What an experience of a lifetime! Terri and Andy joined us on our adventure we will always remember – the Beijing Olympics 2008. We did the ticket lottery 18 months prior to the event. With China residences permits in our passports, we were able to use all four Lyon passports to put our request in the lottery system. We didn’t get everything we wanted, but we got more than half. Most of the events we were able to get six tickets. Jim had a big spreadsheet to achieve the desired goal of six tickets needed for each event. Some events the passport holder could request two tickets and others events may be allotted four tickets. It was very complicated and I am glad it was Jim’s task and not mine.

We did not get opening ceremony tickets. I really wanted to go as ALL the tickets were so reasonably priced. I had read the Chinese wanted this to be the people’s Olympic, therefore, affordable to the people. The Opening ceremony tickets were ranging in price from $100 to $600 face value. Tickets for the events ranged in price from 50rmb/$8 to 400rmb/$58. I don’t think any Olympics will be this price, again.

Everything about the Olympics fell into place for us like a puzzle. Hotels were charging three times the normal value, of course. Since Jim has a plant in Beijing, he asked one of his staff, Becky, if she knew a good hotel to recommend. She got back to Jim with a friend’s apartment four blocks from the Olympic Green. It was a two bedroom so she was concern it may not be big enough for all six of us. We liked the location and would make it work. The cost to us would be a few gifts for her friends. We purchased gifts from the States for Becky and Becky’s friends. It was a brand new apartment they had not moved into yet. The gas would not be hooked up until later in the month when all the work was completed. We didn’t need gas, as we didn’t plan to cook any meals at home. Jim also arranged for the Company van to drive us as needed. To decrease cars on the roads, Beijing had put into effect a plan during the two weeks of the Olympics. Cars would be on the road based on their plate numbers…odd/even days. Therefore, our driver would change vans based on the day we needed him…another thing we didn’t have to consider on our adventures. Just got to love it when the all pieces fall together!

Terri and Andy flew back from California with the girls and me. Jim was in China working since he came back in May for Jenna’s wedding. It was nice having the extra help especially because Shanghai added extra security baggage check for the Olympics. All our bags had to be rescanned on the way out…self-serves only, of course. Luckily, we had Andy to put all ten bags onto the machine. Terri and Andy had four bags allowed. I told Terri she could only have two of her bag allotment, as I need the other two. Oh, and she had to bring her own cereal and Pirate Booty in her two bags!! What a great sister!

This was Andy’s first trip to Shanghai. He enjoyed seeing the City and the view from our apartment. It has been a whirlwind tour of Shanghai, as always when guest arrive. We did the usually Shanghai sights…I mean shopping sights…the fabric market, the pearl market and Decathlon. Andy enjoyed the shopping as I think he left the fabric market with the most new clothes…a suite, 10 new shirts and a cashmere coat. Now, he is ready to go back to work looking a bit more stylish to pay for the shop. Terri got a few coats and other items made. In the end, as we shopped the City, good thing they had two extra suitcases for their treasures.

We flew to Beijing on Friday, the day of opening ceremonies. The start time of the Olympics was 8:08 on 8/08/08. Eight is a lucky number in Chinese.

Greeted by Olympic Mascot, Nini at Beijing Airport

The Olympic mascots, Fuwa (also known as the Friendlies), are inspired by the Five Olympic Rings, they will serve as the Official Mascots of Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, carrying a message of friendship and peace – and good wishes from China – to children all over the world.

Designed to express the playful qualities of five little children who form an intimate circle of friends, Fuwa also embody the natural characteristics of four of China’s most popular animals — the Fish, the Panda, the Tibetan Antelope, the Swallow — and the Olympic Flame.

Each of Fuwa has a rhyming two-syllable name — a traditional way of expressing affection for children in China. Beibei is the Fish, Jingjing is the Panda, Huanhuan is the Olympic Flame, Yingying is the Tibetan Antelope and Nini is the Swallow.

