see the Damian Hurst collection. It was quite interesting showing the evolution of his work. I was particularly keen to see the sharks in tanks and the cows that had been cut in half. Some of the other work was entertaining like the huge glass box full of flies with blood and a horses head in one part, disgusting really. Another live exhibit was a room which had started with a load of chrysalises and was now mostly full of butterflies. Interesting visit, I think I find Banksy's work more like art.

We then found a cafe for lunch and watched part of the women's marathon on TV. After that it was time to head out to the Olympic park. This time we caught another tube line to the West ham station. Then had a 20 minute walk to the entrance followed by a 30 minute walk to the velodrome. In between there was a massive down pour. Luckily we were able to duck into a souvenir shop and kept mostly dry. We got to the velodrome about 1 hour before the event and it was hot and sunny by now so we got a beer before heading in. Our seats were great on the opposite side of the track the start finish line but only a few rows back from the rail. The racing was very good with the mens individual sprints through to the selection of the semi finalists, the women's sprints through to the selection of the quarter finalists and The last two events of the omnium. We got to see Natasha Hansen from New Zealand ride quite a few rounds eventually being eliminated.

We then headed back into town using the Javelin train service which is from the Stratford International station to St pancreas in 7 minutes. The change to Kings cross underground to Oxford circus where we went and had a quick Italian dinner and then outwards to Ealing. Our friends Teva and Merryn were back from their holiday in Provence and it was great to catch up. But first we got to watch the men's 100metre final on TV which was convincingly won by Usain Boult. Sam Webster managed to score a ticket to this special evening session of athletics, must have been great to see live.

Then it was time to  crash, the days are rushing by not to long before that long flight home.

Wednesday and Thursday

Wednesday was officially a rest day for the weaker members of the team !

James, Sean and Nicola had a quiet day driving to Virginia Water and going for a walk around the lake. We viewed the man made 10metre waterfall and also the Roman ruins which were transported from what is now Libya in Victorian times. Very pleasant outing followed by pub lunch and then back home to watch the men's and women's time trials on TV. Nicola has a cold at the moment so a great chance to get on top of it.

Meren went with Marion to Guildford for a very successful shopping trip. Maybe 9am to 4pm. That evening we went to a local Indian restaurant for a great meal. It is great that Britan now have a couple of Golds as the public were starting to get concerned. Bradley Wiggins rode a great time trial and was head and shoulders above the rest. We have had a few calls with Sam, he is in the best shape of his life and is riding PBs. What might have been.....

Thursday was time to be a tourist again. We caught the train from Woking to Waterloo and then joined a Big Red Bus tour of London. Great to get the commentary and for Nicola and Sean to orientate themselves with the city. After a late lunch in Oxford Street Meren and Nicola looked at a couple of shops while James and Sean tubed to London Bridge and the Cartan travel offices to pick up the Olympic tickets. All went very smoothly. We then met up again at Kiwi house and watched the Team Sprint. The first ride was very disappointing more than .400 second slower than Melbourne, but the second ride was awesome breaking the New Zealand record by .2 second. Final ranking 5th in the Olympics. 5th is probably not far wrong. The gap to the 3,4th position is closing but the Brits are getting faster and faster. The Team pursuit boys put in a great effort and qualified 3rd. I expect  Aaron Gate will ride on Friday and we see even faster times. Sean had a mate who had just arrived in London come and meet him at Kiwi house for a few drinks. Meren, James and Nicola departed for home around 8:30pm.  Sean got to Woking  quite a bit later..

Friday and Saturday

Friday we relocated from Marion and Sam's house in Woking to Teva and Merryns house in Ealing. Everybody has been so generous to us on this trip and Marion and Sam have loaned us a car which makes getting about to easy. Teva and Merryn were out next door neighbors in Grange road. They have been living in Paris for 4 years and shifted to London about 1 week ago. In the afternoon we travelled across town on the Central line from Hanger Lane to Stratford, where the Olympic village is accessed. We then went one more stop out to Hackney Wick and found Tom and Jessy Seaton's Crate pizzeria and bar. Tom and Jessy are the children of roger and Tessa Seaton. We had a great catch up and sampled their menu of pizzas and really enjoyed the output from their microbrewery. This bar is right on the canal that goes around the Olympic park. Their food is superb and the beer wonderful. This place is seriously worth a visit. Later we walked down the canal path to their other business Counter Cafe, this is another really neat spot to visit for a real coffee or in our case a drink of wine. Outside their is a pontoon with tables and chairs moored on the canal. As it was getting late we grabbed a cab from Counter Cafe to Bethnal Green and the. Caught the Central line back to Hanger Lane.

