London Is Calling

We arrived back in London this weekend, ready to begin welcoming our performers and families to our London Invitational which begins in a few days.  As you all know, London is host of the 2012 summer sporting events, and we are looking forward to celebrating with the rest of the world as the Olympic athletes begin arriving.  Today should be the busiest day in the airport, but so far London traffic is running smoothly, although waits are a bit longer than normal.  Dedicated traffic lanes for Olympic athletes have been set aside- which is maddening to the London cabbies! Everyone is getting reading for the huge crowds that will visit the city, and even the Tower Bridge looks great embellished with the Olympic rings! ​

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A lot of people think the bridge pictured above is the London Bridge, but that bridge is actually down the Thames a way and looks like this.  If you look closely, you can see London Bridge etched into the stone. We spent our first evening in town on the Thames Queen’s Walk.  We walked for about two hours along the Thames, starting at the Tower Bridge and ending at the London Eye and Big Ben.  This is our fourth visit to London in preparation for the this summer’s events, and we can definitely see a difference in the city’s public spaces.  Everything is spruced up with a fresh coat of paint, lots of outdoor art installations, and London 2012 Summer Olympics logos everywhere.  When we first arrived, as you can see from Matt’s picture, it was a little chilly out, especially as the sun began to set.  Travelers should definitely bring wind breakers which can double as protection from the occasional spritzing of rain.

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But today, we woke up to bright sun and warm weather.  BBC weather is predicting warm days ahead with intermittent, light showers as the week progresses.  Our experience has been that rain spritzing is very brief and light, as the clouds pass quickly!
Over the next few days we visit the venues to make sure everything is ready for our first wave of performers.  The energy level is high here in London as the city prepares for the opening ceremonies this week.  Our dancers will be performing at Warwick Castle and Island Gardens this weekend to be a part of the celebration!

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