Hello! Back on the trail again! This time we explored a few of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic venues which were noted in websites to be open this weekend. However, events of this magnitude are often more time-consuming than anticipated. Linda, Ken, Marilyn, Marisa, Emily, Susan and I were joined at the last minute by a lady known at Britannia Seniors Centre as "Little Flora".
After perusing various venue maps and newspaper clippings of the downtown area, we caught the #20 Victoria bus to Broadway, hitched a ride on the 99 B-Line heading West, and descended into the underground tunnel to ride beneath False Creek on the new Canada Line railway. We rode the rail to Roundhouse Station in Yaletown anticipating the tasty offerings promised by the Italian Pavilion only to find the bootlanders were still setting up. And none of the Italians spoke English. Fortunately, Linda's ability to speak Italian was useful in finding out that the venue called "Casa Italia" would only be open this evening for invited guests; the general public was welcome starting tomorrow, Sunday.
A quick walk around nearby David Lam Park, site of LiveCity Yaletown, showed us an impressive collection of tents and security measures which forbade our setting foot on that site, so we headed back to the underground for the Athlete's Village Station. From there, a few steps beyond took us to the temporary tent where excited locals and visitors lined up to ride the Bombardier trolley that had traveled all the way from Brussels, on loan from the country of Belgium. The Canadian leg of the trolley's journey was overnight by flatdeck truck, a very long truck that required assistance getting through the downtown to the rail line. According to last night's news coverage, the truck manoeuvered a few tight corners by mere inches.
The Bombardier was built in Quebec, so it's part in the Olympics was a much appreciated contribution to the success of the 2010 Vancouver celebrations. This train runs from the south end of Cambie Street Bridge following West 2nd Avenue to the entrance of Granville Island. There we looked for the Atlantic Canada Pavilion and its promise of a Maritime Kitchen Party, but it was still packed up in two long white trailers parked beside the Market. Further investigation towards the east end of Granville Island did not locate the Winterruption Festival or the French Quarter Market, Artists Alley and Bistro.
So we were a little hasty, a little early in our eagerness to size up the venues. However, we will be back downtown on opening weekend, Saturday February 12th with full expectations that our mission will be successful and satisfying.
Until then, get downtown and get some Olympic Spirit happ'nin'.
Oh, by the way, on our walk back along the north shore of False Creek, we met a group of five guests. I asked where they were from and what their role was in the Games; two women and three men were competing in the downhill luge races, two going single, the rest going in pairs at 150 km per hour down the run at Whistler. We wished them good luck and headed east to catch the Main Street Sky Train
The luge team were from Slovakia .
Virginia
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