Day 8–Thursday, July 2
Veronica and I start every morning with a bowl of meuesli, half and half with dry oatmeal and fruits–blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, gooseberries (look like green grapes, taste like plums) and strawberries, so far–and milk. You aren’t hungry again until lunch. The berries here are larger and sweeter than in America. I found out at the grocery that the small red berries I had for dessert at Cote were red currants. Tasty!
Enjoying tennis, lunch and shade!
Today I had tickets for the Women’s semi-final matches at Wimbledon. I was leery of the heat after my last experience with seats in the sun, but the weather was definitely cooler. I felt like I was reciting a children’s primer as I muttered, “Come clouds come,” and “Blow winds blow.” The clouds came and the winds blew and the weather was wonderful for tennis.
The first match was Serena Williams vs. Elena Dementieva. One of the things you can see when you’re there that isn’t visible on TV is that Serena didn’t move much on the court. She played flat-footed and if the ball wasn’t close, she let it go. The young South African woman sitting next to me said she played “arrogantly.” Which is to say, “If I don’t get this one, I’ll get the next one. And I WILL win.” And she did, in three sets. It was the longest match (2 hours 49 minutes) in women’s semi-final history at Wimbledon.
You know I’d have to take a bathroom break somewhere in there. The problem is, if you leave your seat between games, you only have a minute and a half to get back. And if you leave your seat between sets, you still only have 5 minutes to get back. So I waited until Dementieva won the first set and ran for the bathroom. I missed the aisle where I should have returned, and a soldier sent me the wrong way, so I ended up at the opposite end of the stadium from where I belonged–at the other end from the royal box. Great seats, but they weren’t mine!
I sat there for six games, moving once when people came back to reclaim their seats. The soldier saw me changing seats and asked to see my ticket. I showed him my ticket and told him I didn’t have time to get back to my seats, so he let me sit there. But finally, everyone returned and I had no choice but to try–in 90 seconds–to get all the way back to my seat–or miss the next three game (at the end of the second set). I ran all the way around and got up the steps toward my seat just as the chair umpire said “Time” over her microphone. I could see the soldier was going to block the entrance to my seat and took a quick step into the stadium–and tripped and feel at his feet, skinning my knee.
I jumped up and made my way to my seat, where I realized my knee was bleeding. I always go prepared, so I used a Kleenex and some cold water to clean it and a couple of bandaids to cover it–good as new! And I saw the end of a spectacular set that Serena won. I now have a Wimbledon War Wound to show my dedication to the game.
I forgot to mention my two celebrity sightings at Wimbledon. On Tuesday I saw Martina Navratilova as she was entering the Wimbledon grounds and on Thursday I saw Richard Williams–up really close and personal–as he was leaving the “guests of players” box.
The Venus Williams vs. Dinara Safina match was a joke. Venus moves really well, and Safina just folded, 6-1, 6-0. I didn’t stay for the men’s semi-final match with the #1 seeded Bryan Brothers, but neither did anyone else, just left like lemmings into the sea.
I bought myself some Indian take-out in Wimbledon Village and some groceries and headed home at the end of a fabulous day.
Day 9–Friday, July 3
This was a day of rest for me. I read another great Simon Kernick book in the morning, then watched BBC – 1 on the telly, where the two men’s semi-finals matches played without commercial interruption. Federer was simply amazing against Tommy Haas, unbeatable, really. Everyone in England had their hopes pinned on Andy Murray beating Andy Roddick, but Roddick just served too well and played harder in the important points. When I’ve watched Murray earlier in the year, I thought he eased off when he was ahead. Which is to say, he played defensively, rather than offensively at times–which cost him this match. Sad day in England. And I suppose that means the queen won’t show up at the men’s final after all this year.
After tennis, Veronica and I decided to go to a movie and dinner. I made reservations for 10:00 p.m. at Cote Bistro, the great restaurant where I’d gone with Ashley earlier in the week. We ended up seeing THE HANGOVER. If you haven’t seen it–and don’t mind nudity, crudity or profanity–it’s absolutely a hoot. I’d seen it before and enjoyed it just as much the second time (sort of like a good book–you can always read it again). Four buddies go to Las Vegas for a bachelor’s last night out before his wedding. When three of them wake up the next morning, there’s a baby in the closet, a tiger in the bathroom, and they can’t find the groom. None of them has any memory of what happened the night before. Their investigation of what happened the night before is hilarious. Go and have a great laugh.
I had a 10 oz. ribeye at Cote that I think really was 10 oz, fries and some spinach–and egg custard for dessert. Veronica and I settled for a couple of glasses of wine and finally made it home around midnight.
Day 10–Saturday, July 4
It’s almost noon and I need to go catch the bus for Wimbledon. Ladies’ finals today with Venus and Serena. Can’t wait! Also looking forward to seeing the Bryan Brothers in their men’s doubles final and Venus and Serena in the women’s doubles final. Great day of tennis ahead. Weather is cloudy and cool. Maybe they’ll close the roof?