When you put their names together — Bei Jing Huan Ying Ni — they say “Welcome to Beijing, ” offering a warm invitation that reflects the mission of Fuwa as young ambassadors for the Olympic Games.

Fuwa also embody both the landscape and the dreams and aspirations of people from every part of the vast country of China. In their origins and their headpieces, you can see the five elements of nature — the sea, forest, fire, earth and sky — all stylistically rendered in ways that represent the deep traditional influences of Chinese folk art and ornamentation.

Beibei – In China’s traditional culture and art, the fish and water designs are symbols of prosperity and harvest. And so Beibei carries the blessing of prosperity. Strong in water sports, she reflects the blue Olympic ring.

Jingjing – As a national treasure and a protected species, pandas are adored by people everywhere. The lotus designs in Jingjing’s headdress, which are inspired by the porcelain paintings of the Song Dynasty (A.D.960-1234), symbolize the lush forest and the harmonious relationship between man and nature. Jingjing represents the black Olympic ring.

Huanhuan – Huanhuan is the big brother. He is a child of fire, symbolizing the Olympic Flame and the passion of sport – and passion is the blessing he bestows. The fiery designs of his head ornament are drawn from the famed Dunhuang murals – with just a touch of China’s traditional lucky designs. Huanhuan represents the red Olympic ring.

Yingying – A symbol of the vastness of China’s landscape, the antelope carries the blessing of health, the strength of body that comes from harmony with nature. Yingying’s flying pose captures the essence of a species unique to the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, one of the first animals put under protection in China. His head ornament incorporates several decorative styles from the Qinghai-Tibet and Sinkiang cultures and the ethnic design traditions of Western China. Yingying represents the yellow Olympic ring.

Nini – Every spring and summer, the children of Beijing have flown beautiful kites on the currents of wind that blow through the capital. Among the kite designs, the golden-winged swallow is traditionally one of the most popular. Her golden wings symbolize the infinite sky and spread good-luck as a blessing wherever she flies. Nini represents the green Olympic ring.

We dropped our luggage at our apartment, which was plenty big. There was a set of bunk beds in one room. Terri and Andy would take the room with the double bed, the girls and I would take the bunk beds and Jim would take the sofa. We decided to walk towards the Olympic Green to see what we could see…not much. If you didn’t have a ticket, you could not get close because of Opening Ceremony security. This was our first outing when we realized it might be a long week of picture taking. Anytime we stopped, we were mobbed by people wanting to take pictures of the girls.

The girls posing for photos

We got back just in time to see Opening Ceremonies on our TV. We would see the fireworks out the window of our apartment 7 seconds before they aired on the TV due the broadcast delay.

Fireworks from the apartment

The Opening Ceremonies got a bit boring after the main performances. Watching the athletes walk in with no commentary we could understand lost its appeal. I never realized how much I enjoyed hearing all about the countries and the athletes until now. We were hoping for an English channel, but “mei you” which means “no have” pronounced mayo!! Mei-you is a favorite in this house. May I have a cookie…mei-you…covers it all.

This was one busy week on the go. The girls were superstars as we generally got home around 10pm to 11pm. All parents can relate to the fun of showering tired kids late at night. However, it is hot and humid and everyone smells. A bath before bed is required. We were generally up by 7am to start the day and see it all.

Day 1 – Saturday, August 9:

On the four-block walk to the Olympic Green was a Starbuck Coffee. We stopped for Jim’s “must-have” coffee and a muffin to start our day. We can also catch a bus that runs to the Olympic Green for free.

Ready to start the Olympic adventure

Since we used the four Lyon passports for tickets, our seats were not always together. We would have 3/3 seats or 4/2 seats. Generally, one set of tickets would be the good seats and the other set would be the higher up seats. We just took turns taking the good seats.

