London, episode 11. In which the ticket's the ticket.

This is the first of many selfies my extended reach was able to snap back in July 2012. You already know some of the story, but allow me to sentimentalize the stage.

It was our first day at the London Olympics, but that Sunday was already the beginning of the second week of athletic action. If you recall (from my Olympics special), we succeeded in acquiring tickets to events only during that second week, so I was able to plan an extended adventure for us during the two weeks prior to our whirlwind week at London2012.

We began, immediately upon arrival in London, by storing our American-sized suitcases and heading to the CoSport ticket distribution center in central London. Since the first events of the games were still about two weeks away, I figured we'd make a quick errand of it before heading to a relaxing lunch and beginning the rest of the day's journey. I had not anticipated, however, that hundreds of other eager and similarly-obsessed vacation planners would have the same thought! About two and a half-hours later...

These graphically colorful and beautifully designed event tickets (pictured above are one ticket for each of thirteen different events) were the result of a lot of planning and a lot of time spent battling it out online in the 16 months prior to my marathon wait outside the CoSport offices. As mentioned previously (Olympics special) only two of these events were part of my original ticket request, but I'm nothing if not flexible. As more tickets to more events were eventually released in the months prior to London2012, I was able to find tickets to a wide variety of events, ultimately making our Olympics experience truly well-rounded. The thirteen events (over a period of six days) included table tennis, Greco-Roman wrestling, gymnastics, beach volleyball, synchronized swimming, weightlifting, rhythmic gymnastics, track & field, taekwondo, soccer, and volleyball. No swimming, no tennis, no diving... three of the five events Mari and I had originally requested.

With all our events scheduled for the final week of the games, Mari and I found ourselves with a wonderful opportunity to do a little exploring and tick a few locations off our travel wish list, including some fleamarketing, of course. What follows is a synopsis of my carefully-crafted, obsessively-overplanned itinerary (and published evidence should the authorities ever need a public admission of my disorder).

Fly from McAllen to Houston, then from Houston to Heathrow.
Train to Paddington Station.
Store luggage then pick up event tickets at CoSport office.
Late lunch. (Nando's!)
Retrieve luggage at Paddington, train to Brighton.
After two nights in Brighton, train back to Paddington, then to Heathrow.
Fly to Paris. (Revisit Paris, episodes 5 & 6, which included our first visit to Les Puces de Saint Ouen.)
After three nights in Paris, fly to Dublin.
After a longish weekend driving across Ireland and exploring its beautiful west coast (during which Mari's suitcase was delayed in Paris until our final Ireland day), fly to Edinburgh.

The second day in Scotland marked the half-way point of our trip

which meant an exciting morning at a local laundromat.

After three days in Edinburgh, train the beautiful English countryside to Stratford-upon-Avon.
Enjoy a very full day and night, including a Bollywood update of Much Ado About Nothing at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre.
Train to London the following day and thereby complete our feverish Olympics prelude!

Whew!

Mari and I would use the first two of our colorful event tickets that Sunday afternoon and evening at the ExCeL Centre, pictured at top.

As you may have already surmised, this was trip planning not for the faint of heart (or keyboard). Our three-week adventure was a trip of Olympic proportions, not to mention a trip of a lifetime.  Plane tickets, train tickets, rental car reservations, hotel room reservations, restaurant reservations, theater tickets, (not to mention that colorful array of event tickets pictured above), all purchased online months (some up to 16 months) in advance.

When we travel, I print a copy of every reservation and transaction and store these copies in a clear folder in chronological order of use (flight itinerary on top, then car rental reservation, then hotel reservation, etc.) only because I have a need (eccentricity? sickness?) and I have to do things this way. I keep the original e-mails and e-receipts in an e-mail folder, along with scans of our passports, because I've learned the hard way that you must always have a back up.

You should always

have a back-up.

Imagine my surprise (and patriotic delight) walking into the ExCeL Centre that first afternoon and finding Portugal playing Korea in a team table tennis quarter-final round! The hypnotically fast-paced and emotionally-charged match was a fitting harbinger of our frenetic week ahead.

A few hours later and a few doors down the cavernously massive hallway of the ExCeL, we would watch some very hard-fought Greco-Roman wrestling matches, triumphant (and bruised) victors pictured here.

At left is a final view down that cavernous hallway as I risked being trampled and turned around for a final photo glimpse late that evening.

Just a few of

our fellow spectators!

I am, as ever, thankful for the opportunity to meet my fellow pale blue dot explorers, thankful for seemingly endless blessings, so much sincere support, and such durable luggage that has seen me and my wonderful Mari through so many miles of smiles and camera exchanges.

I look forward to exploring our extraordinary and very full week at London2012 throughout the next few weeks with you (including our first fleamarketing visit to Portobello Road and a restoratively rural visit to a particularly persnickety but lovable Dowager Countess).

Maybe there will be a story (and souvenir) or two, too.