A Party Unlike Any Other

 

Hola Bloggies:

Sorry for my unexpected absence from the blog! Last week was kind of crazy with overnight guests to the casa. First the Fiancé's family came to visit. And then a friend of mine drove down and chilled during the weekend. It was super fun but it left no time for my neglectorino of a blog! No worries though – I’m back to finish my epic Vancouver 2010 recap!!

 

When last we left off the Canadian Men’s Hockey Team had just won the gold medal . . .

The atmosphere in the room was awesome! No sooner had the game ended when random people started heading out on the streets. The once deserted roads were full of cars honking their horns with complete abandon.

Truth be told I don’t even remember when the Fiancé and I decided to head downtown. All we knew was that there was going to be a crazy celebration and we had to be there! So we got in our car and headed to downtown!!! WOOHOO!!!

One of the most vivid images of our drive will forever be the kids on the overpasses. You see to get to downtown Van from where we were (Coquitlam) we had to take a highway with a series of overpasses. It seemed that practically every overpass had a kid holding a flag, waving it like there was no tomorrow! And so we honked!!! We honked because we could. Because it would make them happy. And because we too wanted to share in the joy.

Instead of trying to drive straight into downtown (they were starting to shut down the roads to prevent over-crowding) we decided to drive to North Vancouver and take the Seabus to Vancouver. Once we arrived downtown I looked up and realized that the grey clouds that had prevailed during our visit were gone. In their place was the most gorgeous blue sky! I couldn’t imagine a more fittingly beautiful Vancouver afternoon!!

And the crowds? They were CRAZY!!!!!!!! But in a really good way!!!!!!!!!! Everyone was decked out in their red and white (we even saw one older lady wearing tight red pants, a red sweater, red socks, and white shoes – it killed us!! lol), waving their Canadian flags (attached to their hockey sticks no less), and loving every minute of the experience!!

I mean seriously!?!? Look at that picture!! That couple is embracing in the middle of what is normally Vancouver’s busiest intersection. That girl I’m sure is on the phone with someone saying something along the lines of “You HAVE to get down here!" lol

It’s hard to describe the feeling from pictures alone. And so I bring you some video – the scene a couple of blocks away from Robson and Burrard (more or less the intersection pictured above) looked a little like this:

And yes that would be a random guy high fiving yours truly!! Ahahah! It was that kind of a day!!

It was also a random sign kind of day! Downtown Vancouver was full of people carrying signs saying all kinds of things. My favourite were held by a group of guys standing right near the CTV Network Outdoor Studio. So many people were coming up to them and posing for pictures that they eventually started chanting “Non-stop Photo Op! Non-stop Photo Op! Non-stop Photo Op!” LOL They were hilarious! I may have even gotten a little excited and jumped into the fray!!!

HA!!! I wasn’t faking the amount of excitement you see on my face either! It was totally genuine! I really was that excited!! And I really was having that much fun!!! Time of my life really!!!

What!?!? You think I was the only one!?!?! lol Not so amigos. You’d like to see an example?!??! Okay!

“Hey Fiancé! How do you feel about the Canadian Men’s Hockey Gold Medal?”

Bwaahahhahaha! I’d say that’s pretty unequivocal! Wouldn’t you!?!?

Remember how I said that there is no activity more Canadian than kinds playing a good old hockey game!??! Well it turns out that the same is still true on Gold medal Sunday. Imagine my delight when in the midst of the downtown mayhem we discovered an impromptu street hockey game. Classic.

Those kids will always remember that on the day the whole country celebrated, they played hockey. On the streets. Of Vancouver no less. And I think that’s all kinds of amazing!

Eventually we decided to leave the mayhem of the crowds in favour of taking a walk on the Sea Wall. It was a spectacular night in Vancouver and we wanted to drink in the beauty of the place before heading away from the Coast the next morning!

Le sigh. Have I mentioned how much I love the views in Van-city?

During the Olympics whenever Canada won Gold the Olympic rings floating in the harbour would change colours to a yellow hue. On that night – the colour of the rings was particularly lovely!

After a quick visit to say goodbye to the Olympic Flame we found a cafe to watch the Closing Ceremonies. It was with a decidedly heavy heart that we watched as the Vancouver 2010 games were officially closed. But instead of dwelling on that feeling we decided to go back out and continue enjoying the party!

