London 2012 Summer Olympics

Since I had to go to Virginia for a few days, Phil and I had to meet in London. Despite flying into different airports we each navigated the city and found the hotel where we met. I think it helped that everything was in English.

Friday afternoon, we headed downtown after walking around Buckingham Palace we went to Hyde Park. They had big screens set up and it was like a big festival. We watched a number of track and field events, some diving, and judo while we took in the atmosphere.

Saturday morning we headed to Olympic Village. I had read on line that you could go to the village at any time on the day you had tickets to an event... we had tickets to soccer on Saturday afternoon, so we thought we would visit the village in the morning before the game.

Well you had to have tickets to am event at Olympic park...and the soccer game was at Wembley Stadium (not part of Olympic Park)! So we got through the first few parts of security until they scan your tickets an them we were escorted out by a Soldier (we so should have taken a picture but i was too disappointed to think about it at the time).

We still had a few hours to kill before heading to Wembley for the game, so instead we headed to London Bridge. Well actually, what I always thought was London Bridge is actually Tower Bridge, so we went there. We had a nice breakfast at Hay's Galleria, an old covered wharf, and then we headed back to Wembley.

The Men's Gold Medal Football Match (soccer) was awesome.

For those of you who didn't see it, Mexico, the underdog, scored in the first thirty seconds. It was a packed stadium and a fantastic atmosphere. I think I even figured out the off sides thing which has confused me forever.

Phil actually caught a goal on camera!

Medal Ceremonies

Let the Celebration Begin

And the fun continued after the game too. we made our way to a local pub where we watched Mo Farrah win his second race, that brought even more excitement to the place.

Sunday we headed back downtown, where we saw the last two laps of the men's marathon, while standing outside Big Ben and Parliament (really a beautiful building). A lot of people and a lot of spirit. there was about at least a half-hour between the first and last guy (who was walking) and yet the crowd was equally as large and equally as excited for the last as for the first.

The Gold Medalist at mile 25 time 2:02

After the marathon finished we took a walk down the Thames, had a light snack, headed to Canary Wharf. It wasn't what Phil expected, so we headed up to Victoria Park.

The traveling rings on the Thames.

We decided to watch the closing ceremonies from there because Hyde Park was a sold out ticketed venue for the closing ceremonies (we didn't know this till we got there on Friday). We actually got there in time to catch the final quarter of the Men's basketball game on the big screen too.

The closing Ceremonies were great and again a fantastic atmosphere. People everywhere, enjoying friends, food, and drink a long with Team GB.  I have never been to the Olympics before, so I don't know what the level of camaraderie and state pride there is when the Olympics are in the USA or elsewhere, but there was a lot I mean a ton of pride and camaraderie in London for Team GB.

The crowd before the ceremonies started.

It was too dark once they started to get a good picture.



Monday the Olympics were over, but the city was still bustling. We watched the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace. then we headed to Westminster Abbey and then we found a cute market area under the bus stations called Borough Market.  That was one of my favorite places in the city. my most favorite places though were the huge open green spaces everywhere, this isn't something unique to London, it seems common in almost ever European City we have visited, but I don't think I will ever get used to or sick of them.

 

Not sure what is next on the agenda because we had to cancel our beach trip due to a trial, but stay tuned.

Venezia (better late than never)

Aunt Patty and Uncle Rob arrived Wednesday afternoon. We took them to La Vera Birreria for dinner (aka the naked lady). It is a nice beer and pizza place on top of the hill by Monte Berico, great place for the first night because it is a light and quick meal compared to other Italain restaurants.

Thursday I walked them briefly through the market and then put them on a train to Verona while Phil and I went to work, their trip seemed to go well and most importantly they both made it back. Thursday we went to a more traditional Italian dinner at Aeolia. Here Patty ran into a slight snafu with her order and ended up with a fish pasta.  For those of you who don't know Patty really doesn't like fish! She thought she had ordered pasta with tomato sauce. Good thing Phil will eat anything. He switched with her, so she got the faggatini (most delicious food ever) which is tortellini with ham, pear, honey, and an Alfredo sauce.
                                     
Friday it was work again for Phil and I while they explored Vicenza.  When we got home we were all off to Venezia for the weekend. We decided driving in was the best option since there was four of us and ALOT of luggage! Thanks to my NCO we found the parking with no issues and after a short detour we were able to find the boat and figure out the system with minimal problems as well. After checking into the hotel and enjoying the executive lounge with free wine and snacks we made our way to a great dinner just down a few blocks from where we were staying.              

Our Hotel - on its own island!

Saturday we decided to get an early start and head toward Murano (glass blowing island) first and work our way back through the main Venezia area. After getting a "free" taxi/boat ride to Murano, we arrived at one of the many glass blowing factories. we watched an awesome demonstration of a guy make a vase and then a Ferrari horse in under three minutes. It was really neat. Then a walk through the gallery which had some truly amazing and interesting pieces of glass art. After finishing a bottle of prosecco (before eleven am) Phil and I came home with a bowl and Patty and Rob got great glasses and a pitcher.

Then we got a "free" boat ride to Burano (lace island). We got a brief explanation of all the different lace and saw a woman making some by hand, but we didn't buy anything. We took a short walk around the island, which is very small but really neat because of all the colorful houses.