Our first event was Men’s Gymnastics at 10am. We wanted to get to the security checkpoint early, as we didn’t know what to expect for the lines. Security was relativity easy. There were many scanning machines, which kept the lines short. However, they did check everything. Each time, Jim had to pull out the camera and the lens. Terri had to chew her gum and no food was allowed. Terri did sneak in her chocolate bars every day.

As we walked to our first event in Olympic Green, we got our first glimpse of the Bird’s Nest. The National Stadium (国家体育场) or known as the Bird’s Nest (鸟巢) is the world’s largest steel structure. The stadium capacity is 91, 000 people.

The Bird’s Nest

Our first Olympic mascot we had a photo with was Nini. The suites were made of plastic with an air fan to keep them cool. Eleri calls them the “Blympic kids” and we are at the “Blympics”. It is so cute no one is correcting her.

The Olympic Gang with Nini

The crowds

We arrived to the event center to get some photos of the amazing banners through out the halls.

Terri, Andy, Eleri & Emersyn

The theme of the Beijing Olympics is One World One Dream.

Emmy & Elle – One World One Dream

Next, we went to find lunch before the event began. We discovered quickly we might be hungry in the Olympic Green. The food was priced VERY reasonable. A coke was 5rmb/$.70, water was 3rmb/$.40 and beers were 8rmb/$1.20 for a large. But the food was very limited, a sausage roll was 3rmb/$.40, cup of noodles was 2rmb/$.30, snickers were 4rmb/$.60 and ice cream was 2/3/5/8rmb. We did discover at the very first event of the Olympics, there were no sausage rolls. They were sold out from the Opening Ceremonies. We all had a snickers and soda for lunch. The same food was sold at each venue throughout the Olympic Green.

Brenda, Emmy & Elle at our first event, Men’s Gymnastics

After enjoying the men’s gymnastics event, we stopped at the toilets before heading into the Olympic Green. The Gymnastics was held in an existing building; therefore, the bathrooms were updated with western toilets. The Chinese squatty potties are generally designed with a step-up to the toilet hole. The western toilet was added on the top of the Chinese hole. The problem was that the step was short and you can’t see it as clear with a toilet in the way. Of course, Elle didn’t see the step. She trip into the toilet hitting you head on the toilet and scraping her knee on the step. After I wiped the tears and we used the toilet, we went to find a band-aid for the scraped knee. We found the first-aid building, which I had to sign a form to explain why we needed the band-aid. Then, the doctors and the nurses wanted their photo with the girls.

One of the many parades through the main street of the Olympic Green. The girls missed it as we were busy with band-aids and photos. The boys took these photos.

The gymnastic building was near the National Aquatics Center (国家游泳中心) and nicknamed the Water Cube (水立方). The structure had a capacity of 17, 000. With the popularity of the newly introduced faster Speedo LZR Racer swim suit, the Aquatics Center saw 25 world records broken in the Beijing Olympics.

The Water Cube by day

Next stop was some real food. Well, as close as we could get to real food. The only food inside the Olympic Green was two McDonalds. We went to the closest one as we were starving. The lines were out the door, of course. Jim ordered our food, which we waited even longer for the hamburgers plain. Looks like we will have to scrap the ketchup off the next time. Of course, nowhere to sit, so we found a place outside to eat our meal.

Now, we had some time to hit the Olympic Super Store. We walked to the store where we found the other McDonald’s. After shopping, we had another McDonald’s meal for dinner. Hum, the movie “Super Size Me” was coming to everyone’s minds.

The girls were told they could buy an Olympic item. Emmy picked out a clear backpack filled with markers, stamps, and pencils of the Olympic kids. Elle picked out an oversized Olympic stuffed kid. I said, ” yes”. Every time we went to Hong Kong Disneyland, Elle wanted an oversized stuffed Mickey Mouse. I said, “no”. I figured this oversized stuffed doll would hold more special memories. It was almost as big as her. She carried it all around the store and everyone had to take her photo.