I wish I could bottle the feeling of being in Vancouver that day. In fact I wish I could come close to describing how it felt to be there. I don’t think I can! You just had to be there!!!! And I was!!! It was one for the books boys and girls!!!

We stayed downtown as long as we could but soon enough we had to call it a night. And so we headed to the Seabus while enjoying the very last of the Olympic celebrations.

I won’t lie. It was hard to leave Vancouver that night. It was hard to say goodbye to that feeling of complete elation. Of overwhelming joy on the streets. Truth is, as Canadians we don’t often toot our own horn but for two weeks we tooted to our hearts content! And on that last day we waved our flags, grinned like silly people, and loved the feeling of being proud to be Canadian! Unlike our friends to the South we don’t engage in such blatant acts of patriotism. But maybe we should.

At the end of the night I was decidedly melancholic and said to the Fiancé, “The World came to visit! And now they’re all leaving . . . When will they come back again?” His reply, “They’re always here Karen.” I hope that’s true. I hope we Canadians are fortunate enough to experience an event like this again. I hope the feeling of patriotism lives on beyond Vancouver2010. And I hope all of you enjoyed coming to our corner of the World – because we sure loved having you here!

 

Signing off from the Vancouver 2010 Winter Games,

 

A Toronto Girl out West

It’s GOLD!!! It’s GOLD!!! It’s GOLD!!!

Hola Bloggies:

Sunday, February 28th, 2010 was a day that Canadians had long dreamt of – the Gold Medal Men’s Hockey Game! Canada vs. USA! A chance to win the biggest prize in international hockey – on home ice!!! And I was lucky enough to be in Vancouver for the event!!! To say that I was psyched would be a MEGA understatement! In fact I think I even tweeted something to the effect of “Dear World: Today at 12:15PST we will officially shut down. Love, Canada”

The first decision to be made on Gold Medal Sunday was where to watch the game. For some time we considered going downtown to watch the game with the masses at one of the outdoor venues. But then I came to my short Hispanic girl senses! lol You see, unlike the Fiancé who stands at 6’2, I’m rather short. I like to say I’m 5’5.5 but really it’s more like 5’4 (you’ll never hear me admit that again). And I don’t know if you have ever taken a look at the tall Caucasian males that tend to be into hockey. They’re huge!!! We were out for a meal the day before when it dawned on me. They were all the Fiancé's size!!! I also don’t know if you’ve ever watched an exciting game with a bunch of crazed fans but during the important moments everyone gets so excited they stand!! Since I didn’t want to end up staring at the back of some guy’s head we decided to find a more quiet local joint to watch the game.

Cue a friendly Boston Pizza with some suitably large screens! Perfection!!

I don’t know if it’s possible to explain just how big a deal this game was to Canadians! Looking out the restaurant windows during the game there was barely a car on the road. I honestly think 90% of the country was glued to a TV set.

For us hockey is more than just a mere sport. We derive so much of our identity and pride from our hockey skills. Canada is a country were playing hockey (whether on ice or on the road) is a quintessential part of our childhoods. A country that given the chance to present someone with the honour of lighting the Olympic Cauldron chose “the Great One” (Wayne Gretzky). We write songs about hockey. And children's books too! During the Olympic hockey games we even air commercials reminding ourselves that “This is OUR game!” In short. This game was a HUGE deal.

With all that excitement in the air, the Fiancé and I sat down to enjoy a suitably greasy meal (nachos and iced tea):

By the time the game started the restaurant was full of people wearing their Canadian Olympic and Hockey gear. Ready to cheer on our team!!!

Again the cries of “Luuuuuuu” were everywhere! Again the crowds clapped every time Canada managed to kill a power play! Except this time I think we all had about a million little heart attacks! And if you’re anything like me you contorted into strange positions in your booth every time the Americans came close to scoring!

Now let’s face it, as proud as I am of our team I can still admit they nearly blew it in the dying minutes of the semi-final game with Slovakia. Unfortunately they didn’t learn their lesson.

