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Whirlwind tour of London

What a great last day in England!  We saw the whole city - Parliament (day & night), Big Ben, Tower of London, Westminster Abbey, St. Paul's Cathedral, London Bridge (which isn't falling down), & alot more.  We had lunch at Hard rock.  Jessie's aunt came.  Chrissy (British Disabilities Team) rode the train 2 1/2 hours from Crewe to have lunch with us.  Gizela & her family (from Slovakia) met us at Hard Rock.  We had a great party!  Yesterday was Gizela's birthday & the day before was Paulette's.  We celebrated together - I got to be Paulette, complete with whipped cream on my face.  After our tour, we had dinner & did some shopping at Covent Garden.  There was an opera singer, several musicians, a magician, & lots of people to watch.  Then, we divided into our groups & headed for the theater.  Now we're packing to come home.  We'll fill in all the details when you see us.

Oh - did I mention that we lost Dr. John today?  He can explain that one!  Let's just say Katie let him have it!

See ya in the USA!

Busy day in England

WHEW!  We have certainly covered alot of territory today.  We had an early breakfast in Stratford.  We made sandwiches for lunch off the breakfast bar & headed out at 8:30.  When we told Mark about the sandwiches, he said we have revolutionized the way he works as a guide!  He kept telling us the hotel was calling to charge him double for our breakfasts.

We had a beautiful drive through the Cotswalds on the way to Oxford.  We learned about hedgerows, thatched roofs, etc.  Oxford was a delight!  We walked through the University, which is really a collection of colleges.  Then, we boarded 2 boats for an hour long cruise down the Thames.  Great timing on our part, as soon as we set out, the rain came.  We rolled down the plastic covers on the windows & did fine - except for a couple of times when big buckets of rain came in from the roof.  We saw alot of Oxford from the river - the rowing houses of all the colleges, fishermen, houseboats.  It was very relaxing & lots of fun!  When we got back to the dock, we asked if we could eat lunch on the boats & the captain said OK.  Mark is really a little in awe of our group!  And guess what - the rain stopped just as we left the boats!

We boarded our bus (remember - only cross the street on the green man, not the red man - the buses here don't even slow down for pedestrians), and headed for Stonehenge.  Nap time!  Noone really knows who built Stonehenge, but the construction began about 3300 BC.  There are alot of theories, but we believe it was either aliens or wizards.  We walked around Stonehenge & took lots of pictures.  The wind was blowing so hard, we aren't sure if we got pictures of people or hair!

Naptime again as we drove to London.  We moved into our hotel & had dinner here.  It went kind of slow.  I think the same people were working the restaurant, the bar, & the desk in the lobby.  Not sure who was cooking.  We had fun anyway.

Easy night before our last day tomorrow.  We are going sightseeing in London.  We have lunch at Hard Rock & are celebrating Paulette's birthday.  Yes - I know she isn't on the trip.  I plan to be Paulette at lunch tomorrow!  Our friends from Slovakia are meeting us at Hard Rock.  Also, Chrissy, one of the girls on the British team, & Jessie's aunt.  Party time!  After a full day of sightseeing, we are going to a play.  One group is seeing Lion King, another group Mamma Mia, & 3 of us War Horse.

After the play, the Hales & Flakes are moving into flats they have rented for the next week & the rest of us come back to the hotel to pack for our departure.  I'll try to write tomorrow night & let you know about our day.

Sleep tight & don't let the bedbugs bite.  Remember what that means?

News Flash

Lila ate 3 desserts last night, but who's counting?

Fun evening

HI!  We've had a very fun evening in Stratford-on-Avon!  Dinner at the Black Swan/Dirty Duck was wonderful.  We had 2 tables by the front window.  Lots of atmosphere & more food than most of us could eat.  Thank goodness Katie took everybody's broccoli!  Luckily, we saved room for the luscious brownie dessert.  AHHHHH!

A group of us went to see Cardenio at the Swan Theater, part of the Royal Shakespeare Theater.  What a treat.  The theater is tiny, with seats on 3 sides.  We felt like we were part of the action.  At intermission, we met the lady sitting behind us.  She had on a green Shakesperian dress.  Ana asked if it was a costume & she said she always dresses like that because she doesn't like modern clothes.  She showed us a picture of a house she recently bought - said it was built about the same time as the play was written, & that she had to buy the house to match her dresses.  Do you think we should believe everything she said?

