Olympic Park revisited

A friend and I returned to the Olympics Park the other day, reliving memories of one of the best evenings of our lives, the Opening Ceremony of the 2012 Games. This time we just about managed to find the portakabin meeting point for the Park in Progress Tour (where are all those jolly Games Makers foam finger directions when you need them?), battling against the freezing May wind in sharp contrast to the balmy days of last August - yes, we did have some!
Anyway, following a short tour bus trundle through the largely building site of a Park, we reached Anish Kapoor's blazing red tower and whizzed up the lift, accompanied by yet another chatty "come back this summer" tour guide. The Orbit's viewing platforms provide fabulous views not only across the whole Olympic Park and right into the still stunning stadium but also all across London. Some sporting venues like the Basketball Arena are being dismantled but others like to wonderful Aquatic Centre are being remodelled. The bedrooms of the Olympic Village are being reconfigured as flats and town houses, over 2000 of them, with some ready for rent as soon as this summer. The jury's still out on how attractive these places will be, given the affordability of rents and the density of the tightly packed blocks.
Meanwhile, we missed out on tickets for the Anniversary Games this July but plan to make the 'East' arts festival weekend. The South Park will fully re-open in 2014 when we will all be better able to see how the Games' legacy is shaping up in E15.