Saturday was an early start, after a late to bed. I woke the family at 6am and we were finally on the road by 7:20. This morning we were heading to the Olympic stadium to see Sam and also our first session at the Olympic Velodrome. The Olympic Park is huge, I mean seriously huge we probably walked for 30 minutes from the entrance to the Velodrome. The weather was dodgy with overcast skies and occasional showers. The crowds heading into the Park was enormous but incredibly well organized and directed. I could not believe that you could get around 200,000 people into the park in around an hour and not have huge queues but they really had their security processed and ticket checking sorted out. I hope someone from Eden Park made it to the Olympics. They had a reasonable quantity of different types of food on sale and at generally reasonable prices. We got to the Velodrome at 9:30am for a 10am session. Almost all of this time spent traveling. There was a 150metre queue to get into the Velodrome, how British is that. Once again they were processing everybody really fast and we were at a slow walk till the final 15 metres. Once we got to the velodrome door we had another surprise. They would open the door and let about 15 people in and then close the door.we were in an airlock. Once the outer door shut they opened an inner door and we went into the velodrome itself. I presume this maintained the temperature and air pressure. Once inside we met Sam. It was great to see him after months away. He was looking very fit and lean. Hugs and kisses all round. sam was disappointed not to be riding especially since he had ridden PBs over the past few days.we stayed and talked until the event was about to start and we had to take our seats. For this first session we were in the front row of the upper level  half way round the track from the start finish line. It was an amazing view. We had massive speakers right next to us, it was not so much Loud as vibrating your whole body. Once you got to used to it it was not a problem a bit like being up front at a concert. They had a bass rumble going almost the whole time to promote an atmosphere. Also just 2 metres away was once of the motors that controlled the spider camera. Absolutely fascinating watching the camera and the spool of wire winding and unwinding depending on the required shot.

The race was interesting with the early round of the Individual sprints and the Omnium. Jason Kenny was awesome in top qualifier at 9.7 seconds for flying 200metres.  The competition was made a lot less interesting with the new UCI rule of only one rider per country. Many of the fastest sprinters were not competing including our Sam. Eddie Dawkins was representing New Zealand. Unfortunately Eddie was unable to reproduce his Melbourne form of 9.9 seconds instead recording a relatively slow 10.2 seconds. This qualified him in9th place (in world champs this time would have been maybe 20th). Eddie lost his first round ride to a closely matched rider who rode the same time. However Eddie got a Repecherge ride, unfortunately this was also a loss, and the end of the Individual Sprints for New Zealand.  All in all an interesting session to watch but also gutting what could have, should have been. New Zealand could have had a rider in the top 2 to 4 places.

We then went to the Westfield Stratford mall and had a brief look at the shops and grabbed a late lunch. We then went back to the house for an afternoon rest. Nicola and Sean still fighting colds and James tiredness. The rest of the day was spent watching the Olympics on television followed by an excellent pub meal in Ealing Broadway.

Finally an early night for all.

Well Monday was a superb day for us. Marion took us out to Mercedes world and organized a 1 hour driving experience for Sean with James as an excited passenger. We had an instructor on board who was just amazing with calm instructions suggestions and helpful techniques. So after a minute insuring the best seating settings, Sean was able to drive off in a 6.3 litre twin turbo V8 Amg slc. We covered 5 different courses including a circular skid pan, a straight line skid pan where you got up to speed then hit the brakes immediately before two cones and then swerve left and right, a dry straight line where you accelerate as fast as possible up to 70mph and then do full braking to a stop before hitting a barrier. Then there were two circuits. The first was very tight corners and not so much fun. The second circuit had one short straight and lots of corners. We were about to hit 110mph on the straight before some serious braking. I have never been in a car capable of accelerating or braking like this. It was an amazing experience.

In the afternoon we borrowed one of Sam and Marion's cars and drove to Ealing to visit Teva and Merryn. Nicola showed off her navigation skills, with the help of her iPhone and got us straight there no problems. Unfortunately our timing was off for Teva and Merryn with the Sky man installing, Merryn off at the bank and Teva trying to get everything sorted for a 6am drive to Paris the next morning. We collected a set of keys and headed back to Woking. As we neared Woking we decided it would be rude not to stop into a pub for a beer. The Cricketers was pLeasant on a sunny afternoon. 

We watched the Olympics for a while with Marion and once Sam returned from work we cooked steaks on the BBQ. It was rather nice to crawl into bed after a full day.

Wednesday was an early start for James and Meren because we were off to the Governor Generals breakfast at Kiwi house. We left Woking at 7am and the train had us into Waterloo station in 30 minutes. We then took the tube to Kings cross and walked the 400metres to Kiwi House. It's was really nice talking to other parents of cyclists and rowing and rellies of Brent Newdick the decathlete. We met Brent's mother in Delhi and she arrives in London in the next few days.

After that the day went downhill on a major way for James..... We went shopping. Actually sean and Nicola came into town with Marion and were working to restore the health of the UK economy. They both had a great deal of success and purchased some great clothes and shoes etc.

We then took the tube on the Bakerloo line to Waterloo station and a train back to Woking. We had an early pub meal and retired home to watch Olympic swimming on Tv.

Then we shot across to Madame Tussaudes. There were large queues of people outside and I was dreading the delays, but we went to a door where you purchase tickets for today and there was no queue. Sam S had done some research for us and printed out Two for One vouchers that required us to show our train tickets. Ended up saving us 60pounds absolutely wonderful. We all enjoyed the exhibits. It is constantly changing and a lot  different to the visit in 2007.

We then took the tube on the Bakerloo line to Waterloo station and a train back to Woking. We had an early pub meal and retired home to watch Olympic swimming on Tv.