Shopping in the Super Store

HuanHuan is almost as big as Elle

We had tickets for Men’s Gymnastics at 8:00pm. The girls sat with Terri and Andy in the better seats across the way. The girls came out ahead in this seating arrangement as they always got the good seats when there was a 4/2 split.

Showing their Olympic tickets

The Olympic ticket reflects the design of the various sports represented at the Olympics.

The Olympic Tickets

It wasn’t long before Jim and I noticed Eleri was sound asleep on her HuanHuan kid.

Too much excitement for one day

After enjoying the second round of Men’s Gymnastics, we walked around to see the buildings at night.

The Bird’s Nest

Water Cube at night – a kaleidoscope of color

Day 2 – Sunday, August 10:

We started the day with our daily stop at Starbucks for coffee and muffins. Today we had tickets for Women Gymnastics at 10 am.

Lunch was at McDonald’s, of course. Again we sat outside as it is so crowded. The Olympics have been planned beautifully…except the food!

The crowds to order food

Eating space on a fence outside

After our McDonald’s lunch, we decided to go see the various corporate buildings. We started at the Adidas building. The slogan for the Olympics from Adidas is “Impossible is Nothing”. This building had many fun displays. We had fun taking photos.

Next, we went to the Coca-Cola building which had a bit of a guided tour. The Coke building had many interesting displays of coke bottles.

The Coke building had on display the Torches from past Olympics. Since we all (except Elle) went to the Winter Olympics in Salt Lake 2002, we took a photo of the torch. We were given an opportunity to hold the Beijing Olympic torch.

Salt Lake torch

Beijing torch

Terri & Andy with the torch

As you leave the Coca-cola building, they gave you a coke to enjoy. Walking out of the air conditioned building into the humidity, the coke taste good…even if it wasn’t a Diet coke.

Next building stop was the Kodak building. It wasn’t as much fun as they were selling. The other buildings were all about displays.

At the entrance/exit gates, the Beijing balloons were losing steam. The girls were having fun with them.

The volunteers needed their photo with the cute, blond girls.

We had only 3 tickets for tennis tonight. Terri and Andy decided they would take the girls to dinner. Jim and I would go to the tennis matches. Jim and I had dinner at….McDonald’s…super size me! From McDonald’s, we would could walk back to the main gate to catch a bus to the Tennis Complex or walk from McDonald’s. We decided we could use the walk since we just had McDonald’s for lunch and dinner and we had plenty of time.

As we were walking, it began to pour rain. Not just sprinkles, but buckets of rain. We purchased some Olympic kid umbrellas at the Super store today as it had sprinkled earlier in the day. It was raining so hard that the umbrellas only kept the top half of us dry, sort of. We finally got to the gate…the back gate. We asked the guard standing under a large umbrella if we could pass. “No, we were on the backside of the Tennis Complex and we did not have the proper badges to enter”.

In front of us was a parking lot. On the other side of the parking lot was where we needed to be. We could not pass, as there was no security check on this side…even though we never left the secured Olympic Green. Here is a Chinese moment. We may NOT use this gate, but nowhere did it say you could not walk to the tennis or that you must enter at the front. In addition, to get to the other side that we could see through the parking lot, we would have to walk all the way back to the main gate. Once we reached the main gate, we would have to wait for a bus to take us around the City exterior to the tennis complex.

As we stood there in the pouring rain, more people started to join us. A Chinese couple came up. He was yelling at the guard…since they spoke the same language. At one point, a very nice lady drove out in her golf car to help. She had no idea what she was getting herself into. We all climbed in the golf car and refused to leave. After many phone calls and 45 minutes had pass, we were granted permission to be escorted across the parking lot. A security guard on a bike lead the golf car across the 30 feet of parking lot. We had to exited the security area and re-entered to go through the proper security. The rain had stopped so now we just needed to wait to see if the tennis would continue. After finally getting to the other side, tennis was cancelled. Now, we had to wait for that bus to get back home!

