I woke up around 8:45 a.m. to the sound of others getting up (as usual). I asked around to see if anyone else would be interested in taking a train to Cambridge for the day, but everyone else was busy. Therefore, I had to change my plans. Without an event to go to for the day, I was forced to ad lib.
After getting breakfast, I had remembered that James Walton was interested in getting a pick-up basketball game going sometime on this trip. I had found a basketball court in a park close to the hostel, so I ventured toward the court to see if there were any balls lying around. No luck. I went to the King's Cross/St. Pancras station to see if there were any sporting goods stores around. I found out later that there was a JD sports store, but at the time, I could not find one. So, I made my way back to Oxford Circus to look around the stores there. I waited until 10 a.m. for Niketown to open up. Inside, I found a high-quality collection of Air Jordan basketballs. It cost me 30 pounds to get one, but I knew that this would be a trinket I would hold onto for a long time.
I returned to the hostel to tell James about my new purchase. He and some others sounded like they would be up to playing later on in the day. In the meantime, Leslie Greer told me that she was going to go explore Tower Bridge in London (it's actually not London Bridge...). She offered for James and I to come along, so I took a quick shower, gathered my things, and took off.
We arrived at the correct station, and after a little bit of walking, we made it to the bridge. It was across from the other bridge that we were standing on at the time. I took a dozen pictures, honing in on the Olympic rings that were hanging off of the bridge. We walked toward the other side of the bridge we were on and went down a flight of stairs to find a path that would take us to the bridge. Along the way, we found the Tower of London, which was basically a medieval castle in the middle of a steel metropolis. We took some great pictures and then headed inside the gift shop because it was starting to rain pretty hard. I briefly considered buying a feather pen with ink in the store just to see what kind of reaction I would get from my fellow students. Not going through with it, I reconvened with Leslie and James and we headed over to the Tower Bridge. We got a couple more photos, then we headed into town to find a place to eat.
We found yet ANOTHER pub where we sat down and ate. I had a delicious wrap with fried chicken along with some chips and milk (yes, I went there). While eating, we all looked at a map to decide where we could go next. We found an Olympic museum near Covent Garden that sounded very promising. After lunch, we waited for a bus to take us to the Covent Garden area. We boarded a one-floor bus, which we rode for about ten minutes until reaching our destination. I did not have an Oyster card, so I had to pay straight cash (homey). Once we got there, it was a short walk to the museum. We had to wait in line for about five minutes until we could enter the museum.
The museum, which would only be around for a couple of months, was excellent! It was highly virtual and highly electronic. I could not take any pictures, however, because of the artifacts inside. The first part of the museum talked about the Ancient Olympics and how these games were held to bring honor to the Greek god Zeus. We were treated to a moving picture show on a virtual Greek vase before moving on to the next room. This room talked about the beginnings of the modern Olympic games, including the vision of France's Baron Pierre de Coubertin to create a series of athletic competitions that all nations could participate in. After this, we went through a hallway with all of the different Olympic torches over the years being displayed. We then arrived in a large room with a lot of different things going on. In the center, there was a display of Olympic medals, showing what the medals looked like in all of the different ceremonies. The corners had little videos and displays of former Olympic athletes, chronicling their stories and struggles to become Olympic champions. It was an afternoon well spent.
Once we exited the museum, we came across a busy little city square with a variety of shops and restaurants. We found a place called NBA Town in the distance, and instantly, my eyes widened. A couple of weeks ago, I had the privilege to go to a restaurant called NBA City in Universal Studios Florida. It had games and NBA history pictures and movies everywhere. NBA Town, which was JUST opening on this day, was a little different. We waited in line for about a half an hour until it finally opened. We were treated to the typical "cutting of the ribbon" grand opening scene. The Chicago Bulls mascot, Bennie Bull, appeared from the store and gave away tons of free merchandise. James and I managed to get free NBA caps. It helped that I am 6 foot 2 and he is 6 foot 5! Anyway, we proceeded inside and soaked in the surroundings. In some ways, it was kind of similar to NBA City. They had these basketballs with player's hand imprints on them, so you could place your hand and compare sizes. They had a little hoops machine that you would find in an arcade. I grabbed my place in line and tried my luck at the game. At the machine that I was at, the high score was 67 points. I got hot late and fell just short, at 59 points. I took lots of pictures and got a photo with a member of the Boston Celtics dance squad. We even had the opportunity to go into one room and skype with a current NBA player. Our group of three plus one more person filed into the room to have a short conversation with Utah Jazz player Gordon Hayward. For those of you who do not know, Gordon Hayward was a former standout player at Butler University. He is famed for taking a last-second halfcourt shot against Duke in the 2010 National Championship, which hit the backboard but just missed its mark. I asked Gordon about that shot, whether or not he felt like it was going in when he released it. He said that he thought it wasn't going to be anywhere close, and the fact that it was still pains him to this day. I also took a picture next to this fake Larry O'Brien trophy that, through technology, makes it look like I was actually with the Miami Heat when they were awarded the trophy.