It's a full moon tonite & we walked back to the hotel howling - Chattooga tradition.  Now, we're settling in for a good nights sleep because we have an early departure tomorrow.  We're going to Oxford, Stonehenge, & London.  Our guide, Mark, said he has never been on a boat cruise in Oxford, and he had never been to Leicester before yesterday.  Seems like has says that alot when he has charge of our group.  For those of you who were in England with the team last year - yes, Mark still makes jokes all the time & snorts when he laughs!

Good night, sleep tight, & don't let the bedbugs bite.  We learned where those phrases came from.  In Shakespeare's time, there were ropes on the beds under the mattresses & every night, people had to tighten the ropes before they went to bed so the mattress wouldn't sag.  There were canopies over the beds so the bugs wouldn't fall down out of the thatch roofs & bite. 

Tourists!

Hope your feet feel better than ours do right now!  We have walked & walked & walked today.  It's so windy that sometimes the girls have been blown backwards as they walked down the street.  Great when we have tail winds though!

We were sad to say good-bye to the Highpoint Conference Center in Leicester.  Everybody did a great job loading the bus.  Except for Danny, we were 10 minutes early.  He was right on time & nobody knows how he does it since he doesn't have a watch.  We drove an hour to Stratford-on-Avon and have been on the go all day.  First, we visited Ann Hathaway's Cottage.  She was Shakespeare's wife.  It's a beautiful thatched roof farm house with gardens, fruit trees, and a statue garden outside.  We learned alot about Shakespeare's life and how people lived in the 1600s.  There were 10 kids in Ann Hathaway's family & they all lived in 1 little room.  We are so spoiled!  Next, we toured Shakespeare's birthplace and learned more history.  We saw alot of the original furniture in his house, and even some clothes that he might have worn as a child.  In his day, many baby boys died and people thought the devil was taking them, so they dressed the boys like girls until they were 5 or 6.

Of course after all the history lessons, we were starved, so most of us went to Barnaby's, a fabulous fish & chips shop.  YUM!  We shopped in town for about an hour & spent most of our time & money in the British equivalent of the Dollar Store.  We met on the lake front & walked to the church where Shakespeare & his family are buried.  It's beautiful!

Now, we are relaxing at out hotel - the Holiday Inn - how original.  Soon, we are going to dinner at a famous pub, where all the actors go.  The sign on 1 side says it's called the Black Swan & on the other side, the Dirty Duck.  After that, Danny, Joey, Jessie, Karen, Ana, Lani, the Kludts, & I are going to a play at the Royal Shakespeare theater.  The play is Cardenio, & it was Shakespeare's last play.  Will report on that later. 

USA Rocks!

What a great day for victory!!!  The competition was amazing.  We arrived at the gym about 8:30 AM and left at 6:30 PM.  First, all the gymnasts marched in for Opening Ceremonies.  There were 77 gymnasts, from Great Britain, Slovakia, & USA, competing in mens & womens artistic, as well as rhythmic.  Everyone competed by rounds - for example round 1 was levels A & 1 rhythmic, Level 1 balance beam, & Level 2 parallel bars.  I think there were 7 rounds, lasting all day, so our girls competed 1 or 2 routines before lunch & the rest in the afternoon.  It was really fun seeing all the levels or artistic & rhythmic!  The parents were wishing for pillows to sit in the stands, but had fun meeting the parents from other teams.  At lunchtime, all the gymnasts marched in & we had a moment of silence for 9/11.  Then, we performed Elissa's Song.  Great job Robin & Lila!!!  They are officially stars now!  I even remembered my part.  John said he was making a poster to prove the coach really danced.  The audience loved the routine & I was not the only one with tears in my eyes during it (nothing new - I always cry during Elissa's Song, but I'm not usually dancing)

OK - I've kept you in suspence long enough.  I'm sure you want to know how the girls did.  They all had their best competition ever!  Here are the results.  First let me explain one thing.  At the last minute, Megan decided to compete hoop instead of ribbon.  We borrowed Gizela's hoop, Megan practiced in the warm-up gym, & aced the routine (even though she hadn't done it since May).

