RETURN TO THE FARACI'S, LET THE MAYHEM RESUME

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Even with the sat nav that Rick and Sharon gave us we still couldn’t find their house so fortunately Sharon came to meet us to take us back. You remember I said that they are a whirlwind, well our return was no different. Within 20 minutes of being in the house Sharon was whisking us off to one of the movie sets in town. We’ve never been given the opportunity to do this so we were not sure what to expect. It was to the set of the new Henry Winkler (the fonz) movie, so we headed to the location on the opposite side of the water. What we didn’t know was that it was not indoors the shoot was taking place in a house in a residential area. We arrived and were a bit early so Sharon took us for a drive around downtown Vancouver. The city looked really pretty in places and she gave us background on various titbits as we passed. Then we drove through one the less desirable areas and I was shocked at the state of some of the homeless and working girls we saw. Once again the darker side of the world’s cities, we have seen so much of this on our travels. Even so it was quite shocking. We were soon back to where all of the actors trailers were parked though and that in itself was quite an eye opener. We saw Henry in his obviously the largest of them all and then the catering truck. Lots of people standing and waiting for the sign that the set was ready I suppose. As Tim and I had not took our fleeces we were surpised by how cold the day had become. The car park was set up for all of the people involved with the film to have somewhere near the set to base. From here we got a shuttle to the house and we waited outside watching everyone running back and forth arranging things from lighting to cameras. This was really interesting and we watched for some time waiting for the actors to arrive on set. Whenever we watch a film we have never given a thought to the amount of work that happens behind the scenes to make the film possible. We watched them rigging up the lighting, cameras, various wiring, putting in additional props etc etc. So many people rushing around trying to get things ready. When we spoke to one of the guys there we found out that all of this was being done for a 30 second scene with Henry Winkler on the telephone, unbelievably barmy to us but just a day in the life of the movie industry. By the time Henry Winkler arrived to set we had been hiding under a tree from the rain and it was pretty cold so we left shortly after. It was one of those bizarre experiences we will never get to do again and very interesting to see, we were however very glad to get back in the warmth of the car.

The drive back to the house was short and Rick was home by the time we got back. Martin was also there with his boyfriend Malcolm. Martin we had met the weekend before so it was nice to see him again. What Tim and I have forgotten (because we don’t know the day or date) is that is was the premier of Ricks film that night. The first time is had been aired and it was going our across Canada. Rick was obviously in a very buoyant mood and the tow lads were also rather merry into the bargain. The night turned into a bit of a party with ricks writing partner coming over with his friend. By the time the film came on TV we were all really excited no more so than Rick. Rightly so too, what an achievement. We watched the film which is very good by the way and even better was the behind the scenes commentary on the things that went right and wrong and the actors themselves. For anyone interested the film is called Blood Brother Reign of Terror, google it for info. Again a unique experience which Tim and I thoroughly enjoyed. It was 3am by the time we got to bed though which meant another rough morning the next day. The Saturday flew by with Rick introducing me to his Wii which is quite addictive. Then I did a bit of Yoga with Rick and then some self defense moves which were pretty cool even though my head was more than a bit fuzzy. The afternoon we spent lazing watching a film and then Sharon served us a lovely roast beef dinner with my rather bad effort of Yorkshire puddings. They turned out more like cakes, think I used too much mix in the tins, Sorry dad!!!!

The following Sunday we did some work on the blog but not much and watched their wedding DVD which was lovely. Then a bit more lazing before Tim and I cooked dinner, chicken in stuffing with mash and veg, real English effort. As Tim had wanted to go to a hockey game Sharon had kindly organised it the day before so as early evening set in we set off for downtown Vancouver once again. I should point out that Tim and I were supposed to have left by now and spent the night in Seattle. Because of the hockey game S & R kindly put us up another night. City parking, we had forgotten what a rip off and how difficult it is but Rick managed to get us quite close to the stadium. Strangely unlike home and other places we have been the venue only opens an hour before so we waited patiently outside as it was a bit earlier than that. The game was really good and it was a first time experience for both of us. I was surprised at how quick it is and also how the fights are pretty much part of the game too. Quite funny if not a bit annoying when the game stops for them to start a punch up! The other strange thing is that the game is stopped for TV adverts, so whenever an advert airs the players just lounge at the side of the rink waiting to be told to start again. Very weird and it does spoil the continuity of the game, it just what happens in Canada and America apparently. Cant see it catching on at home thank goodness!!! Really enjoyed the whole experience though even though Vancouver lost 4-3.

By the time we left the game it was quite late, Tim and I had to finish our packing and both S & R had work the next day so we all got an early night. We were up at 6am the next day to head back to Seattle for our flight to Buffalo. We said our goodbyes all of us bleary eyed and just as we were about to set off Tim realised he couldn’t find the wallet. We couldn’t find it in the house and it wasn’t in Ricks car. We figured Tim must have got pick pocketed and as we could not afford to miss the flight we just had to get going and call the bank to cancel the cards. It was a very stressful first hour of journey to Seattle as the wallet had both our driver licenses in which meant we could not rent the car in Buffalo that Sharon had given us free vouchers for. In the end we also couldn’t cancel one of the credit cards as we did not have the banks number. By the time we hit Seattle airport we had put it down to one of those things and come to realize that we had relaxed too much with R&S and taken our eye off the ball a bit. We handed back the car and went to see if the Avis desk could help us with our next booking. Here we found a guy who asked if we had a friend in Canada it turned out that Sharon had left messages for us as they had found our wallet. With the panic over the Avis guy let me use his phone to get hold of Sharon and we arranged with her to Fedex to our next hotel which fortunately we had the address for, phew!! As it transpired it was under the seat in Ricks car which we could only put down to Tims new jeans having smaller pockets. But at least we had it and it had not been stolen which was a relief.

We had an excellent time with Rick and Sharon and they really were very good to us for saying before this we had only spent 4 hours together. They are the most interesting couple and the most generous we have met on this trip. It was great to feel like we were at home and all their help was invaluable. We love you guys thank you very much.

So as we sat in Seattle airport enjoying a beer we pondered the fact that our big adventure is drawing to an end. Next stop Buffalo………………………

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Photos

Gassy Jack downtown Vancouver
from Hull, he ran the bars and apparently talked too much. hence the name gassy Jack

The steam clock
powered by steam, different

A proud moment
Ricks film on TV!!!!!!

It was a long night!
Congratulations Rick