Then we decided we wanted to walk around Murano before heading back to the main part of Venezia, previously we had only gone in the factory.  After about an hour of walking in and out of little glass shops we headed back. We took the water bus to the north side of the island and started to walk our way back to St. Mark's square. On the way we decided to take a gondola ride. It was a good thing, because later on there was a line a mile long. It was cool, something you should try at least once (especially if you live in the area, but do it when they aren't busy so you can negotiate price a little, or walk away and they will lower the price). I was a little disappointed thought that our gondola paddler didn't sing!

After the gondola, we continued our walk down to St. Mark's. The closer we got the crazier it got. St. Mark's itself was beyond crazy. We took one look at the line to go into the cathedral, that stretched across the square, and decided we would rather go to the pool and come back later. So that is exactly what we did. A dip to cool off because it was VERY hot, some little relaxation, and some free wine and hors d'œuvres, and we headed back to the St. Mark's.

We decided to go up Torre dell'Orologio, the clock tower, which had ZERO line and great views with the sunset. Then we headed to dinner which we ate right by the Rialto Bridge on the grand canal. The food was fantastic and followed by gelato we couldn't ask for a better day.

Sunday morning we headed back to Venezia, we got up the tower of the cathedral walked around the upper floors and a small museum area they had, then we snuck into the church during mass, so that we didn't have to wait 4 hours for it to open to the public. After that we took a walk back to the grand canal, had some more gelato and then back to St. Mark's. At one point we were going to wait in line for Doge's Palace but it was too hot and the line was too long and too slow so we opted to go back to the pool again.

After our dip, it was time to head out, so we got a water bus to the cruise terminal, where we dropped Uncle Rob & Aunt Patty at the boat before making our way back to the car and eventually home.

It was a great weekend, with great company. Probably the coolest part was actually staying in Venezia, since we live so close this is something that we ordinarily would not do so it was nice. Thanks Aunt Patty for your points!

Gas

So we have been pretty lame lately, we have stayed home for over two weeks. (note 1: that is all about to change. note 2: even these weeks at home included a weekend in Venice with Aunt Patty and Uncle Rob (blog to come as soon as I download pictures) (Venice counts as staying home cause it is only an hour away).

Anyway, what I am going to tell you about is gas, because it has become a huge pain for us on or little trips. First some basic information you need to know: 

1 gallon = 3.785 liters

100 liters on post cost approximately $110 (1 gallon = $4.13) 

1 liter on the economy approximately $1.50 (1 gallon = $5.58)

Step one in getting gas is buying a book of coupons on post at the lower cost. Step two is using coupons at any Agip or Eni gas station in Italy. This sounds like a pretty simple process and on a daily basis isn't very difficult. However, Phil and I can not get this right when we travel. Two caveats to this process... first the gas station must be open, so that yoy can pay the clerk with the coupons. second, coupons are only good in Italy.

Example 1: Cinque Terra, which is about four hours away. In the Smart Car you can get there on a tank of gas (about 25 liters). We left for Cinque Terra around 10 am. About 1230 we passed an Agip on the Autostrada, we have what looks like just under half a tank so we don't stop. About 130 we have been on side mountain roads for about an hour, and our tank is getting emptier no Agip in sight (Esso gas stations everywhere! Esso used to take coupons!). 2 pm we are the town over from where we are staying, we have less than 5 liters of gas left...and we spot an Agip. Pull in go inside to give our coupons and they are closed till 330. Ok so we will just go to the town and then get gas on Monday when we leave (keeping our fingers crossed that we would make it back to the station with our measly 5 liters). Monday we don't leave till 4 thinking this way for sure the gas station will be open: NOPE. This is Italy, not only closed during lunch, which is 3 hours, but also closed on Mondays. So for the next hour and a half till we find an Agip on the right side of the autostrada, we pay full price on the economy getting 5 euro at a time.

Example 2: I have to go to Germany for an arraignment, it is a 6-7 hour drive (which took 8 because of traffic).  You drive through Italy to Austria and then into Germany.  Everyone says of there is an Agip right before you cross the border, you can fill up, and might be able to make it from there to Germany and back before you need gas again, or at least you won't have to pay for a full take on the economy.  Well I missed the gas station and that station I stopped at was right over the Austrian border, so they don't take coupons! So I have to buy a full tank of gas on the economy to get from there up to Germany and then back to the station across the border in Italy again (someone told me I couldn't get a German gas card for this trip).

Example 3: Salzburg, which is also about four hours away. This time we take the civic (because I am following on the Germany and the Smart is not fast enough for the autobahn). Because the civic also gets good mileage and has a larger tank we can get there with gas to spare on one tank, but with me continuing another four hours into Germany, we need to fill up in Italy so that I don't have to get gas until I get to another installation where I can take advantage of the German system for Soldiers instead of buying on the economy. We get off the autostrada and head to an Agip right before crossing the Austrian border, it is closed for another two hours for lunch! Not again! So we tried one more and the same story.

Example 4: Returning from Germany - now I have a German gas card (you pay in advance and use it like a debit card but at Esso). Driving home I have a quarter tank and I am 30 minutes from Austria so I pull off the Autobahn and find an Esso in Germany to fill up with the German card I put money on. Esso is now an empty lot and the next nearest Esso is in Austria which doesn't accept the German gas card. So again I end up putting in 5 liters at a time until I can make it back to the Agip in Italy! And I now have all this money on an German Esso gas card that I can't use and that expires!

Long story -- Bottom Line --- While I am thankful we don't have to pay for gas on the economy everyday, it has become our demise when travelling!