This is the fourth post on our trip to the 2012 Olympic Games in London. You can find the previous post here.
The next chapter in our Olympic Adventure actually takes place well outside of London. My wife and I really, really wanted to go to the London LDS Temple. For us, temples are some of the most sacred and beautiful structures in the world. With the support of my Mom watching the kids back home, we had a unique chance to attend a temple session together.
The London Temple was constructed in 1958, and for many years was the only temple in all of Europe. It's located about 30 minutes, via train, outside London in a city called Surrey. We took a train from the London Victoria station to Lingfield, and then tracked down a taxi to get us to the temple grounds. It seems that all of the taxi drivers in the area are familiar with the destination ; )
The first thing that struck me upon arriving at the temple, was the size of the grounds. The temple sits next to several other buildings that make up a sort of compound. This includes the London Mission office, as well as a "dormitory" for visitor accommodations.
I had to remind myself that for years, this was the only temple available to people from all over Europe - they needed a place to stay, as it was a real journey to get here. The accommodations were and are a real blessing. The grounds were just gorgeous - well-groomed and full of beautiful flowers:
It was a tremendous spiritual experience. The interior of the temple was slot-out gorgeous. The temple workers were so nice and even gave us a little tour. One of the prayers given inside really struck me, as the individual speaking mentioned our Church's youth, specifically. I hadn't heard that inside the temple in a long time. As one of the leaders of our Church's young men, it really hit home.
We watched the U.S. players walk right towards us…some of the best basketball players in the world, all on one team - Kobe Bryant, Lebron James, Chris Paul, Kevin Durrant, Tyson Chandler, Deron Williams…the list goes on:
Then it came time for the tip-off. Even though Argentina grabbed the ball, it was a beautiful shot to start the game:
Here are just a few pictures and quick videos of action during the game. It was so amazing to watch the U.S. team really work for this game. The Argentina team, lead by Manu Ginobili (San Antonio Spurs), were keeping the game close through the first half. I wasn't very comfortable the entire time, realizing it's been a while since I've watched a game that I really cared about ; )
After half-time, it was time to warm-up again. I literally just sat and stared at the collection of talent on the floor, just shooting around ; )
By the end of the third quarter, and into the fourth, the U.S. team was pulling ahead comfortably. Carmello Anthony (New York Knicks) was nailing 3-point shots left and right. If only he played consistently like that for the Knicks ; )
The end of the game arrived and the arena erupted into cheering. The U.S. had won, and now advances to the Gold Medal game against Spain (which they also won, with effort).
It's hard to explain just how thrilled I was to see this game. It was a dream come true, and I was so glad to share it with my wife. We walked down a few rows to get a picture near the court floor:
We made our way out of the building and discovered that 45,000 of our closest friends were all trying to get onto trains with us. Since we were in such a great mood, we decided to explore a different route home. We heard about this unique cable car system that the Emirates Airline had built for the Olympics. It connects both sides of the Thames River. It was only open for 15 minutes after the game, so we jumped on, not knowing exactly where it would lead us.
We quickly found a train station, and figured out how to get back to central London. This is one of the reasons I love London so much - an excellent and efficient transportation infrastructure! We had a fantastic night and called the kids when we returned to the hotel. Hearing their voices just made the whole day a complete success ; )
That's it for this post. Join us tomorrow for a Gold Medal match in Volleyball!
The next chapter in our Olympic Adventure actually takes place well outside of London. My wife and I really, really wanted to go to the London LDS Temple. For us, temples are some of the most sacred and beautiful structures in the world. With the support of my Mom watching the kids back home, we had a unique chance to attend a temple session together.
The London Temple was constructed in 1958, and for many years was the only temple in all of Europe. It's located about 30 minutes, via train, outside London in a city called Surrey. We took a train from the London Victoria station to Lingfield, and then tracked down a taxi to get us to the temple grounds. It seems that all of the taxi drivers in the area are familiar with the destination ; )
The first thing that struck me upon arriving at the temple, was the size of the grounds. The temple sits next to several other buildings that make up a sort of compound. This includes the London Mission office, as well as a "dormitory" for visitor accommodations.
