Vancouver Olympics: Day 15 Highlights

- The morning was spent mulling and planning our attack with so much going on in the afternoon.

- In the first end of Can-Swe women's curling we had a Three Beavers Ale, split between the three of us, like the Three Musketeers. In the fourth we pulled out the Chocolate Porter from Granville Island Brewery and it lived up to its cocoa-billing. By the seventh we were worrying about getting a spot for the bigGER game and ripped ourselves away to run through town. Our plan hit an immediate roadblock when the bar, and then EVERY bar, was full (since three hours earlier!) Frantic running around in the spitting rain simply riled us up, and forced us to watch the loss from a sidewalk, peering through a restaurant window.

- An hour or so wasted, but restocked with beer, we arrived back home as the puck dropped on Canada vs Slovakia. We'd hoped for a four-goal cushion by the third, but had to settle for 2 with 15m left in the game so we made the call and ran back out into the night. Keeping up with the score from restaurant window to pub cheers we walked as the lead slipped. With 5 minutes left to play we had to call an audible and stand, again on a sidewalk, to be sure that we'd ensured a gold-medal birth.

- The time ticked off the clock and we turned and ran to Girl Talk. Slipping through security ahead of the massive line that was sure to form we were there in time. Mashed up! Gregg Gillis is a whirlwind who never stopped run/dancing, along with his throng of enlisted dancers from the crowd, and his laptop. It was the best DJ set/club mix/whatever party I've ever listened to live.

Vancouver Olympics: Day 14 Highlights

- Things got a little wild the night before leading to this:

- The confiscated weapons at the Vancouver Police Museum were again super gruesome, but the History Walking Tour of the Downtown Eastside that followed was even better. Led by a well-educated historian we toured through Chinatown and Gastown as well in an engaging two hour history lesson.

- Underway already, the women had a lead in the hockey game against the US and wouldn't give it up, as we popped into a dive bar to watch them win the Gold.

- Apparently to accommodate that game, the Ill Scarlett concert was moved ahead meaning we only saw the final handful of songs. The crowd was small but onstage the energy was still high - I could have used a full set.

- More beers down on The Corner (name of the bar) to watch a figure skating medal, grabbed a veggie poutine and streamed the Colbert Report we'd seen at the live taping.

Vancouver Olympics: Day 13 Highlights

- It may not have been a highlight but it took up a quarter of my day, yes six full hours, waiting in line for the Royal Canadian Mint Pavilion. A crossword, a sudoku and a couple friends made, helped to pass the time. Finally we donned our white gloves (a la the Stanley Cup handler) and were allowed in the private room where we picked up the bronze, silver and gold Olympic medals. It was quite an amazing feeling to hold the heavyweight awards in our own hands (both the square Paralympic and round Olympic ones).

- With the unexpected length of the line for the medals we were released only a short time before puck drop on the Summit Series rematch, Canada vs. Russia. Luckily we'd sent a runner to reserve us a table in a packed bar where we leapt, cheered and cheers-ed microbrew seven times in a joyous atmosphere.

- Unobstructed views of the Olympic torch followed, before hooting along the strip with other revelers, as well as cops who were all smiles and high fives.

- An attempt at Wintersleep was quashed by a massive line 3 hours early, and the Francophone entertainment was awful so we cut our losses, watched the end of the fireball show at Robson Square and called it a day.

Vancouver Olympics: Day 12 Highlights

- HOCKEY! We decided to hold onto our Switzerland vs Belarus tickets when we heard the Canadian game tickets were selling for $700/piece on the street. My first trip to the lifeless GM Place was alright as we scored front row upper deck. The first few periods were a bit of a yawn, but in the third Belarus finally got some fire and tied it all up. Ten minutes of overtime solved nothing, but we were all cheering for 'Game-winning Shots' ("Shootouts" to anyone but the Olympics) and got them. Unfortunately Belarus, my beloved underdogs for the day, lost on the final shot but entertaining nonetheless.

