British Museum

As the rest of the group recouped from a long week of events, I decided to venture off with one other student to the British Museum. As the oldest museum in London, walking around you could take in various centuries of different cultures and countries!

Outside of the Museum!

The British Museum Seal

The inside of the museum's natural lighted center comlex

The Rosetta Stone: One passage written in three different  that finally helped archaeologists decipher hieroglyphics!  

Part of the mummy exhibit from Egypt

The gold medals for both the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games

Shout-out to South Sudan, the newest country and its money already showcased in the museum.

Yes, that's an actual mummy...

Yes, that's an actual skeleton preserved since the Egyptian times........

An Orrery from the 1800s by Copernicus. Used to figure out that the sun was in the center of the Solar System

Me and Jade Budda

Me and a stone from Easter Island.

USOC Training Center

Finally settled in one place, we will be in the center of London for the next two weeks in this magnificent student living skyscraper!

Nido Spitalfields Student Living!

 I live on the 14th floor with my friend from elementary, middle, and high school in an apartment style room.

But on to the sports. Today we were allowed to tour the USOC (United States Olympic Committee) Training Center for Athletes. This is where a large majority of the athletes that represent the U.S. in the Olympics will train during the Olympics and some of them will actually stay here. It is over in East London...hence why my visitor pass says: University of East London.

With help from the University, the USOC was able to merge both elite training facilities with housing that fit the athletes needs and specifications. I was asked to not take any pictures of the facilities due to security reasons, so I will briefly explain some of what we saw.

Here below, is the only picture I got and it was of the food area where the athletes are provided with only the best food for their competitive training schedules. In addition to food there are dietary plans set for each type of athlete and a staff on hand to help out with every meal. Overall, everything is planned out to the finest detail as it may be that edge that America will have in this year's Olympics

After touring the cafe, we went to the actual training facility. Led by Rick Adams, the Managing Director of NGB Organizational Development for the USOC, we were allowed in the facilities only days before most of the athletes would arrive. I was amazed to find out that the U.S. government does not help with any payment for the USOC. The organization is completely non-profit and self funded by sponsorships and other main cash flows.

The training center had absolutely everything an athlete would need to compete on the highest level. After seeing this, there is no way an athlete from the U.S. can blame their training center as the reason behind a loss second or point. The USOC decked out the Sports Complex with equipment from their sponsor 24 Hour Fitness, and have basketball courts, martial arts rooms, trampolines for gymnastics, and the list goes on and on. Additionally, there are classrooms where we were given more insight to the University of East London, where the USOC campus is being hosted by, and the sports programs the University offers.

This tour, along with the contacts I made have planted the seed behind myself looking into a job possibly with the USOC in the future. The mix between high levels of sport and deep rooted cultural ties, the USOC perfects what competition should mean to this diverse world.

Paris Weekend Excursion

This past weekend we traveled across the pond to Paris, France for the weekend. With only 48 hours in the french town, we did all we could to experience both the cultural history of Paris and also the sports that were came alive while we were there. The final stage of the Tour de France was staged there, finishing on Sunday down the Champs de Elysee towards the Arc de Triomphe. I'll speed you through the weekend and catch you up on some of my highlights.

The first night we arrived around 18:00 and a group of us decided to go out to the center of Paris to the Eiffel Tower. Seeing this magnificent structure loom over the city center is aweinspiring every time one sees it. I have been to Paris before and seen this architecture, but every time it truly takes your breath away. After taking pictures we headed off to a restaurant called The Frog (Tucson-ers...the Frog on University...much better). After dinner, a walk around Paris with a couple chocolate crepes and it was time to call it a night. 

The next day was once again a free day...so a group of us decided to live like the Parisians and go into the local areas to buy our hearts desire. An hour later I walked away with a full baguette, a stick of fresh Swiss cheese, four cream puffs filled with chocolate and caramel, and a bottle of French wine. Proceeding on, we walked to the lawn of the Eiffel tower and sat and chowed down on the best lunch of the trip. After relaxing for about 4 hours.....we decided to venture off to see more sites along the Champs de Elysee. 

Walking about 15 minutes, we made it to the Arc de Triomphe, where we took pictures and tried to avoid the herds of tourists swarming the areas. After a Parisian lunch, we did our best to stay local and enjoy the culture rather than the tourist attractions.

