Vancouver Olympics: Day 17 (Final Day!) Highlights

- Ughh.. 8:30am after a late night was not pleasant after the luxury of sleeping in for the past week. A necessary evil though as we started what soon became a MASSIVE line at one of the MANY bars to watch the game. Yes, 9am for a 12:15 puck drop. But boy was it worth it...

- With our crew of 13 we kept the double-pitchers coming, made friends with our fellow Canadians, and got riled up as Canada took a 2-0 advantage. The equalizer from the US with seconds remaining put a hold on the celebration that had nearly begun already, but we didn't lose faith. We did lose it when Sid slid it home though! The place went off. I don't remember who I hugged - everyone in sight!

- Best. Street Party. Ever. Hands down, or more appropriately Hands UP, as mine are raw from the high fives from every single person who packed Granville Street. It was mayhem, I lost 11 of my 12 friends, but somehow found my way back to the apartment, as did Jon, so we could usher him quickly to the Skytrain with only minutes to spare for his flight (he made it).

- Winding back through the throngs of people it was such a joyous atmosphere. Canadian Pride.

- Over some much needed pizza nourishment, rejoined by friends at home, we called Nickelback, Lavigne, Hedley and Buble at the Closing Ceremony, but unfortunately no sign of Celine.

- Crash! Two weeks of non-stop concerts/games/party, a minor cold, a lot of beer and an early start culminated in zonking out mid-evening for a deep nap. Fortunately or unfortunately this resulted in being wide awake to check out the revelers still going (somewhat) strong 12 hours later. The Olympic flame now out, I stumbled upon a Closing Ceremony briefcase, complete with moose antlers, abandoned on the sidewalk which made the detour by the cauldron worthwhile.

Vancouver Olympics: Day 16 Highlights

- In time for the remnants of the tsunami to hit the BC coast, a wave of gold splashed over this city as well. Snowboard and speed skating medals came quick and so when we hit the streets immediately following it was with jubilation.

- Wanting to see whether the $1,000,000 Canada Tent was worth my taxes we slipped in only to be underwhelmed by a handful of photo ops, and a few multimedia screens designed for youngsters. While snapping a shot of Emanuel Sandhu a massive alarm went off - thankfully it was a victory alarm as the bobsleigh bronze slid in too. Manitoba was equally as un-enthralling, and the best part of the Ice Cube was the free headphones, and catching an end of the men's curling gold medal match.

- With that gold secured we booked it to catch Matt Mays (and the purple haze?) who put on a decent show, despite the only songs I knew being played while I was lined up to get through security.

- A glimpse of the future was provided by a 3D theatre.... basketball and hockey games are going to be revolutionized!

- Through the rain Blue Rodeo entertained old and young alike. Cuddy and Keelor are true showmen, encoring with Lost Together (giving band member Wayne Petti of Cuff the Duke a verse too!) .

- My third time watching the multimedia fireworks celebration show was easily the best as there was more firepower for the final night than previously. Plus that K'naan song is so darn catchy. Video to come!

- Mother Mother at Robson Square was a sea of 17 year olds trying to mosh (and crowd surf) for some odd reason. Our Olympics being bookended by MM, I was disappointed by the sound at both shows (2 venues) making me wonder if they've fallen off with the new female, or if the sound guy sucks. I'll hope for the latter.

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!

Return of the Yeti

Warning! A dangerous creature thought to have been scourged from Canada has been spotted again recently along the Pacific coast - specifically in the Vancouver area of British Columbia.

If you see this thing you may approach, but be warned that he is armed with four months of rambling stories!

Weekender

Saturday began at the local farmer's market where many new amazing things were discovered including amazing sourdough focaccia bread...and chocolate chip cookies with butterscotch sauce and Skor bits, and the squeakiest cheese curds!

Further wandering the neighbourhood we bought a printer... and took in an aboriginal theatrical production and toured Roedde House, a turn of the century (~1900) typical Vancouver home that had been fully restored. Natasha commented how it was perfect for me because they actually allowed you to handle the items.

