at the games

This last week in London has been an absolute dream. Supporters from all over the world were here with us to celebrate in the athletes' victories, share in their sorrows, and shorten the gap between nations with a pint or two. We have loved every moment.

Our favorite place to go for the games was Hyde Park. This lovely area at the edge of Kensington Gardens was transformed for the Games into a poor sports fan's mecca. Entry was free, and after an average wait of 20 minutes to get through security and into the park, we were surrounded by everything olympics. There were five big screens showing different events, multiple stages for live music, and stands for beer and food from many countries as far as my hungry eyes could see.

We enjoyed many happy moments here, most of them dressed as Captain and Mistress America (the latter is a nickname I was given by a random passerby and have eagerly adopted). We were hesitant about drawing attention to ourselves as Americans in large crowds, and we were definitely targeted, but only for cheers, smiles, and photo ops. We must've taken 50 photos with different fans. My favorite moments came after Team USA beat Japan for Gold in Women's football. Several Japanese fans asked us to take pictures with us, and congratulated us on a game well played. I sincerely hope we would have been as kind and enthusiastic to our oppostion had we lost. They were remarkable.

 The crowds at Hyde Park were enormous and full  of noisy national pride, which made for an infectious enthusiastic atmosphere. Another highlight was during the Men's 5,000m Final. All screens were turned to this race to support local athlete, Mohammed Farah. Everyone in Hyde Park at that moment was on Team GB, and we all screamed ourselves hoarse until he crossed the finish line and secured the Gold. The park exploded with cheers for a man most of us had never heard of. We shared hugs and high fives with other fans sporting many different nations flags as we all stood together for this new local hero. It. Was. Awesome.

We are able to go see one event live: The Men's Volleyball Bronze Medal Final, Italy v. Bulgaria. Unfortunately the US was knocked out before the medal round, but it was still incredible to cheer on the best in the world. As a superior volleyball athlete myself (BAA city champs, 2005), I was able to appreciate their skills, and explain everything to Chris, who does not share my physical abilities. Their serves were the most impressive, some reaching 130km/hour! More than once players were knocked over attempting to return a serve. Spoiler Alert: Italy won the medal 3 sets to 1, and it was exhilerating joining in their cheers, but heart breaking to watch the Bulgarians slumped on the side of the court, knowing they were going home empty handed. Our days here have defintely been full of emotion!

On the last night of the Games we headed to a delightful bar called the House of Nations for their Closing Ceremonies celebration. We were lucky enough to rendevous once more with a charming group of spirited Canadians we'd met in Hyde Park due to our shared interest in eccentric costumes and national pride. The ceremonies were incredibly inspirational, and our sense of community was heightened as we shared bucket after bucket of beers and cheers. To top it off, we befriended a torch bearer who joined our little group and allowed us to share in a bit of her glory. When the announcers spoke of "bringing together the youth of the world", we truly felt a part of it. And then we danced. Bearing our flags with pride, and some decorations from our neighbors as well, we danced into the morning.

We did not get to see much of non-Olympic London, so of course we plan to return one day. We also intend to add "go to every Olympic Games" on our list of life to do's.

The Italian Stallion and his Mare

Oh Italy. Where to start. After a week and a half of doing nothing in Greece, we were quite excited to get back to city living and exploring in Italy.  We immediately missed Greece, however, when we were introduced to the sweltering Italian heat. Every day was flirting with 100 degrees (or 37 degrees Celsius if you're a backwards European...or chemist), cloudless, windless, and humidity was often at least 90%. Blech. Beautiful...but blech.

Rome is ancient and amazing. Our travel guide book said that the reason the Rome metro system is so awful is that because every time they start digging to build a new line they unearth new ruins that instantly become historical sites. Seeing the Colosseum was unreal, although we almost didn't even get the chance because it was there that we had our first run in......with the law. After exiting the metro stop, we were pulled aside by two Italian cops, porcos if you will. They requested to see our passports with no probable cause and my years of experience of watching Law and Order immediately kicked in. My first thought was that they were crooks, fresh out of Italian jail looking to swindle two very handsome Americans. That thought was quickly diminished when I noticed that they were dressed in what appeared to be authentic albeit funny looking uniforms, and more importantly, they had guns. My second thought was that my life of crime had come to an end. A brilliant career that started with me stealing a Goosebumps sticker (sorry Mom) and ended with me sneaking into an Italian outdoor showing of Puss in Boots (sorry Mom). Goose had her passport in her bag but mine was in the hotel room and all I had on me was an International Youth Card that is not an official ID and has a picture of me that looks like THIS. After five minutes of jotting down info, the police handed Goose her passport and sent us on our way. No doubt we are now on some sort of watch list. Apologies to all Chris Millers of the world.

Florence was by far the most low key city we have visited. We spent almost all of our time sitting outside the Duomo, which is this huge dome located in the central of the city. The Duomo looked like nothing else I have seen on this trip. It was beautiful and dwarfed everything around it but mainly, it looked fake. It's hard to describe but the paint job made it look like a prop from a movie set. Like it could be pushed over with a strong wind. The painting on the building included shadows and texture and depth to make it appear 3D as though it were just a flat picture on a piece of paper. It was where all the cool kids hung out to drink late at night on the steps. Naturally we found ourselves there often, mainly because the AC in our room was awful. Most nights I only made it two hours before waking up covered in sweat. Florence destroyed our sleep schedule.

Venice is a place unlike anywhere I've ever been. There are no buses, no cabs, no cars, no motorcycles. There aren't even bicycles as every three blocks you have to walk up the steps of a bridge over a canal. It goes without saying that the city is not very handicapable. It appears the Venetians are a bunch of disabilists. The only way to traverse the city is by walking or by some form of boat. They have water taxis but of course the most glamorous is the gondola. Venice always brings to mind two young lovers on a long boat being effortlessly guided through the water by a handsome lad belting out That's Amore. Though our gondolier spent most of the time hollering at other gondoliers, he did not disappoint and often burst into song.

The hardest part about Italy was navigating the roads. Often within a span of six blocks one straight road would change names three times so we often got lost. We started making mnemonic devices so Pandolfini became James Pandolfini and Brogio de Trossi became Portia de Rossi. My favorite was in Venice when we stayed at Hotel Failure (Falier).

Signs like this do not help

Now we are back in Paris where we hang for three days before chunneling to London for five days of hooking up with Olympians. When I proposed to Goose I added an addendum that we both get clearance for bedding Olympic athletes. Hopefully our relationship can make it through Olympic Village, but since my fiancee has had an eye on Subway whore Michael Phelps since 2004, as a backup I'm hoping to nab Misty May Treanor Miller.

CM