Dominique In London: Day 4

Dominique and NBC Sports broadcaster Al Michaels.

LONDONDay Four:

I haven't seen a sunrise in a long while and forgot how beautiful fresh light along horizon can be. It's not that I was up early, but my crew and I never went to bed following the Olympic ceremony. We had a live shot to do for our 11 PM newscast, which was 5 AM London time.

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So we spent the wee hours of the morning in our makeshift newsroom watching the NBC feed of the opening ceremony and writing our story summarizing all that was.

The most breathtaking experience for us was watching the fireworks display at our broadcast location, which was like front row at a Van Halen concert. You felt every pop and boom, and I've never seen so much sparkle fill the night sky. Every journalist suspended good prose and cried "awesome" at the end. I don't think it translated as that kind of experience on TV.

But what did was seeing our athletes beam with pride as they carried our flag and their country's hopes for excellence. I'm ready for heroes to rise in the midst.

So with the pomp, romp and pageantry behind us, it's time to be a tourist, even for a nanosecond. I'm heading to one of seven official Olympic shops to pick up some souvenirs for the family. My son says he wants an "I heart London" shirt. Shouldn't be too hard to find these days...

For more local Olympics coverage, visit our Olympics Zone.

To see all of Dominique's online daily diaries, click here.

PHOTOS: Dominique Sachse in London