Old friends, new beginnings.

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Geo: 39.9165, 116.391

Friday was a free day. Congress was finished and I decided not to go to the Forbidden City on the tour as I had been before and remember it being never ending. We had a late breakfast and as we came out, there was Peter Thompson in the foyer. We had had an enjoyable few weeks with him in Eugene last year so it was great to catch up again. We came back up to our room so he could check emails etc and after an hour or so, (all of us on our computers!) we left the hotel and walked to the Underground. Our accreditation allows us free transport so we got our tickets, worked out the route and headed in to Qiamen, the area Fletcher and I had enjoyed last time. We changed lines twice and after about an hour arrived at our destination.

We walked into the area and stopped at an Italian restaurant as it was by now nearly 2pm and we were hungry. I had the strangest pizza. It was supposed to be crab meat but it was a salad with crispy strips(I guess of crab) strewn like straw over the top. Weird. Fletcher and Peter fared better with their pasta. From there we wandered through the area and down the side streets and showed Peter some of the lovely buildings, all recreated as they were in the 1890s. We were a little disappointed though as there were fewer people around and many shops now lay empty. It was also very warm, so after about an hour we decided to head back. I found a quicker route on the subway with only one stop so it was back to the Olympic Green station and a walk to the hotel.

Peter left us there to return to his hotel. We went back to the Italian place at the hotel for dinner. This time we shared a Quatro Stagione Pizza which was plenty for both of us. Then an early night after a walking day.

Saturday was the first day of competition. The first event was the Marathon which started at 7-35am. We watched the first hour on TV, had breakfast and then walked over to the stadium just in time to see the leading runners coming past on their way to the finish line. They were greeted by drummers adding to the spectacle. Inside the Bird's Nest we found the VIP area and joined Cherry, Yvonne et al in the stands to watch the events. The Heptathlon had started and we saw some of the Men's Hammer qualifying. followed by various heats on the track. The last three events were the Men's 100m Preliminary Round. These are for the smaller countries to qualify to be included in the main rounds. We were pleased when Banuve from Fiji won his heat and Rodman from Palau was second in his. Oceania will be represented in the main rounds! We also met up with other people, especially our dear friend Debbie Strange from NZ. We invited Peter and Debbie back to the hotel for lunch.

We went to Di, the Chinese restaurant there. I ordered a selection of food and as we were waiting who else should arrive but John Velzian from Kenya! John is now 88 but is still fairly sprightly so he joined us too. What a fabulous lunch we had. The amount of food ordered was plenty for the five of us and much reminiscing and conversation continued throughout.
After lunch we had a coffee in the lobby and then it was time to return to the Stadium for the Opening Ceremony.

This was a very happy affair. After the March of the Flags, the speeches, including one from the Mayor of Beijing, the President of China declared the Championships open, Then there was a delightful spectacle about youth and renewal and greening of the land. A lot of fun.

The athletics was also entertaining. I watched the Pole Vault qualifying with great interest. 15 men made it through to the final The first round of the Men's 100 saw Justin Gatling run a faster time in his heat than Usain Bolt but my money will be on Bolt in the final. The final event was a very exciting 10,000 men's race with three Kenyans, Mo Farrah and the American, Galen Rupp, running in a bunch and lapping others towards the end.. Mo made his break with 300 to go and I thought the Kenyans would run him down, but he held on for an impressive victory. That was the last event of the night. We walked back to the hotel admiring the colours of the lights on the buildings and enjoying some cool night air.

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