Sure we scored first! Sure we scored again! But when the score is 2-1 in the third period you do not relax! Especially with a team as good and as determined as the USA!!!! In the third period it looked like the tide was turning. We could all see in the coverage when the coach of Team USA mouthed to Miller that he would pull him with 1:30 left to go in the game. With an extra man on ice the all out attack on the Canadian net started. And seriously the entire room was about to loose it. Every little touch of the puck resulted in a squeal or a yell at the screen of some sort.

I’ll admit it. I counted my chickens before they were hatched. In fact I’d taken out my camera to film the room’s reaction to the win when it happened. The USA scored. And in that instant, Canada was silenced. It is no exaggeration to say you could have heard a pin drop in the room. Forget all the advertising. Forget all the Team Canada gear. We all started to doubt.

My single thought at that moment was “Dear God, please don’t let it end in a shoot-out!” (Lillehammer anyone?). This was it. Sudden death overtime. The USA looked dangerous. I could barely stand to look at the TV screen. Next thing I knew there was a rush towards the US net. And the siren went off, the crowd went wild, the team celebrated! The crowd went nuts! It was amazing!! We had won!!!! IT WAS GOLD!!!! GOLD!!!! GOLD!!!!!!

Canada had gone from never winning a Gold Medal on home soil to winning THE MOST Gold Medals by any one country at a Winter Olympics. Ever. And not only that but we had won the most coveted one of all – Men’s Hockey Gold!!!!!

This was the stuff Canadian fairytales are made of! And so it was no surprise that the crowd in the room reacted like this:

AHAHAH – it was priceless!!!!! In fact you see the two guy’s that ended up hugging? One of them managed to get so excited he accidentally spilled his drink all over his poor unsuspecting girlfriend! LOL

Oh that moment was so sweet. So unbelievably sweet. We all stood up and sang along with the National Anthem. We all had these insanely goofy grins on our face. And we all knew we had witnessed something that would live on in Canadian lore forever!!!!

And how does one celebrate after the Canadian Men’s Hockey Team has just won GOLD at the Vancouver 2010 Winter Games? You pour onto Robson Street of course! This was one party we were NOT going to miss out on!!!

 

To be Continued . . .

The Day in Between

Hola Bloggies!

Let’s get back to the Olympic recap . . .

After the semi-finals were done we had no more tickets for any events  (we originally had men’s luge tickets but sold those). Mind you that didn’t mean we couldn’t head out and soak in the atmosphere! So that’s exactly what we did – and we brought along a blogger friend! Marianne of From French Fries to Flax Seeds:

We spent the better part of the day wandering around Granville Island. Granville Island (not to be confused with Granville Street – clubbing central) operates as a cute little corner of Vancouver full of wonderful cafes, artist studios, and the world famous Granville Market. Long before moving to the West Coast, I remember watching a documentary showing the best urban farmer’s markets in the world. They ranked Granville as number one! Whether you agree with them or not there is no doubt it’s a cool place to hang out for a day. Particularly during the Olympics.

To be perfectly honest, we tried to get into the Swiss House (which was operating as a restaurant) but the line was long and not moving. At all. So instead we walked around Granville Island and had some yummy eats at the Farmer’s Market (sorry no pictures).

In the mid afternoon we said goodbye to Marianne. This was my first blogger meet-up and I have to say it was very successful! It totally felt like we’d known each other a very long time! Gracias for hanging out with us amiga!

After leaving Marianne the Fiancé and I continued walking all around Vancouver. It was cool to see the throngs of people from all over the world. The place was teeming with buskers, lively parties, and groups of people trying to catch glimpses of the Men’s Curling Gold Medal Match (Canada won btw!!!). It seemed as though everyone was out in the streets trying to have a good time!

Don’t worry – we took some time out to have some ridonculously yummy eats, courtesy of one of my favourite Korean restaurants in Vancouver!

One of these days I’ll order something else but for now I’m completely content with ordering my usual – a spicy cured tofu seafood stew! It comes piping hot, served with a bowl of rice, and all those wonderful small plates that you get at Korean restaurants. This restaurant (located next to Fog n’ Suds on Robson, in case you are wondering) is now one of my Vancouver stand-bys. I look forward to going back on every visit!