Allison - Level 2
Ribbon - gold
Clubs - silver

Michelle - Level 2
Clubs - bronze
Ribbon - bronze

Katie - Level 2
Clubs - gold
Ball - silver
Ribbon - silver

Megan - Level 2
Ball - gold
Hoop - gold
Clubs - silver

Lani - Level 4
Ball - gold
Clubs - gold
Ribbon - silver

Karen - Level 4
Ball - gold
Clubs - gold
Ribbon - gold

Great job, huh?  Ms. Joey was grinning from ear to ear all day!

After the competition, we headed downtown for dinner.  The taxis were slow coming, so our British friends shuttled us to the hotel.  Gail & Natalie got to ride in a Mini Cooper & Natalie almost got to drive when she got in on the drivers side.  (She doesn't drive at home!)  Part of the group walked toward the hotel & ran into Mark, our guide.  He arrived by train this afternoon to be ready for our tour tomorrow.  We had a great reunion - half of our group was on the tour with him last summer.

We went into town & ate dinner at a hamburger joint.  YUM!  We earned it today!  Even the ice cream.  Now, we're back at the hotel packing for our departure tomorrow.  We'll be sorry to leave.  The staff here has been the best ever!

More tomorrow from Stratford-on-Avon!

PS - I forgot one thing about yesterday.  We participated in a local event - a table top sale at the church down the street.  Very interesting!  Don & I bought books from the vicar, who is downsizing his house & selling off his library. 

We're here!

Hello from cheery England!  We are here - safe & sound and having adventures already. You'll have to excuse me if this is short & sweet.  I have been very technologically challenged so far.  My computer won't connect to the internet, my phone won't connect to anything, the tv doesn't work, & worst of all, the hot pot in my room won't heat water for the CADBURY'S HOT CHOCOLATE.  The nice young man at the hotel desk loaned me his laptop to write this, but several of the keys are in hidden places & the CD drawer keeps opening by itself.  

Anyway - the trip was fairly uneventful.  We had dinner at a little after midnight & breakfast at 4:30 AM - not really enough time to get any sleep, but we tried.  A bus met us at the airport in London & brought us to Leicester - a wonderful 2 hour nap!  We arrived at our hotel & you won't believe where we are staying.  At a convent!  Ok - it was renovated & turned into a hotel/conference center in 2002, but it still looks like a convent.  Beautiful high ceilings with wooden beams in the conference rooms, statues & stained glass.  We love it!  Apparently my room was the nursing home room, which I don't mind except I got the only pink bathroom in the hotel. Gail's room next door must be assisted living.  They have a drive-in shower like mine (for wheelchairs) and the whole bathroom floods when you take a shower.  The staff here is unbelievable.  They gave Ana a tour & told her the history of the convent, they are cooking eggs for the girls' breakfast tomorrow before the competition, they brought us the most unbelievable cherries (the size of plums), etc.

Last night we walked into town for dinner - the longest mile I've ever walked.  We ate at Zizzi's - Italian food, a Slovakian waitress, & Polish busboy.  It's a very cosmopolitan city!  Needless to say, we were all ready for bed when we got back.  

We had an easy morning today.  We practised our exhibition routine, Elissa's Song, in the lobby.  Lila & Robin are dancing with their daughters for the first time & wanted to make sure they know the routine perfectly (which they do), plus there's one part I always forget.  It's going to be great!  Then, most of us walked downtown for lunch.  On the way, a man came up to me & told me about a beautiful church we should see - where Chaucer was married & several royal people did important royal things (which I can't remember).  We followed him there, through the Castle Garden, which was beautiful.  It turns out that he is the vicar of the church & was performing a marriage ceremony!  So, we toured the church & then took pictures with the wedding party, except for the bride, who hadn't arrived yet.  The official photographer took pictures, too, because he said that didn't happen at every wedding!

Don't ask for details, but we had lunch at the department store, & then hurried back so I could get to the gym.  I taught a judging course with Jessie & Joey's help.  There were people from England, Ireland, Norway, & Slovakia.  The girls came to demonstrate some skills and routines.  It all went great!

Tonite, we went to dinner with our British & Slovakian friends.  Lots of fun!!!  Now, off to bed so we can be ready for tomorrow's competition.  Wish us luck!

We're off to England!