- Bursting out into the rain, with the delay of the shootouts, it was closing in on the real game time, so we ran up Granville popping into bars until deciding on the Moose for Canada vs. Germany. The precipitation, early hour and increased police presence (at least tripled) kept the revelers in line and so we only high-fived around for a little while.

Vancouver Olympics: Day 11 Highlights

- Window shopping throughout Kits on yet another beautiful sunny day

- Los Margaritas' namesake drinks were the best I've had - so we had another pitcher, Raspberry and Peach! The guac and homemade chips were a perfect accompaniment too!

- The mercury wasn't really high enough but we dipped our bare feet in the Pacific anyway with a great view of Vancouver, Stanley Park and the overhanging mountains.

- Aided Jon in his bid for vegetarian status by introducing him the Naam restaurant (established 1968) and gorged on a cheese dog, potato wedges and miso gravy.

- Stuffed, we retired home for a somewhat quiet night, capped by more food - gelato!

Vancouver Olympics: Day 10 Highlights

- The highlight of this day was kicking around the house during the day in preparation for the big match: Canada vs USA

- Lowlight, the result of the Canada vs US game, though the beer tasted good

- Against their will I dragged my friends to the Saskatchewan Pavilion for the Library Voices show. Hipster dancing abounds and new music was played, all of which written on the set list we had autographed

- You think the night is over there? Nope! A narrow escape from a boarder's touchy pick-up on the Skytrain brought us back to Robson. This was, not surprisingly, the quietest we'd seen the street since before the Opening Ceremonies, likely due to the disappointment of the hockey loss.

- The lack of crowds made it easier to pick Quatchi out of the crowd. Behind Quatchi was Elvis Stojko's nose and eyes, so we naturally creeped along behind him until gaining the courage to ask for a picture.

- Following our photo op, a few other girls were waiting around for their chance. However when Elvis tried to step in the girls pulled Quatchi from his hands and turned their backs on him, as his girlfriend ribbed him "I don't think they want you in the shot, honey." He was the ultimate gentleman though, and we were happy to have tracked him down.

Vancouver Olympics: Day 9 Highlights

- A present of tickets to the women's curling matches for the day allowed us to watch three excellent games (and one blowout) and gave me an appreciation for curling I hadn't had before. It also reinforced my disdain for overly loud American fans, especially at an historically reserved sport.
- These tickets also brought me within hugging distance of the most beloved furry yeti on the radar right now. Not travel-bearded Stefan, but Quatchi. As well as his pal, Miga!
- A more appreciative crowd, and more room to boogie, made the second Arkells show of the week a tonne of fun.
- Coeur de Pirate entertained with her piano and lovely voice. An odd choice to be sandwiched between two rocking Canadian bands, but I didn't mind (and solid exposure for Beatrice).
- A collaboration between Kardinal Offishal, Jay Malinowski (of Bedouin Soundclash) and Coeur de Pirate was a slight letdown as it turned out to be a Coke sponsored corporate love-in that only lasted for one song. The glowing bottles obscuring my view were more annoying than massive red beach balls littering the crowd-tops.
- The leader of the next gen of Canadiana rock, Sam Roberts, lived up to his billing and played a singalong friendly hour (plus indulgent prog rock encore) for the masses.
- Unexpectedly the highlight of the night immediately followed this. Set to a sweet medley of Canadian music the night sky exploded over and over directly above our heads in a fireworks display that bested any I've ever seen. It was an experience that even Jon's amateur video/pics couldn't fully capture.

Vancouver Olympics: Day 8 Highlights

- Set the track record at the BC Hydro energy saving obstacle course

- Sampled many of the 43 beers available at Six Acres in Gastown, over a nice family meal

- Was taken from lows to highs with the epic song structure of Hey Rosetta! and nearly screamed myself hoarse in a vain attempt for an encore from the opening band in a 90 year-old theatre with ushers that appear to have been working there since day one

- Enjoyed a typical romantic pop set from Stars at the aforementioned theatre

- Once again yucked it up with the ongoing party on Granville Island. High fives/free hugs for Canada!