Golf car full of wet spectators

Since Jim and I got back from our rain out tennis early, Elle stayed home for an early bed. Terri and Andy took Emmy to dinner at Terri’s favorite place in The Peninsula Hotel downtown.

Fancy Dinner

Day 3 – Monday, August 11:

On Monday, we had 2 event tickets for tennis. Jim gave them to a work colleague and we took an Olympic break to go to the Great Wall. We drove out to Simatai section of the wall. We had a beautiful day, as it was not too hot.

We had the Owens Corning driver to take us to the Wall. Once we arrived, Jim put Elle on his shoulders. Two minutes later, she threw up. Jim leaned forward so we only had to clean up his baldhead. Good thing as we didn’t have any spare clothes for anyone. We were glad she didn’t throw-up in the van as the driver would not have been happy with us…he is no Mr. Nie.

Simatai

We took the tram up to the top of the wall to begin the climbing. The girls enjoy climbing the wall. They will walk all day without any complaining.

Tram Ride

We did buy these fans from people on the wall because they were fun.

The Chinese always do the peace sign when they take pictures. We have no idea why, but since we are in the midst of China, we enjoy doing it also.

“V” fingers peace sign

On the way home from the Great Wall, we promised the girls we would stop at a shop that sells American Girl Clothes. The clothes are not sold in the set available in the magazine, but they are real American Girl clothes. But the difference is the cost is 25rmb instead of $25.

Jim and Andy went to tennis tonight. Again, we only had 3 tickets for the event. The boys were late from our shop, but it was the only day we could get to the shop. Again, we were short tickets based on the way the lottery allocated tickets. Jim and Andy grabbed their tickets and took the bus to the proper side of the Complex. They were hoping the food might be better since the Tennis complex was removed from the Olympic Green. No, it was worst as there was no McDonald’s. They purchased the ramen noodles thinking they could get some hot water. Nope, they eat raw, crunchy noodles and beer for dinner!

Tonight was men’s doubles night. The boys saw Roger Federer (World #1 ranking) and his partner Swiss partner Wawrinka win their match. Rafael Nadal (World #2) also played. The best match of the night was the Australia – Argentina. The match was 3 plus hour, 3 sets with the tie breaker set won by the Australians 18-16 games!. Overall “very cool”, as best players in the world are here and they are right in the crowd!

Day 4 – Tuesday, August 12:

Today was a full day of events. We had an early start with Fencing at 10 am.

The Birthday Girl

For the first time, we were able buy to sausage rolls at the Olympic event, as it was not sold out. We order two for everyone since they were tiny. The sausage rolls had been pre-ketchup in the bag; therefore, they were soggy and gross. Looks like we will be hungry again today until we get to McDonald’s. We were hoping to pass on McDonald’s today because we need to get to our next event. While we were sitting watching the fencing, I leaned over and whispered to Eleri, “Today is your birthday, Happy Birthday”. She whispered back, “Did you make me a cake?” Um, No! Fencing lasted 4 hours – one little birthday girl was getting a bit bored!!

Keeth Smart 2008 – Silver medal in Team Sabre

Then, we made a quick stop at our favorite food place, McDonald’s, and across the Green by bus to water polo (we learned our lesson about walking and we were already late). When we purchased the tickets, water polo was to be held in The Water Cube. It was moved to another pool area to keep the Cube open for swim competion. We were disappointed as we wanted to see the Cube and we did not get any other swimming tickets on our lottery.

Water polo was another fun event we don’t know much about. The crowds were “in to it”. We had fun watching the matches and the crowds.

Group photo with the girls

We decided to walk backed from water polo instead of taking the bus…again big mistake. We had to walk the LONG way around. But, we enjoyed seeing the Olympic venues from a different perspective.

As we were working our way back to the Olympic Green, we purchased three swimming tickets off the street. The event was starting at about the time we purchased the tickets. It was quickly decided Andy, Terri and I would take the three tickets. We took off running for the event.