Given the exhaustion of our Hockey Semi-Final day (honestly we felt absolutely wasted by the end of the day) we were more than happy to keep our Saturday in Vancouver totally low-key. Of course before calling it a night we had to pay a visit to the Olympic Cauldron. There were loads of people trying to take pictures of the flame but we still got a great view and some pretty nice pictures too!

Surprisingly, the cauldron looked much more impressive in person than it ever did on television. Although I still maintain it looks like the Fortress of Solitude on fire!

Our Saturday in Vancouver was fun but the whole time we could barely contain our excitement for what was to come next! The Men’s Hockey Gold Medal Game!!!!

But that my friends, is a story for another day . . .

Road to the Gold!

Hola peeps!

Let me begin with a bit of a disclaimer – this is my first post using Windows Live Writer. I keep on hearing about the superiority of this program (over writing directly in Blog press). My apologies ahead of time if things look a little wonky!

Now back to the Olympics

Although the Fiancé and I found ourselves in Vancouver for several days we were actually there to attend one event in particular. You see, several years ago (yes – the process actually did take that long!) we put in for hockey tickets. You had to indicate what events you wanted to attend and then wait for the results of the lottery.

We ended up hitting the big time and scored tickets to one of the men’s hockey semi-finals. Since we hadn’t put in for Gold medal tickets (there was no way we were willing to pay in the thousands for tickets) we were thrilled! Back in the day we had no idea what teams we would be watching. Soon we came to learn it would be the USA side of the bracket – and given how well they were playing I totally expected them to be there. And so we packed up our Olympic gear (Canada Scarves? Check! Olympic Mittens? Multiple Pairs! VANOC Backpack? Yuppers!) and headed out to Vancouver!

The semi-final we were watching was the first of two to be played on February 26th, 2010. We got there WAY early (mostly ‘cause we feared security delays) and took in the atmosphere. Slowly the crowds started to trickle into Canada Hockey Place. Since we were in Canada most of us still chose to wear our Canada gear but there were a seriously good number of Americans (what with Vancouver practically being on the border) and Finnish peeps in the house. Little factoid – did you know that Finland in Finnish is pronounced something like “Swamee.” How in the world did we end up with Finland in English? It’s not even close!

Of course we took some pre-game pictures! We were super excited to be there and had to document the events!

Once the teams came out for their warm-up the atmosphere upped in excitement. These were the Olympic games and we were about to be treated to what would hopefully be an amazing hockey game! But what side to cheer for? I have to admit I was kind of hoping that Finland would do really well, although, in the back of my mind I knew that a Canada vs.. USA Gold Medal Game would be sweet indeed. But for that afternoon it was all about “Swamee!!

In the end it was really good that I was somewhat ambivalent of the outcome because the USA executed an absolute trouncing! In fact I think the score ended up being something like 6-1 USA! OUCH!!!

Honestly, I gave up being disappointed a couple of goals into the game. In fact at one point the announcer had yet to finish announcing what USA team member had scored the last goal when they scored ANOTHER!!! Seriously!??! I think I actually threw up my hands at this point! lol

That’s when it all became about saving face. The crowd went decidedly pro-Finland and were willing them towards a goal! When they finally scored one late in the game we all cheered and stood up!! You’d think they had just won the game! Hilarious!

All in all it was a great experience. I actually got to go to an Olympic event and I was a very happy camper! Pretty soon thereafter all thoughts of USA left our heads and it became all about finding a place to watch the Canada vs.. Slovakia semifinal. Since we were already downtown we decided to watch the game at one of the public sites with the crowds. The nearest place was LIVE City Vancouver. We got in line with everyone else hoping to watch the game on the big screens inside. At this point we were three plus hours away from the game but the atmosphere was starting to turn electric!!

While waiting in line we were entertained by a group of actors pretending to be bobsledders (see bottom picture)! They were HILARIOUS!! Their awkwardly fitting costumes and faux-accents were too much – you couldn’t help but laugh! To top it all off when they noticed you taking a picture they would all group together and say “Sexy Shot!” in a faux-Eastern European accent while attempting to cover their nipples (see top shot)! lol

It was a quick line-up and we managed to get inside the gated site after only about 15 minutes. Inside there were the Canada and Manitoba houses, a massive outdoor screen with a standing room area to view the game, and an indoor beer garden/cafeteria area with more screens. Since it was cold and drizzling we opted for the indoor area. This turned out to be a brilliant choice since later on the drizzles turned into a continuous downpour that left more than a couple of people drenched to the bone!

