I only went to two sessions on my last day at Olympic Park. I arrived early anyway so I could explore the shopping mall I've been walking by each event day. If European fashion is ahead of the U.S., we should expect more color-blocked shoes, cashmere cardigans, dresses and a surprising amount of chiffon, based on what the stores were selling. Sorry guys, I pretty much ignored menswear.

If you prefer to base your choices on what the customers were wearing, then keep wearing the athletic stuff that celebrates your home nation. Accessorize with Olympic medals if you have them. (Really, people were photographing medal winners in the mall.)

I made sure to get in the park in time to swing by the Today Show. Matt Lauer had his kids on set. When Michael Phelps showed up, the first thing Matt did was introduce Michael to his kids and make sure they got photographed together. What parent wouldn't want to do the same?

Last night was my last midnight Tube ride back to Victoria Station. One more Tube story? A man got on carrying two extra backpacks, one with a patch ("iron-on badge" in British). Another man saw that one of the packs was from NBC, and since the second guy also works for NBC, they started chatting.

Not having spoken to my quota of strangers for the day, I asked if he would like to sell the bag with the cool patch. (I’m on the lookout for patches.) Unfortunately, it was filled with stuff he needed, and he saw no way to get the patch from the bag. At that point, the second guy asked where I'm from (I think my accent gave me away). He was surprised that I was from Seattle since he was from Dupont. He said he didn't have any patches but gave me an Olympics pin. How nice is that?