We're off on another adventure!  We're going to Leicester, England, for the Downs Syndrome Association gymnastics competition.  Mal, the coach of the British Disabilities team, is hosting the meet.  We can't wait to see all our British friends!  Gizela & her family, from Slovakia, will be there too.  It will be a big reunion.

Lani & her family leave today.  They will meet us in London.  The rest of us - 17 people in blue travel shirts & plaid PJ bottoms - leave tomorrow night at 11:00.  Hope we stay awake to board the plane!

Stay tuned for reports of our adventures (as some say "eating our way around the world").

Back in the USA

HI!  We're back - doing laundry in real washing machines, taking showers without bathing suits, sleeping in real beds, & eating all our favorite American foods!  We had a scary trip to the airport yesterday.  Everyone did a great job getting up & loading the bus in the wee hours of the morning.  Most of us fell asleep as soon as the bus left Lausanne.  The people in the front of the bus were loud & obnoxious, or so I thought.  After about an hour, they came to get me & said the bus driver was falling asleep and weaving all over the road.  They had been loud trying ot keep him awake, but it wasn't working.  I went up & told him he needed to pull over.  He didn't speak much English so he didn't really know why we wanted him to stop, but he did.  About 8 of us got off the bus & made him get off too.  Then, we marched him around the bus 3 times.  Neil had the driver make him a cup of coffee, but the driver didn't want to drink a cup himself.  We got back on the bus & started feeding him pastries the hotel had given us for breakfast.  Soon, the sun came up & he woke up, but we were all watching the road like hawks.  Robin kept flicking water on the driver & apologizing.  Dede was in the jump seat, ready to grab the wheel if we started going off the road.   What a relief when we drove into the Zurich airport!

As you can imagine, we all slept most of the way to Atlanta!  A lady on the plane commented to Mary B. about how impressed she was with the way our group worked together & took care of each other.  She's right!!!  The pilot announced that the Chattooga team was onboard, returning from the World Games & the Gymnaestrada.  A lady came up to Janet & Dana, and told them she was at the Gymnaestrada in Austria 4 years ago & had seen our group perform.  She said she had told everyone what an inspiration we were to her!  We are truly spreading the word that Gymnastics for All means everybody!!!

I have to say congratulations & many thanks to the team for a job well done!  It's a privilege to be your coach.  Cindy

Gymnaestrada Stories

As promised, here are stories from the Gymnaestrada.  For every story I will tell, there are 5 more waiting to be told when we return home.

 

First, let’s talk about the trading.  Today, on the Gymnaestrada Boulevard at the venue, half the people had set up shop along the sidewalk, with all the things they wanted to trade laid out.  The rest of the people walked around holding items they wanted to trade.  About 15,000 bargain hunters on the prowl!  When someone saw something they wanted, the negotiations began.  The trading continued all through Closing Ceremonies & many people got last minute bargains. 

 

Remember how badly Charlotte S. hated our hair ornaments (OK – they were the centerpieces at a prom recycled into hair ornaments).  Well, Charlotte traded her hair ornament for a pair of Swiss pants!

 

We performed in Closing wearing PAGU (Pan American Gymnastics Union) t-shirts.  As soon as we finished, Ana traded her shirt for a volunteer shirt.  Lani stood on one side of her holding a jacket & I stood on the other side with a jacket to make a tent so she could trade.  Remember – there were 25,000 people in the stadium & we were sitting on the front row!

 

Someone traded a pair of pants with a Dutch guy & he debated awhile before he pulled down his shirt to cover his bootie & took off the pants.  Yes – in front of 25,000 people!

 

Kiki traded for a pair of shorts that were so big that she & Alex both got in them.  We have pictures to prove it! 

 

On the bus, Lani traded shirts with a Japanese lady.  They apparently are more modest than a lot of people here.  The Japanese ladies opened their umbrellas to make a dressing room.

 

Kelli was trading pins with the Japanese ladies & looked at one and asked “Are you from France?”

 

Dana changed shirts in the dining hall – small crowd there, probably only 3000 people.

 

Joey took a group to the cathedral this morning.  A Swiss family came up & told the girls how touched they were by our performance.  They said they loved the surprise at the end of the routine when everyone brought out their candles again.  (You will understand when I finally post on YouTube)  And they really loved the colorful mismatched socks!  They gave Joey a Swiss warm-up suit & all the girls t-shirts.  Emily got a kiss, too!

