Tuesday-- Final Day in London

All good things must come to a close and today we catch our flight back to NC. We spent the day yesterday at Wimbledon and had a terrific time. As an official, I get a free pass that allowed me to go to any court so we positioned ourselves under the cover of court 12 and watched the Mardy Fish match. After a set I ventured off to Center Court to watch Rafael Nadal play Michael Russell (USA). Russell was up 4-2 in the first set and then suddenly, Nadal kicked into another gear and won the first set 6-4. There were some amazing rallies and diving shots by Russell but it just wasn't enough. I then watched most of the Shiavonne match. Around 5:15, the rains came and after doing some shopping in the Wimbledon store, we headed back to our hotel for dinner, pack, get boarding passes, etc. We've been gone a long time and I do look forward to coming home. I haven't gone for a run in 2 weeks and as much fun as it is to eat out, I look forward to home cooked meals and stuff from the garden. I have been tracking the NC weather and I am not sure if we are ready for the 90 degree plus temperatures back in NC. The temps have been low 60's here.

Good bye from London.......


posted by Rod Realon Tuesday 5:50 AM London Time

Good Friends in Foreign Places

Dear readers,

Over the past week you have been sitting at the edge of your seat in anticipation of future blog posts. Thank you for your support. The end of the trip is near, but there is more to share before we are stateside on Tuesday.

On Saturday, Mom and I went to a market which was full of stations featuring cheeses, meets, vegetables, take away lunches, and more. From there, we actually split ways where she went off to go yoga, and I met up with good friend and fraternity brother Jerry Yang who is studying/working in London. (MBA program)

Jerry and I exploreed the Tower Bridge and the Tower of London. The tower of london is where the crown jewels are featured, and what a sight they were! I saw the largest cut diamond ever as a part of a staff, and a magnificient display of crowns.

From the tower, Jerry and I explored the local watering hole, then I ventured back to the hotel. By that time, dad had finished the tennis (thankfully) and he and I ventured to a chinese restaurant nearby for an excellent sampling.

Today is Sunday. We woke up early to get to the Wimbledon grounds, which were closed off to the public, but we were still able to walk around the grounds and into the town of Wimbledon. In fact, we saw a few stars including Venus and Serena Williams practicing.

Happy Father's day.

From tennis, we ventured into main London to see Westminster Abbey, and attend a service there which was real nice. A few shops and other sights including St. Paul's Cathedral, and then back to Wandsworth.

Tomorrow promises to be a great day at Wimbledon where we have grounds passes. Weather is iffy, but my spirit is adament.

Enjoy the photos, see you soon.

Andrew

Wimbledon Qualifying tournament completed

Well, the tournanment for me has completed at around 7:00 PM Saturday evening. It was a marvelous, fantastic experience filled with great memories and many stories. I loved every second of the experience and I will definitely apply to come back next year. My next tennis events include include the NC Stated closed tournament, the Winston Salem Open (previously the Pilot Pen event in New Haven) and then the US Open. Retirement has been great although it has been very busy. Who would have ever thought I am where I am now.

Posted by Rod Realon 8:30 London time

Friday and proposed Saturday

Followers,
I remind you that you can follow the journey in a less comprehensive manner by following me on twitter @andrewrealon. If you need to get in touch with me, also you may send me an email adr528@aol.com
It is hard to make firm plans for a day with such unpredictable weather we have been dealing with. Rain, and more rain, make for tricky sightseeing. Yesterday, we made our way to the Bank of England sports complex to watch tennis. And we did watch 20 minutes of tennis before play was suspended due to rain. We would eventually leave the facility and head back to Wandsworth where our hotel is. Right behind us all the officials were released, so we ventured out all three of us to Westminster Chapel for a quick service. We also found this great place for dinner and met the owner. American Italian cuisine.
As for today, we leave the hotel soon in hopes of going to a market, the Tower of London (Crown Jewels) and mom has a Yoga-thon seminar near the London zoo. We’ll see what the rain allows.
Andrew

Raining in London

Worked about an hour today before the rains came. We got released around 3:30. We head back tomorrow (Saturday) trying to complete about 30 matches before the main draw starts on Monday. Got to have dinner with Julie and andrew in London and we attended a singing church service at Westminster Cathedral and saw Westminster Abby where the recent royal wedding occured.

posted by Rod Realon 10:00 PM London time

Cool and rainy from Wimbledon Qualifying Friday morning

It rained virtually all day yesterday (Thursday). In the morning it was so bad that there was a river running through the area and the water was at least 3 inches deep. We had several false starts where we would go to the courts and then it would start raining. I officially was on court for a warm-up and 1 point. I guess that counts as working one professional line day. We will try things again today. England has been in a drought so the rain is welcomed by everyone except tennis people.

posted by Rod Realon 7:00 AM London Time

Thursday from Wimbledon Qualifying

I had a great evening with the Americans and Brits at a pub called Halfway House. Had 2 pints of a beer called London Pride and a Bacon (the bacon here is like a ham and it is not crispy) and Brie baguette with chips. Great meal with lots of fun conversations. Julie and Andrew got in around 11:30 PM from Paris. Weather permitting, today will be the last day of the qualifying tournament. More later. I need to get my chocolate croissants and Cafe Au Lait.

from Rod Realon 6:30 AM