Jim took the girls to NBC Today Show live area while we went to swimming. Since the Chinese really had no idea who these people were at NBC, it was not crowded. The girls were on NBC every time they were at the fence.

Emersyn with Al Roker

Jim, Emersyn & Eleri with Meredith Vieira & Ann Curry

NBC Radio Tower

The Water Cube is an amazing building. We had fun seeing the swimming and seeing the building. We paid 1, 000rmb/$145 for face value tickets of 300rmb/$43. We can’t complain, as this was the cheapest Olympics for us. Our tickets ranged in price from 50rmb/$7 to 400rmb/$60. The 400rmb tickets were for semifinal tennis.

Terri & Brenda sitting in a “cube” hole

After the event, we sneaked Jim and the girls into the Cube. You needed a ticket to enter the secured area around the building. We were taking photos outside and we had Emmy run in past security to look for me. Jim followed with Elle. It is such an interesting building that Jim could not miss it!

Next stop was the fountain outside. The water fountain was in the plaza between The Birds Nest and The Water Cube.

Would Dad and Uncle Andy give the shirts off their backs to the girls…of course. And carry them home!

Day 5 – Wednesday, August 13:

Today we have tennis tickets for later in the day. However, since we have tickets for an event, we can enter the Olympic Green. We enjoy taking photos with the various Oympic statues in the Green.

We had tennis ticket for all 6 of us – for the first time. I was excited to see the tennis. Emmy was interested in the tennis as she has been taking lessons off and on since she was 4. This time we took the bus to the Tennis complex as we learned that walking was not an option.

The Tennis Complex has thirteen different courts. The complex has one main Center Court arena. Center court represent a lotus flower, one of the emblems of the Beijing Olympics. Center court has 12 stands, each one representing a petal of the lotus flower with a capacity of 10, 000. The other courts range in size from medium to small arenas.

Our first match was Venus Williams in the medium size court. Wow, I don’t think I will be this close to professional tennis players…ever!! On a beautiful sunny day, we watched Venus win her match.

We left the medium size court and moved to Center Court to watch Serena Williams play. It was a long match. At one point, Venus came into Center Court to watch her sister. Emmy took her Olympic ticket and asked Venus to sign it. She did with a smile for a young fan.

These late nights every night are starting to catch up with Elle. She has been a trooper, but she does find a piont where she is just “done”. She needed a “tennis-nap” during the Serena Williams match as it was a long one.

From the large Center Court, we moved to the smallest of the courts. Ok, we are three rows from the court. We watched the end of the Byran brothers double match.

From the small court, we went to the medium size court to watch the double matches with Roger Federer. Elle was rested from her little nap and ready to go for the night!

Elle was busy entertaining herself with the binoculars

Entrance to the tennis venue

Day 6 – Thursday, August 14:

We were planning ahead for tomorrow because we only have 3 tickets for the day. We decided we needed to know “how” the tickets are scanned to enter the Olympic Green. We gave Jim all our tickets. We told Emmy to go up to Jim and interrupt him as he was handing the tickets to be scanned. Of course, she replied. “I am not suppose to interrupt”. We wanted to know if Jim could scan the same ticket twice. Emmy did as we asked and Jim was able to scan a ticket more than once – good to know for later! We also decided we were having too much fun so we moved our return flights to Shanghai back a day. We were scheduled to go home mid-day tomorrow but we wanted to spend another fun-filled day inside the Olympic Green.

As we walk into the Olympic Green, we stopped to take a few photos since we all had our Olympic shirts from the Super Store.

Our first stop of the day was the Super Store – one more time – Terri needed an Olympic shirt, also. But, of course, you don’t go in the store to buy one thing. We managed to come out with more than one bag full.

Shopper’s paradise!

Lunch time can only mean one thing…time for McDonald’s, again!

Today, the plan was to go back to the Coke building to get a group photo with the Olympic torch. Well, that was the plan. We had to wait to get into the building, something we haven’t had to do before. As we waited, it started to rain. Now, we had slightly wet hair for the photos, but we didn’t get a good one of the group…more people = less time for photo opportunities!