 

Samantha was supposed to meet a Swiss girl at Closing to trade warm-ups.  Of the 25,000 people, she saw everyone but that girl.  No worries – she got an Australian jacket!  Robin had to trade her whole warm-up & a shirt to get an Australian hat.

 

OK – it’s not trading, but might as well be.  Ana negotiated with the Gymnaestrada photographer & got the whole CD (100 pictures) of our group for the price of 10 pictures.  The man was at Gym for Life 2 years ago & knew he would lose all negotiations with Ana.  He remembered her well!

 

A group of gymnasts from some country – hard to tell which one because they had on clothes from at least 10 countries – came by at Closing & asked all the Special Olympians to autograph their t-shirts.

 

The girls have been looking really good this week.  A 4 year old French boy walked by & said “Ooo la la!”  Lindsay got a love letter from the security guard at the school (delivered by Robin, so don’t fret).  A guy in purple jeweled tights, no shirt, & a fancy sombrero walked by at Closing & danced with Danielle, Mandy, & Dana.  Danny’s looking good, too.  Someone told him he looks like Paul Newman when he has on his sunglasses, so Danny has worn them full time – even at night & during the evening performances.

 

Katie K. had a rough start to her day.  She didn’t drink enough water & passed out on the bus (in the middle of 250 of her new friends on a max. 50 person bus).  She was fine as soon as she got some fresh air & water.  Then, she got locked in the bathroom at the venue.  The handle broke & it took 5 security guards to rescue her.  If you had seen her dancing at Closing, you wouldn’t know she had drama earlier in the day!

 

We didn’t get a banner for the gym, but we did get a poster!  We were having our last scoop of Swiss ice cream outside when a lady from Brazil came by & autographed her picture on the Gymnaestrada poster that hung on the hotel wall.  As soon as she left, Dede & I got a chair & proceeded to take it down – right on the street in front of everybody.  Steve, head of the US delegation, walked up & shook his finger at us.  He said he had never done anything like that (joking) & I said neither had I – Arnetha usually did it!

 

We have seen a lot of the British Disabilities Team this trip.  Krissy is one of the gymnasts who visited us in Atlanta several years ago.  You know how I save pop tops from soda cans for the Ronald McDonald House?  Well, Krissy & her “mates” have been saving them for me since her visit.  She said her suitcase was too full to bring the pop tops to me at Gymnaestrada but told me to bring a big suitcase when we go to England in Sept. so I can bring them all back. 

 

Do you want to hear more about the food?  We bought a pack of cookies today – looked like Oreos on the package but were called Black Fives.  Inside, there were Oreo like cookies packaged in fives.  Cute, huh?

 

At the grocery store, Dean, the head of the school, bought a disposable hibachi & grilled sausages for dinner.

 

Now – a few random stories.

 

The parents sewed pockets in their jazz pants so after the first part of our dance, they could put the candles in them.  Well, yesterday, Arnetha missed & her candle fell down her pants leg!

 

Ariel’s dad came yesterday.  When we were on the metro, he reached over to zip Ariel’s backpack.   Mary F. hadn’t met him, thought he was a pickpocket, & pushed him away.

 

Debi, Neil, & Charlotte took a short cut to the venue yesterday & walked an extra hour to get there.  The Journey of 1000 Miles!  I hear that’s a family joke anytime Neil says “I know a short cut.”

 

I think the main story to tell from the 2011 Gymnaestrada is how our team touched so many people.  At our last performance, I stood on the top row of the bleachers to video – along with 5 other people who are not from our team.  One lady was watching the video during the break between our performance and the next one.

 

At every performance, people were clapping, cheering, laughing, & crying – all at the same time.  I can’t tell you how many people left the hall wiping tears from their eyes.

 

A Swiss lady who had met Emily & Mary B. came to our performance twice.  The last day, when we finished, they came down on the floor to say congratulations & give Emily a present.

 

Tonite at the ice cream stand, a Japanese man came up to Janet & Dana.  He had seen our team & was trying to find the words to say how much he liked the show.  He touched his heart & said it made him happy.  And that pretty much sums up our whole experience here in Lausanne at the Gymnaestrada.  Our hearts are happy, too!

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