Aug
12
Posted by admin at 08:31 | Filed In Uncategorized | 4 Comments
Hello again!
We started off the day with a nice meet-and-greet with Tiki Barber at breakfast! Our first event today was beach volleyball. We got there just in time to see Misty May and Kerri Walsh beat Cuba and move on to the next round. We also stayed to see the China vs. Estonia men’s game, even though most of the U.S. fans had cleared out. At 10 in the morning the heat was already in full blast. There was a DJ teaching all of the Chinese fans American cheers like “Woop! There it is!” and “That’s the way– Uh-huh, Uh-huh– I like it.” Very entertaining. The crowd was really into the wave and almost everyone had thunder sticks. Quite the party.
We decided to do something different for lunch, it being our last fully day in China, and went to a place called “Hot Pot.” It was like the Chinese version of fondue and had a large boiling pot in the middle. We ordered beef, dumplings, and rice, which has been a staple for us here. Call us conservative, but we avoided the brain and kidney options.
After lunch, we went to a sportswear store owned by the guy who lit the torch. It was very similar to Nike and Adidas. It was fun wandering around Beijing as we made our way back to the hotel because we have become comfortable with the close area around us. One of the more familiar spots we wandered to was Dairy Queen. Tastes just like America.
We packed for the trip home and we’re about to go watch the USA men’s basketball team play hoops against Angola. Tomorrow morning we get to see the women’s gymnastics final. Hopefully we have time to write our last blog before we leave for Wilton. If not, keep reading. We’ll be sure to update once we get home.
Grace&Kate
Aug
11
Posted by admin at 09:34 | Filed In Uncategorized | 7 Comments
YES!!! Kate and Grace came to watch us swim!!! (AP Photo)
Spotted: Michael Phelps and the USA relay team snatching the gold medal from France.
Michael Phelps: what a dreamboat. We liked swimming so much we decided to go again … actually we already had the tickets, but it worked out in our favor. In addition to seeing our friend Mikey P. (again), President Bush was there, too, but we were again too busy to pay our dues.
Another exciting day at the pool; we were all jumping up and down during the very close relay race. The swimming events happen very quickly and the excitement never dies down.
After swimming we had some time to kill before the diving event. We tried to get some lunch but the only safe thing at the vendors were Ritz crackers (known as biscuits here.) While we were in Olympic Park, we also enjoyed some quality time with the five mascots. Once we got back into the Water Cube, we still had some free time. We made our way over to the practice pool in hopes of catching a glimpse of some athletes. Sure enough, Larsen Jensen, another swimmer on Team USA, was practicing and he gave us a wave! Hopefully we did not look too creepy.
Then it was time for the Men’s Synchronized Diving from the 10-meter platform. Although the US did not do that well, it was fun to see the Chinese fans react to their victory. Once Grace gets over her fear of heights, we plan to dominate in synchro diving — look for us in London 2012.
On the walk back to the hotel we stopped by an Adidas store and got to wish a giant Polish wrestler good luck. It is groovy (yeah, we said it) that we keep running into athletes all over the city. Yesterday we had a chat with some very pleasant, Canadian sailors and complimented a badminton player from Estonia on her exciting match the night before.
Wish you were here.
Grate and Kace
Aug
10
Posted by admin at 08:31 | Filed In Uncategorized | 1 Comment
Good Evening! Or in your case, a very early Good Morning!
We still can’t really wrap our minds around the crazy time difference! Yesterday (Saturday) we had some time to explore and we attempted to shop at the Olympic Super Store. It was packed with people trying to buy souvenirs and they had pretty much cleaned out the place. We only ended up with a few t-shirts. Later that night we got to go to our first event - Badminton - which was a bit of a drive. After passing through security, something that had been happening throughout our trip became more apparent. We noticed several Chinese citizens taking our pictures, and some even asked to have their picture taken with us. Our tour guide said this is common because we look different, specifically our complexion.
Once we got to our seats, we noticed we were pretty much the only Americans there. It was fun to watch different spectators get rowdy to cheer on their countries at an event that we are not very familiar with. There were three courts all with different games going on at one given time. It is amazing how fast the play is … much different from our high school gym class. Watching such an unfamiliar event, at a professional level, really made us feel like we were at the Olympics.