After a while, we decided to finally leave the place. We passed by a street performer who was on stilts and about to juggle some machetes as we ventured toward the metro station. We also passed by the Royal Opera House and heard someone singing. When we made it back to King's Cross, the three of us dressed up in athletic clothing and headed over to the park to play some ball. To quote James: "The NBA Town did its job because we all want to play basketball now."
The court was packed when we made it to the park. Leslie decided to go running instead, while James and I waited to play pick-up with some other guys. I played in three pick-up games: two 4-on-4 and one 2-on-2. My team won the 2-on-2 but lost both 4-on-4 games. The second 4-on-4 game was very tough. We played against a slew of terrific athletes and I almost tore a muscle in my left arm during the game. Once we were finished, the three of us headed back to the hostel to change up.
As the others arrived, some of us decided to go to dinner at a fancy Indian restaurant down the street. I had never gone to an Indian restaurant before, so reading the menu was like trying to read a different language for me. I ordered the Euro Chicken Special with some garlic bread and some vegetables. I was very impressed by the meal and the service. Indian food is the kind of spicy that I like (i.e. it has a kick, but it's not scalding hot).
We came back to the hostel around 10 p.m. or so. I put on some khakis and prepared to go to a nearby club for the night. Leslie, Derek, Frankie, Allie, Katie, and I all went to the House of Nations for a couple of hours. I drank a decent amount and danced with the crew for a while, enjoying the house music and the atmosphere of the place. It was very crowded and very loud, but everyone seemed to be having a good time. Leslie and I also played some foosball at one point. I left a little after one, drank some milk and water, and headed to sleep after another long, eventful day.
After getting breakfast, I had remembered that James Walton was interested in getting a pick-up basketball game going sometime on this trip. I had found a basketball court in a park close to the hostel, so I ventured toward the court to see if there were any balls lying around. No luck. I went to the King's Cross/St. Pancras station to see if there were any sporting goods stores around. I found out later that there was a JD sports store, but at the time, I could not find one. So, I made my way back to Oxford Circus to look around the stores there. I waited until 10 a.m. for Niketown to open up. Inside, I found a high-quality collection of Air Jordan basketballs. It cost me 30 pounds to get one, but I knew that this would be a trinket I would hold onto for a long time.
I returned to the hostel to tell James about my new purchase. He and some others sounded like they would be up to playing later on in the day. In the meantime, Leslie Greer told me that she was going to go explore Tower Bridge in London (it's actually not London Bridge...). She offered for James and I to come along, so I took a quick shower, gathered my things, and took off.
We arrived at the correct station, and after a little bit of walking, we made it to the bridge. It was across from the other bridge that we were standing on at the time. I took a dozen pictures, honing in on the Olympic rings that were hanging off of the bridge. We walked toward the other side of the bridge we were on and went down a flight of stairs to find a path that would take us to the bridge. Along the way, we found the Tower of London, which was basically a medieval castle in the middle of a steel metropolis. We took some great pictures and then headed inside the gift shop because it was starting to rain pretty hard. I briefly considered buying a feather pen with ink in the store just to see what kind of reaction I would get from my fellow students. Not going through with it, I reconvened with Leslie and James and we headed over to the Tower Bridge. We got a couple more photos, then we headed into town to find a place to eat.
We found yet ANOTHER pub where we sat down and ate. I had a delicious wrap with fried chicken along with some chips and milk (yes, I went there). While eating, we all looked at a map to decide where we could go next. We found an Olympic museum near Covent Garden that sounded very promising. After lunch, we waited for a bus to take us to the Covent Garden area. We boarded a one-floor bus, which we rode for about ten minutes until reaching our destination. I did not have an Oyster card, so I had to pay straight cash (homey). Once we got there, it was a short walk to the museum. We had to wait in line for about five minutes until we could enter the museum.