Since the Canada hockey game was still hours (!) away we all hunkered down and watched the Canadian women’s curling team choke  win a silver medal. I have to admit that this was my first time watching any curling. At first I had no idea what was going on but the Fiancé explained the game and it turned out be pretty exciting ! Especially since it was the Gold Medal Game and the crowd was seriously amped!!! Kind of made me want to try my hand at curling in the future. But you didn’t hear it from me! lol

After hours of waiting the game finally begun. Canada vs.. Slovakia!!! Semi-Final!!! It had all come down to this!!! We couldn’t have been more excited. Any time Canada touched the puck the crowd went NUTS! Anytime Luongo remotely made a save we all said “Luuuuuuuuuu!!!!!” And any time we killed a power play we all clapped. From the cheers to the impromptu singings of “O Canada” we were having a blast!!! I only wish I could bottle that atmosphere. It was amazing. Nothing short of amazing.

And every time Canada scored it looked like this:

From the very young (there were babies in the crowd!) to the very old we were all seriously excited!!! With about 15 minutes left to go in the game (and with Canada up by a couple of goals) the crowd started to chant “WE WANT USA!!! WE WANT USA!!! WE WANT USA!!!!” Clearly the crowd thought we were a lock for the Gold Medal Game.

In the end it was way closer than any of us had wanted to see!! In the third period the Canadians came out and appeared to coast on their lead. They hung back and played defensively. Bad move considering what an incredibly strong team they were facing. In the dying seconds the score was 3-2 Canada and Slovakia kept on attacking the Canadian net. It looked like they were going to score and we were on pins and needles begging our team to hang on! And they did!!!!!!!!!!!! Cue the crazy reaction in the house!!!!

In the last seconds the crowd was on their feet and I made sure to take the video above and capture the moment for posterity’s sake! It was an amazing moment!!! And this time when the crowd chanted “WE WANT USA!! WE WANT USA!!” they said it knowing that in two days time we would all get to watch our dream hockey final!

Semi-Final day at Vancouver2010 was an awesome day for me! And I thought nothing could top it – turns out I was wrong!

How Charmed it is!

Hola bloggies!!

How have you been my loves? I've been busy traveling all over the place. After the Olympics I headed to Kelowna (in the heart of BC's Okanagan Valley) for a work thing. It was my first time spending any significant time in the Okanagan and I LOVED it!!

In fact the last week and a half has been brilliant! I'd even go as far as to say it's been good for my soul.

But all good things must come to an end. As I write I'm heading back to the Rocky Mountain casa, and best of all - Daisy!!!!

I've got loads of pics and videos to share with you starting tomorrow. But for now I'll leave you with some pictures from my recent adventures!




Russian Olympic uniforms anyone? They were everywhere in Vancouver! The Russians even had a pavillion where they served vodka and other goodies at swanky parties. Only Russians allowed. True story.




Grilled BC salmon courtesy of the LIVECity Vancouver kitchen. This picture may give you the impression I was a saint with my Olympic eats. Not totally. It was practically impossible - sometimes you just ate what was available.




And look! It's Marianne of "From French Fries to Flax Seeds." she's the one who told me calories don't count during the Olympics. I like Marianne! lol Please also note our silly toques. This kind of behaviour is highly encouraged during the Winter Olympics. So is looking horribly exhausted - it's proof you're having a good time! lol




Speaking of silly Olympic hats....this one is by far the best!!! Cracked me up!! It particularly kills me how perfectly it fits. Good times on Robson Street (downtown Van's main drag) following the men's hockey Gold medal win.




Taken along the Sea Wall in Vancouver. If you ever visit Van via cruise ship you'll end up more or less in this area. My recommendation is to walk the Sea Wall to Stanley Park. You could also run. It's Vancouver's favourite jaunt!




And lastly a picture of Osoyoos (at the southermost tip of the Okanagan Valley) taken from the Anarchist Summit. Random name or kind of bad ass. Either way it's got awesome views!

See you in the morning bloggies!