This morning we got up early and walked over to the Aquatic Center, which is quite possibly the coolest building ever. It is a cube with a bubbly exterior (you gotta see it for yourself … too hard to describe).
Inside the Water Cube there are two pools, one for swimming events, and the other for diving. All the swimmers were warming up together in the pool where the races would soon be taking place. Across the pool we noticed President Bush and his posse, but we were too busy to go over and say hi.
Question: Michael Phelps, man or dolphin? Being able to see him swim will definitely be one of the most memorable parts of our trip. We were so lucky to not only see him win his first gold medal in Beijing, but to also watch him break a world record. For all the races, the excitement in the atmosphere was through the bubble-roof.
Kate’s brother, BJ, has been here in China working for NBC as a PA at swimming and diving. After swimming was the first time we got to see BJ here and we headed over to the IBC (International Broadcast Center) for lunch with Mr. Gunts. Once we finished our lunch Mr. Gunts showed us around the NBC headquarters. We saw all the control rooms and even got to go on the set where the Prime Time show is hosted.
Another great day! Looking forward to swimming and diving tomorrow!
Grace&Kate
Aug
8
Posted by admin at 23:39 | Filed In Uncategorized | 8 Comments
Our view of the Opening Ceremony
Hello!
Sorry about the lack of blog yesterday! The internet was shut down at our hotel, for what we think was security purposes. Our hotel is right across from the Olympic Green, where many of the large venues are located, including the Birds Nest. The whole area was closed off at 11am Friday to prepare for the festivities. Friday we relaxed at the hotel because it would have been hard to get around if we left because of the increased security and excited spectators outside. At 5 p.m., all the guests with NBC met in the hotel lobby to walk as a group to the National Stadium. The walk was quick, but we waited in security check lines for close to two hours where the humidity was unbearable. The metal detectors and bag check was something we had all seen before, but along with that we had to stand next to a machine to have our picture taken. The Birds Nest is an incredible structure and we were blown away when we finally got to be right next to it.
Inside the stadium people were hurrying to purchase water and anything else they would need so they didn’t have to miss a single moment of the show. We tried the vendor food for dinner and it didn’t go so well. The hotdogs were covered in an unidentifiable sauce and the potato chips had a picture of a steak on the wrapper. We ended up eating a roll of bread for dinner.
If you ever wondered how the crowd looks so choreographed, there was a bag on every seat filled with different items to use throughout the show at various times. Each section had a leader (ours was the most enthusiastic) to tell everyone when to wave the flags and to demonstrate how to use the lights. Pretty interesting, right? If you watched the Opening Ceremony on TV, you know how amazing it was, and we cannot even describe how cool it was to be there! All of the performers were completely in unison and we sometimes did not believe our eyes. Seeing the USA come out from the tunnel was a great moment, but when China entered the stadium the crowd erupted. Even when we got outside, there were still fireworks going off all over the city and the ground was covered in scraps from the pyrotechnics earlier.
Last night was something we’ll never forget.
Today we plan to do some shopping and we are going to our first event: Badminton! We’ll update you soon!
Grace&Kate
Aug
7
Posted by admin at 10:31 | Filed In Uncategorized | 4 Comments
Click here to see Kate & Grace on The Today Show
Ni Hao!
Today was another busy one! Our adventure began with an early morning drive to the Great Wall. After making our way up a crowded hill filled with Chinese vendors, we boarded a gondola to take us up to the Wall. Pictures don’t do it justice. High in the mountains, the winding Wall was much steeper than we imagined. We hiked to the the tallest tower of the Wall with the help of encouraging words from tourists from all over the world. Looking behind us on the hike back, we were proud of our accomplishments!
After our three-hour hike in 97 degree weather, we chose to go back on the gondola instead of the other option of tobogganing down the mountain. We passed by the vendors again and this time decided to practice our skill of bargaining. We tried to do it on our own, but needed the help of Kate’s mom to successfully purchase our t-shirts.