Vancouver Olympics: Day 7 Highlights

- Visited the beautiful Richmond Olympic Oval, winner of many building awards, though we couldn't get all too close.

- Gave up on the Heineken House for fear of missing Canada vs. Switzerland men's hockey, and were rewarded for this decision by finding a massive bar tucked behind a Chinese market with not one, or two but three massive TVs in sightline, and $10 pitchers to boot.

- Rode the fastest ferris wheel of my life, whipping around above 13 Million cranberries making up the Olympic rings and a half-soccer-field sized Maple Leaf.

- Caught the beginning of the Arkells set from the portapotty I'd lined up to get into, but the remainder from right out front.

- Went on a trip down memory lane back to the 90's, chaperoned by Raine Maida the singer of Our Lady Peace. Engrained in the Canadian collective consciousness due to massive radio play (thanks CanCon!) OLP didn't disappoint. A string of hits made this a nostalgic 'Greatest Hits' show from start to finish.

Vancouver Olympics: Day 6 Highlights

- Woke up to Stephen Colbert live-taping out in the gorgeous sun (no joke!) Including a rendition of Oh Canada sung to the tune of The Star-Spangled Banner by Michael Buble

- Rode the free shuttle train to Vancouver's most-visited tourist attraction, Granville Island, for some delicious taco bowls and even better Granville Island Brewery beer after a tour of the facilities

- Returned to Granville Island later for P.E.I. night at the Atlantic House. The nearly two-hours lineup for Two-Hours Traffic (the band) was well worth it. Not only did we make friends with everyone (maritimers are friendly folk aren't they?) but we were treated to a tie and suspendered authentic set of music including the tune 'Turkey and the Straw'. Sounds awful? It wasn't - it was incredible. The yummy beer helped too and we partied, dancing to Two Hours Traffic (and scoring an autographed setlist) til some ungodly hour before a mid-night poutine.

Vancouver Olympics: Day 5 Highlights

- Beautiful, chauffeured drive to Whistler, minus the rain. (Okay it was a decent coach bus)

- Toured Whistler village in a hurry, rode the gondola halfway up, breezed through security despite an accusation of having a cigar cutter in our bag (??)

- Took 70 pictures of ice, sometimes including the odd female luger. Blown away by the speed of these athletes from next to the track.

- Impressed by Dan Mangan, who exceeded my lofty expectations and earned his standing ovation in the intimate theatre - no question about it. A hearty handshake and autographed sealed the night with my new favourite singer. (Thankfully skipped out on the Alexisonfire disaster!)

- Marveled at the extent of the party at Granville and Robson considering the hockey team had only beaten Norway.

Vancouver Olympics: Day 4 Highlights

- Pancakes!!!

- Revisited the Olympic torch, as up-close and personal as possible

- Wandered the city with the thousands of other tourists on the pedestrian streets

- Listened to the Rural Alberta Advantage sing about their former province, before chatting with the drummer, Paul Banwatt, about his dual life with Woodhands

- Laughed mightily as Dallas Green, under the guise of 'City & Colour' made fun of ridiculous hollering girls in the crowd. Oh, and played some tunes too.

Vancouver Olympics: Day 3 Highlights

- Attended the Chinese New Year parade, which was disappointing considering the highlight float was Michael Ignatieff strolling with his wife.

- Checking out the Saskatchewan Pavilion, complete with Ukrainian perogies!

- Skipping the crappy Quebec pavilion, and watching the 4D video in Ontario House which was rather great. Followed up by cheering on the bronze speed skating medal by the Ontarian female, with the crowd in the house.

- Took in the Mother Mother show in the mild outdoors, before moving over to the indoor tent for a raucous party/concert with Elliott Brood.

- Swarmed the English weather lady on the street corner and got on the midnight local CBC forecast

Vancouver Olympics: Day 2 Highlights

- Slept in!