The Girls with their free Coke bottle – read “advertisement”

Jim getting into the spirit of the Olympics

When it was time to leave the Coke building, it was pouring rain. Elle wanted to know where the “Blympic kids” umbrella were…back at the apartment. The only one with an umbrella was Terri as she uses it to keep the sun off her. All Chinese do this so she fits it very well. Jim asked the ladies working at the Coke for garbage bags. They were very accomodating to bring us trash bags. We put on our trash bag rain cover and headed out!

We were all soaked by the time we got back to the apartment. We used a little down time to dry off before we continued on our Olympic adventure. We decided to have an early dinner at a real restaurant. Real food was delicious!

AHHHH – No McDonald’s

After dinner, Terri and Andy decided they wanted to go back into the Olympic Green. Jim and I wanted to go out to tennis. Our tennis tickets are for the matches all evening. Elle wanted to go with Terri and Andy and Emmy wanted to go tennis – done!

Terri and Andy went to the NBC set. Of course, they were on TV. I got a email from my friend Betty when we returned. She commented, “There was Elle on TV with…Uncle Andy, I think, since it wasn’t Jim”.

NBC Today Show set

We watched the match of Roger Federer and James Blake. From there, we moved to watch Venus Williams. One last big name we enjoyed for the night was Rafael Nadal. Tennis at it’s best!

Roger Federer

James Blake

Venus Williams

Terri, Andy and Elle came out to tennis around 9:30. It was an extra late night to make up for the rain delayed games. Around 11:30, Elle was DONE! Terri and I took the girls home. On the way out, a couple from Spain asked if we would trade them tickets. They had tickets for tennis, but their tickets did not get them in the Center Court where Nedal would be playing in the semifinal round. I had not realized that you need a certain ticket to enter Center Court. The boys stayed out at tennis way past 1:00am. Elle was beyond cracky. She was a bundle of “joy” to carry home. The bus ride seemed extra long. I did let her go to bed smelly this night…it wasn’t worth the fight!

Day 7 – Friday, August 15:

The last day of the Olympics for us! We only had 3 tickets to Women’s Gymnastics Final. Andy said he would stay with the girls since Jim didn’t get to go to swimming. Today was the first day events were to be held in the Bird’s Nest. What a difference in the crowds! The Bird’s Nest holds 91, 000 people. Security was tighter and longer to get into the Green area.

We watched the American ladies take gold and silver over the Chinese (who had been dominating).

USA Ladies – Gold and Silver

After the event, we went back to the main gate to “sneak” the other three into the Olympic Green. The plan was to pass the 3 tickets through the fence. The security guards were watching Andy closely. But, Emmy took the opportunity to run up to Jim at the fence. Jim quickly passed her the tickets…such good lessons we are teaching our daughter! We wouldn’t trying to sneak into any events, just get them into the Olympic Green.

We went back to the Kodak shop as we wanted to get a a photo book made of our Olympic fun. Ok, the photo book took more time than we wanted to give them, but we got the books.

Next, we wanted to get some last night time photos in front of the Bird’s Nest.

One last stop at the NBC set. Jim had Eleri on his shoulders. From what we heard from friends and family back home, after commercial, the camera started with a close up shot of Eleri and than panned back. We didn’t see any of the footage of NBC. It was classical China moment, all the Chinese were taking more photos of Eleri than the NBC stars.

We left the NBC fence for one last play in the fountain. Aunt Terri join the girls this night for the water play. Only problem it was a short play as the fountain turns off at 10pm. Emmy was not too happy with us because she had to take all those photos and she missed water play time.

We took two exhausted girls home and said good-bye to the Olympic fun. It was an amazing experience we enjoyed sharing with our girls and family. Both girls asked if we could go to London for the next Olympics. Hum, I don’t think it will be as cheap as our Beijing Olympics!