Written by Melanie Cohen

May 29, 2009: Today one of my dreams finally came true. Since my dream of becoming a top athlete doesn’t look too promising, I might as well dream to step on the ground that the best athletes in the world compete on. Yes, today was the day that we visited one of the most beautiful Olympic venues thus far. We sat in the building where Michael Phelps won 8 gold medals and laid on the ground where Usain Bolt was crowned the fastest man in the world.

After eating breakfast at 7:15, we eagerly boarded the bus to head to the Olympic venue. As we approached the Olympic venue, a sense of excitement filled the air of the bus. The first sight of the Water Cube and the Bird’s Nest were absolutely amazing. I could not believe that I was finally at the Beijing Olympic site. We wasted no time to start our shopping as soon as we departed the bus while waiting for our tickets. The one really neat item that I bought was a key chain that had part of the Water Cube (the left over material used to make the Water Cube) in the key chain. After our quick ten-minute shopping trip, we made our way into the Water Cube. Walking up to the entrance were beautiful glass windows with water flowing down them. The water appeared as if it was flowing right down from the water cube itself. After entering the water cube we walked less than 100 feet to enter the pool area. The first thing that I saw while entering the pool area was the diving well which was enough to take my breath away. Being a swimmer myself, I never felt so excited to smell chlorine than I was today. After taking many pictures of the diving well, I turned to the right where the pool was located. I honestly stared at that pool for a couple of minutes. It is the most beautiful pool I have ever seen. I could not even believe that I was standing in the Water Cube. Words cannot describe how badly I just wanted to stick my finger or toe in the water. After leaving the competition pool, we saw the practice pool, which was another long course (50 meter) pool. Wow, having two long course pools in one facility is unbelievable.

Next, we headed to the Bird’s Nest. Watching the Olympics on television does not give a good perspective on how large the Bird’s Nest actually is. As we walked towards the track, the size of the inside once again took my breath away. We quickly ran down onto the track and got into the track start position and took a picture. It was unbelievable how many people take pictures of us when we pose for our own pictures. There were so many people when we all laid on the ground to spell out HSHP and IC with our bodies. It was such an amazing experience lying on the ground of the Bird’s Nest and just looking up at the sky.

After stepping foot in the Water Cube and the Bird’s Nest, I now understand why so many records were broken. The atmosphere today was enough to get my adrenaline pumping. I cannot even imagine what the Olympic athletes feel as they enter those venues to compete for a gold medal.

After shopping some more at the Olympic Venue, we headed back for lunch for very nice surprise. We were actually served FRENCH FRIES at lunch. Yes, no more duck bodies, fish heads, shrimp with eyes, just plain french fries. Of course we had to get refills on the french fries because they were gone in the first few minutes of lunch. As lunch ended we had a break before we headed to the Summer Palace. Many of us uploaded all of our Olympic Venue pictures because we still could not believe we actually went there.

At 2:30 pm we headed to the Summer Palace. The Summer Palace is the summer home of the empress. The Summer Palace was so impressive because it was not only on a beautiful lake, but the buildings were decorated with elaborate paintings. When walking through the covered walkway, we found a picture of the Dean painted on the wall. Who would’ve thought the Dean was that old to be painted on the empress’ pathway! I really enjoyed the summer palace because it was so serene and calm. I would love spending a day out on the lake or out on the dock relaxing. The view from the top of the palace was amazing. We could see almost all of Beijing. It was amazing to be up that high and see the whole city so clearly.

Tomorrow we head to the Forbidden City, the Pearl Market, and the Silk Market. Our bargaining skills will definitely be tested tomorrow!!