- Began an oversized calendar board

- Cheered on Canada's first medal!

- Finished the oversized calendar board

- Left the house for the first time at 8pm to celebrate the silver, and pick up Jon after his arrival from Toronto

- Partied with a flash mob of 90's clad Canadians, decked out with shouldered boomboxes at Robson Square.

- Ate the Templeton treat, deep-fried Wunderbar, and hit the completely mobbed streets!

Vancouver Olympics: Day 1 Highlights

- Dashing out to Robson Street (a block away) to snap some pics of the torch relay, since the previous night's photos hadn't turned out in the dark... and rain.

- Checking out the 3D-BC theatre on the fourth floor after having toured the Vancouver Art Gallery free.

- Not being overly impressed with the opening ceremonies, until I realized 3 hours had passed and I hadn't noticed.

- Frantically tossing on boots, and no socks, after seeing Gretzky was headed our way. Stomping down the street at high speed with hundreds of other jubilant Canadians to reach the waterfront in time to take in the freshly lit torch, before the sky exploded!

- Revisiting the beloved Vancouver Railway Club (established 1931) for a couple homegrown talents from Saskatchewan, including Rah Rah!

All About Me!

You know all those really cool one-a-day videos that people take while they're traveling? With the sweet backgrounds and ever-changing, ever-tanning, ever-growing differences to their faces that you can track over the duration of the trip. Well I wasn't disciplined enough to stick to just one a day, or to take at least one a day, or even to center my shots, so here is a pathetic attempt at doing something similar.

Hong Konged

After the spot of trouble at the airport on day one, we worked through and eventually Larissa and I boarded the flight from Shanghai to Hong Kong together. Now I could start in on my description of China's former British colony but it would come out sounding like a Tourism Hong Kong advertisement.

"Cutting through the jutting mountains with patches of green on a wildly entertaining double decker bus ride we moved steadily toward the metropolis. From the expanse of the Tsing Ma suspension bridge the port's cranes could be seen sticking out at odd angles, like a dart board littered by an inept player. Beyond these, apartments shoot up from the water's edge, tall as they are perched atop hills of their own..."

But I digress. We hit the most popular tourist spots during our shortened stay of 5 full days. A highlight was the Ocean Amusement Park, which in addition to seals, sharks and salt water fish, had cliffside coasters, a gorgeous ride on the peak to peak gondola, a nervous-giggle-inducing "drop zone"esque tower and a totally pathetic "snow" tubing slide (minus the snow, or any of the thrill of real tubing). Another enjoyable day was tramming up at a ridiculous angle to view the vertical city face to face, before hiking through the forested mountainside around to the south. Finally, the museums were so engaging that the History, and Science, took up an entire day (which after 4 months of museums is saying something). To sum Hong Kong up - it's like a very user-friendly (with awesome public transit) and interesting, clean (obvious efforts are made to distance themselves from the worst of mainland China's dirty habits), friendly, big city and yet it still has an authentic Asian feel so it is FUN to explore.

The regular sightseeing was great and all, but the best part of the trip was the hospitality we were shown. My good friend Alvin pulled some strings and generously set us up with much more than a place to stay. From the airport we were shown an authentic, Hong Kong-ese apartment that we stayed in for the entire stay. Although it was small, as most accommodation in HK is, it suited us just fine and had some superb views. These were only outmatched by the skyline from his grandparent's HUGE balcony off their exquisite apartment. Larissa and I were lucky enough to visit for not only one, but two absolutely delicious authentic Chinese meals - vegetarian no less, which is a feat in China. Hard to pick my favourite foods, not only because they are hard to describe but because there were so many. The "fresh pickles" - essentially fresh cucumbers with vinegar and plenty of garlic would top Larissa's list, while I really enjoyed the splendidly done tofu dish and fried corn and veg patty. Tasted better than I can put into mere words. Language differences made communication next to impossible but I feel we were able to communicate our gratefulness, and their generosity definitely shone through!