Wishing for a sunny spot on the beach we finished out Blizzard and headed out into a summertime blizzard, or at least the headwind like one. The white caps were everywhere at English Bay beach, and despite cowering behind a large tree we came away tussled... and sand filled.

Some Bradford-turned-Vancouverites came over for a dinner of pasta.. and pizza and salad. Excited catching up came as a babble of conversation streamed by while enjoying a Granville Island IPA. We headed to Gastown to a bar called 'Six Acres' that was a beer drinker's heaven. Serving brews from around the world you could find a drink to suit any mood. My Coopers Stout was as flavourful as any. We steered clear of the drinks that were running $19.50... for a pint! Authentic falafels from my go-to after-bar grub house and off to bed.

Beautiful weather for the sixth straight day we walked the scenic Sea Wall to Stanley Park's Aquarium. My favourite of all public museums, art galleries, science centres and the like, we literally spent 5 hours taking it all in. The highlights were definitely the dolphins (all 3 shows, 2 above and one below water)... and the sharks, and the sea horses, and the baby belugas (3 and 15 months old) and the crocs. Making the experience that much more worthwhile was the free 4-D experience. Similar to a 3-D ride at Wonderland, however instead of moving seats there are all sorts of other dimensional effects such as the crack of lightning on screen is accompanied with a flash of light in the theatre... and the spray of a beluga's blowhole results in a mist of water on your face, and underwater 3-D on-screen bubbles are mixed with tangible bubbles in the theatre. It was a totally neat way to watch Planet Earth's Shallow Seas!

I promised no more walking and a ride on the free Stanley Park shuttle.. but it was located a kilometer up the path. Actually I'm not sure where it was located as we never found it but instead hiked up to a visually stunning lookout over the Lion's Gate Bridge. Attempting once more to find a shuttle stop we climbed aboard a bus that stopped where we were standing and took our seats at the back. We were very impressed to find the free shuttle also offered a friendly and knowledgeable driver who doubled as a tour guide. It was not until we drove out of the park and into the city that we realized we'd boarded a paid tour bus. Oops! Not the worst mistake we could have made.


Alas a fantastic weekend in Vancouver has come and gone. I won't enjoy another until February as my flight leaves to India in four hours. Excitement has trumped nervousness and I'm looking forward to the trip (minus the 20+ hour journey that will see me stop in Hong Kong and Bangkok before arriving finally in Mumbai). Goodbye Canada!


PS: These pics display the excellent handiwork of Tommy, the Asian hairdresser from the Gaybourhood with the meatiest, yet most gentle of fingers.

By the Numbers

Caught the #44 Bus at 9am to take Stair #4 down to Wreck Beach off UBC Campus. Saw 1 loose seal pop his head up just off shore two times.

Retreated 400 stairs up Stair#5 to see at least 8 totem poles and 100's of roses in the Rose Garden.

Pushed our way through the 50,000 undergrads to meet 2 of Natasha's physics friends for sushi. Only $7.50 gave me 1 tofu teriyaki, 3 pieces of tempura, 6 avocado rolls and 1 salad (plus I nabbed 2 tempura rolls off Natasha's plate!)
Traveling with 0 companions I scrambled down 470 stairs to see about that many butt cheeks on the "clothing-optional" part of Wreck Beach. After 2 hours I met Natasha for a single long-island iced tea at Koerner's Grad Pub.
Due to 2 swollen tonsils there was 1 Final Fantasy concert canceled, leaving 2 extremely disappointed people (probably many more actually). After 9 Chick'n Nuggets and 1/2 a Sleeman Honey Brown we walked 500 miles, through Yaletown to the water where we witnessed the the 1 time/month bike demonstration Critical Mass roll by that must have had 250+ participants.
A long walk around Chinatown, carefully avoiding East Hastings, turned out to be one giant waste of time as the Night Market season has come to a close. To partially fill the void we split 1 delicious strawberry-raspberry bubble tea, as I shot rapid fire up to 9-at-a-time pearls out of the oversized straw.

Long Island Iced Tea Recipe:
1 part vodka
1 part tequila
1 part rum
1 part gin
1 part triple sec
1.5 parts sweet'n'sour mix
1 part Coke
1 Yummy Drink Altogether