Visiting the Canada House.

This morning we grabbed our passports and headed out to find the Canada House in Trafalgar square. We had no idea how hard it was to get in, we were just asking about volunteering possibilities when we ran into Canadian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom Gordon Campbell. We had met before in the Vancouver 2012 games. Even though they didn’t need volunteers we got a cool tiny walk around. There are some houses open to anyone, check out the Swiss House by the river Thames and plenty more Houses. 

We arrived home last night late and really didn’t have time for a proper post. Yesterday we got up early to catch the bus to the Olympic park. We mailed off some parcels for friends and then sought to find anyone that would know how to get a rehearsal tickets. We must have stayed around all afternoon. We lucked out and met some fantastic people who work for the games also some wonderful athletes and out first sighting of the Canadian athletes. Late in the day we met a group of gents with extra tickets! We headed in the Olympic park for the first time. The show was wonderful. There was definitively something for everyone and we all had a great time. Now we’ll, #savethesecret of the opening for all of you. 

Small glimpse of the Olympic Megastore? After not hearing much about an official Olympic store we finally had a glimpse of the Store itself from afar. Looks like one will need a ticket to get to the store as it’s in the Olympic park. News is that there could be tickets sold only for entry to the park. Not much information on this as yet. 

Contest!

We also said that we would be holding another contest! One Pin will be awarded to a local who finds us in London and tells us the secret words “with glowing hearts”. My mom is easier to spot than me, all in red and always in her Canadian gear. 

For the international viewers, post a comment on any of our posts on Facebook, re-blog, tweet or send us an email at 2012journeytolondon@gmail.com with you’re favorable place in London! We’ll be drawing a username on Friday!

Yesterday we had quite the day!

We started off by hopping on the bus and enjoying the sites to the Olympic park. We had taken a quick look when we arrived on friday, but now we wanted a better look. After taking some fantastic pictures, we ran into two American pin trader whom had many great stories to tell.

We were there to meet my old friend Simon from the 2012 Vancouver Olympics, as we had worked together at the Olympic superstore. We went to John Lewis, pin traded, then we went to see the London sights as well as the Olympic clock. We continued our walk towards the London Eye and got spotted by a NBC crew that worked for every station under the sun. We lucked out with a cool interview, pins and a speed boat ride down the river Thames! We got a great shot of the Olympic rings. Me, my mom and Simon had no idea we’d get to go on such a cool adventure! After disembarking we continued our walk, had a bite at a local pub, then headed off home. What a day! Wonderful summer weather and great fun!

The coke bridge.

nationalpostsports:

Eighty-three sculptures of those weird-looking Olympic mascots are popping up around London ahead of the opening ceremonies.

To recap: Wenlock and Mandeville (the Paralympic mascot) are “magical beings” created by a London design firm for the Olympics to “capture the imagination of children.” But they ended up looking quite, uh, you know, and then everyone wondered who signed off on this plan. Also, since London is the land of CCTV, the pair have cameras for eyes so they can “record everything.” It says that on their website. No, not creepy at all.

Click through for a full gallery of the madness.

techcircle:

Olympics App for Blackberry Now Available from BBC!!!

The London 2012 Olympics is set to begin and BBC has now launched an application that covers the event. Statistics by country such as medals, athlete profile, event timings, and sports will be availble for viewing as well as editorials from BBC.

The app is available for free. Click here to download

sadowa:

Andrew Winning/Reuters - Commuters walk across London Bridge, as Tower Bridge adorned with the Olympic rings is seen behind them, on a wet, summer’s morning July 6, 2012.

London Olympics, cloudy with a chance of chaos

LONDON — Less than three weeks before the start of the 2012 Olympics, British officials and athletes around the globe are bracing for a dark threat to the London Games: English weather.

In a city universally besmirched as climatically challenged and about which Jane Austen once wrote, “In London, it is always a sickly season,” early Olympics forecasts are cloudy, with a chance of chaos. As Britain copes with its wettest quarter since records began in 1910, officials have set up meteorological war rooms at the Olympic Park in East London as well as in other British host locations, including Eton and Weymouth.

London Olympics planners, acutely aware of the weather challenges, have gone to great lengths to minimize potential disruptions. They’ve planted special grass and built a filtration system into the equestrian courses, a move that could prevent a repeat of two recent events in the English countryside that were canceled because of heavy rains. Officials ordered a tailor-made cover for the BMX track in East London to ensure it keeps dry. Five sailing routes have been identified to cope with possible weather issues. Olympic Park will have five full-time meteorologists, with staffing 24 hours a day. And additional days of competition are being built into several sports — such as rowing and tennis — that could be affected by weather.