Look what I just picked up from the post office…

That’s right, I’m counting down to the London 2012! I will be attending the athletics (half day), the women’s hockey and something called handball (bronze medal match).

I say “something called handball” because as yet I still haven’t looked up what the sport actually entails. But I know it’s big in Scandinavia – and it’ll be amazing to watch the bronze medal match.

I missed out on tickets in the first round but, fortunately, I managed to secure these in the second round. London 2012’s ticketing chaos has been well documented, of course, and Man vs World wasn’t immune – I had a nervous wait to see if any of my orders went through after the web site crashed at the crucial moment and I was left without a confirmation email.

But that’s all water under the bridge now, baby, because I’m extremely happy with this haul.

And the countdown begins: just 14 days, 7 hours and 39 minutes to go. Make that 38 minutes…

Five facts about London 2012

• London is set to become the first city in the world to have hosted the modern games of three Olympiads – 1908, 1948 and 2012.
• London is the only city in the United Kingdom to have hosted the event.
• The United States of America is the only country in the world to have hosted the Summer Olympics more times than the UK.
• From 27 July to 12 August 10,500 Olympic athletes from more than 200 countries will compete in 39 disciplines across 26 different Olympic sports.
• The London 2012 Olympics mascots is called Wenlock and the Paralympics mascot is named Mandeville – and they’re both ugly as sin. Fact.

Check out Antipodean London for more London-based travel hijinks for New Zealanders and Australians.