While we were at the Arc, we saw a team of cyclists posing in front of the monument. From this moment on, it was hard not   to notice the wind changing towards sport, towards pride in a race that has been going on for over 100 years.

The Arc de Triomphe

The Cyclist Team

 After grabbing some dinner and another glimpse at the Eiffel Tower, we took the subway back to the hotel for a quick rest before the next day.

Leaving Sunday night at 7, we had a full day ahead of us to take in the culture of cycling that had all of a sudden imposed itself on Paris. But before the Tour de France came through, we had to see two more iconic landmarks of Paris: Notre Dame, an old gothic church....and the Louve, the largest museum in the world and home to the Mona Lisa and occasionally Tom Hanks.

The Notre Dame

The Entrance to the Louve in a Glass Pyramid

 It was finally time for the Tour de France to come through. With people lining the streets, literally all the way down from the Louve to the Arc, chaos was everywhere. Although I was only able to see the actual riders for about 30 seconds, simply being in Paris during this event was all one needed to fully comprehend the Tour's importance to this country. Check out the pictures below to try and comprehend the magnitude of this event. All of Paris was dressed in Tour de France t-shirts and cyclist jerseys.

Check out my crazy video of them riding by...sorry about the insane fans (including myself). To see the video go to the link below!

https://vimeo.com/46477310  

USA Mens Basketball vs. Britain

USA MENS BASKETBALL VS. BRITAIN

I don't need to go into detail here. Basically here's what happened: USA creamed Britain. End of story. Winning at one point by almost 50 points, Britain never held their own. They were overmatched physically and had no one to stop a starting line up of Tyson Chandler, Kobe Bryant, Kevin Durant, Chris Paul, and LeBron James....yes you read that correct. As we chanted USA at the end of the game, we received boos...but they knew it was a well deserved applause from our section. Take a look at the pictures below...sorry there are not more, the NBA put a restriction on pictures being taken at the game for some odd reason. 

Nike's Olympic Logo...

Anthony Davis with the Slam Dunk! He surprisingly held his own in this game and quite often impressed me.

The end score...wow.

Manchester United Stadium Tour

Manchester United: One of the most, if not the best football club in the English Premier League.

Manchester United Stadium: One of the best stadiums, if not the best stadiums we toured on this trip.

Why? The History. This stadium has continually built upon its old grounds for over 100 years. Try comparing that to my favorite baseball team: The Diamondbacks...with history only reaching back less than 20 years. The stadium sits just outside of the center of Manchester, UK and was being decked out with Olympic logos because some of the football matches will be held there during the games.

Here you can see our guide for the tour. Throughout the tour he constantly made Willy Wonka references, so I made sure to stay close to him and not touch anything.  Sorry for digressing...the tour started out with a brief explanation of the stadium and its history. 

Overall, the stadium was absolutely gorgeous with a perfect pitch and flags from all across the world lining the rooftops.

One of the ends of the stadium. Here people used to stand to watch games until it was remodeled.

If you're planning on going to the Olympics, make sure to choose from some of these delicious menu options below! Doesn't a 3 Cheese and Potato Pie sound delicious for a soccer match?

Another significant difference between our American stadiums and here in the UK: Alcohol in the stands. It is against Man U's policy to bring alcohol into the stadium seating. So, if you buy it, you must stay in the areas where you have bought it. If you bring it into the seats, you will be arrested. Many Americans must have broken these rules, for now all over the stadium are these crazy signs.

In addition to the sporting history of the club, in 1958, a plane carrying some of the Man U team, crashed and killed those players. To commemorate the tragedy, a full tunnel was built at the stadium with museum-like areas to read about the team.

The names of the players, coaches, and trainers who died alongside their pictures.

After the solem walk through the tunnel, we arrived at the locker room for the team. Alongside the theme of the olympics were the symbols just outside of every room for the players to see.

One of the most prominent figures in the EPL!

After the tour of the locker room, we were able to walk right next to the pitch and take some pictures near and around the seats which the players sit during the game. Check out the rest of my pictures from the tour below!

View from the level of the pitch

From where the players walk out from!

View from where the players sit!