We went to another Chinese restaurant for lunch where Katy/Yan ordered our entire meal. We were nervous and expecting frog belly, but to our surprise, lunch was quite tasty! We then returned to the hotel and found out we had the opportunity to go to the first live taping of the Today Show in Beijing. It was really cool to be in the central Olympic square before it was packed with thousands of spectators.
We saw the women’s gymnastic team and a few other U.S. athletes. We were even standing behind Matt Lauer during one of the segments!! (Did you see us?) Walking back to the hotel was the first time we got to see the city at night and all of the buildings looked awesome lit up. As we passed the Bird’s Nest (the stadium where Opening Ceremony will be held) we heard music and saw performers and got a little sneak peak for tomorrow night!
Be sure to watch, we will be there!
Grace&Kate
Aug
6
Posted by admin at 10:09 | Filed In Uncategorized | 4 Comments
Greetings from beautiful, breezy, Beijing!
Despite a few mishaps Grace had with chopsticks, today was a great day! We started off
with breakfast in our hotel, which featured both American buffet foods and a few interesting Chinese treats (dumplings, pickled veggies, etc.).
The first thing on our busy agenda after breakfast was a tour of the Summer Palace. We were joined by Taylor and Keith Costas, the children of NBC’s TV host Bob Costas. The Summer Palace has many beautiful gardens and old Chinese buildings that surround a lake. After walking through the gardens we boarded a Dragon Boat to take us across the lake. And yes, it is exactly what you are picturing in your mind: a large wooden boat in the shape of a dragon.
From there we headed off to an authentic Chinese restaurant, where the staff dressed in extravagant costumes. This may sound like a tourist trap, but we were surprised by how many locals seemed to be eating there as well. Our tour guide (Katy or Yan) assisted us with the menu and picked out all of our dishes. The menu was very diverse and included everything from braised white frog belly to Lotus flower root. We were sure to steer clear of the frog belly. We tried a lot of new foods, which we cannot go into detail about because we weren’t even sure what we were eating.
As we were leaving we naturally thought it would be a good idea to stop by the ladies room. It was much different than anything either of us have encountered before; a hole in the ground.
After lunch we went to the Forbidden City, which was bigger than we expected but quite the sight to see. We walked a mile through palaces and courtyards. Our tour guide shared the history of the city with us and we took a lot of pictures. After relaxing at the hotel we went out for another Chinese meal, which was much different than our lunch, and our favorite meal since we left the States. The pork dumplings we ordered had soup inside them, which was the highlight of our evening.
Great Wall tomorrow. Better get some sleep!
Kate&Grace
Aug
5
Posted by admin at 10:03 | Filed In Uncategorized | Add a Comment
Hi everybody,
We landed here a couple of hours ago and wow, that was a long flight! After watching Kung Fu Panda, The Made of Honor, Be Kind Rewind, and Nim’s Island, we were happy to know there were only six hours left. We even got to squeeze in a movie of our own! They served two meals on the plane and we had a “noodle service,” which was something we’d never experienced before. Yuck. The brand-new airport was a great way to start the trip. Shortly after arriving at our hotel we had a lovely dinner at a Brazilian restaurant (no Chinese food yet…) Exhausted from our travel, nevertheless we look forward to the busy day ahead of us … can’t wait to tell you about it!
Kate&Grace
Aug
3
Posted by admin at 22:58 | Filed In Uncategorized | Add a Comment
Greetings from The Blog-o-sphere!
Our names our Kate Gunts and Grace Lyons and this is our first go-round at a “blog.” We’re a little rusty at the whole writing thing, it being summer and all, but we’re ready to brush up our skills over the next week and a half! If you are reading this, you probably already know that we are heading off to China for the Olympics Monday morning. Kate’s actually still packing as we write this together. We were both lucky enough to go to the winter Olympics in Torino in 2006 and we can’t wait for this year’s summer Olympics. We leave leave from JFK at 9:30 a.m., and we have a layover in D.C before departing for Beijing at 12:30. Grace is worried about the 14 hour plane ride (she is a nervous flyer) whereas Kate is more concerned about adjusting to the 12 hour time difference. We will be sure to keep you posted! Keep reading!
Kate&Grace
Jul
31
Posted by admin at 16:50 | Filed In Uncategorized | 4 Comments
Coming soon, Kate and Grace head off to the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China.
