I left Ireland to fly to Manchester and was met at the airport by my friends above with their lovely sign. It was a great welcome back after a year away. The London Olympics had taken over and everyone was very excited about how well Team GB were doing. My friends below was getting everyone into the spirit of the Olympics.
We had a BBQ while everyone watched the Olympics. We were very excited to watch Mo Farah, who won the 10,000 meter race because it was unexpected. We also enjoyed seeing Jessica Ennis, who won the woman's Heptathlon.
The next day I went to London to visit friends there. Below is the view of London from Hampstead Heath, which is one of the highest points in London. Hampstead Heath is a popular park for runners in London. I spent the day relaxing with friend in the park and it was good to catch up with my friends.
The next day we went to Hyde Park to watch the Triathlon. The London Tube (subway) was very busy and I missed the big trains that they have in Japan. This is my friend and I squeezed in beside the windows, but we thought it was very funny.
Hyde Park was very busy and we could not find space near the roads, so we went to watch the Triathlon on big screens in the center of the park. I was very exciting because two of the leaders were brothers from Great Britain. Alistair Brownlee won gold and his brother Jonathan Brownlee won bronze and all of Hyde Park was electric in excitement for them.
After the Triathlon we watch the parade for the changing of the guard near Green Park, on their way to Buckingham Palace.
The next day I went to Brighton, which is a seaside town south of London. Brighton Pier is famous and has been there for over 100 years. There are theme park rides and arcade games on the pier.
Brighton has a lot of independent shops, which can usually be found on the Lanes. This is a cute sweet shop we passed, which looks like an old sweet shop and they sold sweets by the pound in weight. They also had sweets from around the world.
This is a view of Brighton and the Pier at night from my friends flat, he is very lucky to have a place near the sea and very high up.
I wasn't able to go to the Olympic Park because I didn't have a ticket but i got very excited when we passed it in the car. This is a picture of Olympic Park from the motorway.
However, I was able to attend the women's Olympic Basketball at the O2 Arena. My friend worked for the Olympic Torch Relay and was able to get some tickets. He was very nice to give me one.
This is my friend Joe and I at the semi-final of the women's Olympic Basketball 2012. It was an amazing experience and the atmosphere in the arena was spectacular. Thanks Joe for the ticket!
The game was between France and Russia and France won. They went on to play America in the final but were beaten but they still won silver overall. It was an amazing experience for me and a lovely end to my trip in England.
The next day I flew back to Japan, I was sad to leave my friends and family but excited to start my second year in Japan.