I had to remind myself that for years, this was the only temple available to people from all over Europe - they needed a place to stay, as it was a real journey to get here. The accommodations were and are a real blessing. The grounds were just gorgeous - well-groomed and full of beautiful flowers:
It was a tremendous spiritual experience. The interior of the temple was slot-out gorgeous. The temple workers were so nice and even gave us a little tour. One of the prayers given inside really struck me, as the individual speaking mentioned our Church's youth, specifically. I hadn't heard that inside the temple in a long time. As one of the leaders of our Church's young men, it really hit home.
After the train ride back to London, we prepared for the next Olympic event that we were lucky to have tickets to. In fact, this is sort of a dream of mine - to be able to watch the U.S. Men's Olympic Basketball team compete. I've been lucky enough to attend an All-Star Game of the NBA (with my oldest son). However, the level of competition here towards the end of the Olympic tournament was so much higher. When I bought the tickets, I had no idea who would play in the game we were attending. As luck would have it, our game included the U.S. vs Argentina - two great global basketball teams.
The venue for the event was the North Greenwich Arena - a beautiful building. They used this particular venue, because of the incredible demand for tickets:
As we entered the venue interior, we were shocked at how good our seats were. We sat near the U.S. bench, and right behind one of the baskets:
The teams entered the arena, and the crowds of people trying to get a picture was astounding. People were jammed close to the tunnel entrance:
We watched the U.S. players walk right towards us…some of the best basketball players in the world, all on one team - Kobe Bryant, Lebron James, Chris Paul, Kevin Durrant, Tyson Chandler, Deron Williams…the list goes on:
Here's a quick video of the arena, from the vantage point of our seats:
Another hero of mine is coach Mike Krzyzewski (Coach K). I'm a big fan of the work he does with Duke University, and several previous Olympic teams:
We watched warm-ups and the playing of the U.S. national anthem:
Then it came time for the tip-off. Even though Argentina grabbed the ball, it was a beautiful shot to start the game:
Here are just a few pictures and quick videos of action during the game. It was so amazing to watch the U.S. team really work for this game. The Argentina team, lead by Manu Ginobili (San Antonio Spurs), were keeping the game close through the first half. I wasn't very comfortable the entire time, realizing it's been a while since I've watched a game that I really cared about ; )
Mike Love scores...
Lebron scores...
Lebron and Tyson Chandler
Kevin Durrant scores a 3-pointer
After half-time, it was time to warm-up again. I literally just sat and stared at the collection of talent on the floor, just shooting around ; )
By the end of the third quarter, and into the fourth, the U.S. team was pulling ahead comfortably. Carmello Anthony (New York Knicks) was nailing 3-point shots left and right. If only he played consistently like that for the Knicks ; )
The end of the game arrived and the arena erupted into cheering. The U.S. had won, and now advances to the Gold Medal game against Spain (which they also won, with effort).
It's hard to explain just how thrilled I was to see this game. It was a dream come true, and I was so glad to share it with my wife. We walked down a few rows to get a picture near the court floor:
We made our way out of the building and discovered that 45,000 of our closest friends were all trying to get onto trains with us. Since we were in such a great mood, we decided to explore a different route home. We heard about this unique cable car system that the Emirates Airline had built for the Olympics. It connects both sides of the Thames River. It was only open for 15 minutes after the game, so we jumped on, not knowing exactly where it would lead us.
Not my picture...as it was night-time when we went aboard...
We quickly found a train station, and figured out how to get back to central London. This is one of the reasons I love London so much - an excellent and efficient transportation infrastructure! We had a fantastic night and called the kids when we returned to the hotel. Hearing their voices just made the whole day a complete success ; )
That's it for this post. Join us tomorrow for a Gold Medal match in Volleyball!
No comments:
Post a Comment