The museum, which would only be around for a couple of months, was excellent! It was highly virtual and highly electronic. I could not take any pictures, however, because of the artifacts inside. The first part of the museum talked about the Ancient Olympics and how these games were held to bring honor to the Greek god Zeus. We were treated to a moving picture show on a virtual Greek vase before moving on to the next room. This room talked about the beginnings of the modern Olympic games, including the vision of France's Baron Pierre de Coubertin to create a series of athletic competitions that all nations could participate in. After this, we went through a hallway with all of the different Olympic torches over the years being displayed. We then arrived in a large room with a lot of different things going on. In the center, there was a display of Olympic medals, showing what the medals looked like in all of the different ceremonies. The corners had little videos and displays of former Olympic athletes, chronicling their stories and struggles to become Olympic champions. It was an afternoon well spent.
Once we exited the museum, we came across a busy little city square with a variety of shops and restaurants. We found a place called NBA Town in the distance, and instantly, my eyes widened. A couple of weeks ago, I had the privilege to go to a restaurant called NBA City in Universal Studios Florida. It had games and NBA history pictures and movies everywhere. NBA Town, which was JUST opening on this day, was a little different. We waited in line for about a half an hour until it finally opened. We were treated to the typical "cutting of the ribbon" grand opening scene. The Chicago Bulls mascot, Bennie Bull, appeared from the store and gave away tons of free merchandise. James and I managed to get free NBA caps. It helped that I am 6 foot 2 and he is 6 foot 5! Anyway, we proceeded inside and soaked in the surroundings. In some ways, it was kind of similar to NBA City. They had these basketballs with player's hand imprints on them, so you could place your hand and compare sizes. They had a little hoops machine that you would find in an arcade. I grabbed my place in line and tried my luck at the game. At the machine that I was at, the high score was 67 points. I got hot late and fell just short, at 59 points. I took lots of pictures and got a photo with a member of the Boston Celtics dance squad. We even had the opportunity to go into one room and skype with a current NBA player. Our group of three plus one more person filed into the room to have a short conversation with Utah Jazz player Gordon Hayward. For those of you who do not know, Gordon Hayward was a former standout player at Butler University. He is famed for taking a last-second halfcourt shot against Duke in the 2010 National Championship, which hit the backboard but just missed its mark. I asked Gordon about that shot, whether or not he felt like it was going in when he released it. He said that he thought it wasn't going to be anywhere close, and the fact that it was still pains him to this day. I also took a picture next to this fake Larry O'Brien trophy that, through technology, makes it look like I was actually with the Miami Heat when they were awarded the trophy.
After a while, we decided to finally leave the place. We passed by a street performer who was on stilts and about to juggle some machetes as we ventured toward the metro station. We also passed by the Royal Opera House and heard someone singing. When we made it back to King's Cross, the three of us dressed up in athletic clothing and headed over to the park to play some ball. To quote James: "The NBA Town did its job because we all want to play basketball now."
The court was packed when we made it to the park. Leslie decided to go running instead, while James and I waited to play pick-up with some other guys. I played in three pick-up games: two 4-on-4 and one 2-on-2. My team won the 2-on-2 but lost both 4-on-4 games. The second 4-on-4 game was very tough. We played against a slew of terrific athletes and I almost tore a muscle in my left arm during the game. Once we were finished, the three of us headed back to the hostel to change up.
As the others arrived, some of us decided to go to dinner at a fancy Indian restaurant down the street. I had never gone to an Indian restaurant before, so reading the menu was like trying to read a different language for me. I ordered the Euro Chicken Special with some garlic bread and some vegetables. I was very impressed by the meal and the service. Indian food is the kind of spicy that I like (i.e. it has a kick, but it's not scalding hot).
We came back to the hostel around 10 p.m. or so. I put on some khakis and prepared to go to a nearby club for the night. Leslie, Derek, Frankie, Allie, Katie, and I all went to the House of Nations for a couple of hours. I drank a decent amount and danced with the crew for a while, enjoying the house music and the atmosphere of the place. It was very crowded and very loud, but everyone seemed to be having a good time. Leslie and I also played some foosball at one point. I left a little after one, drank some milk and water, and headed to sleep after another long, eventful day.
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