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Published: February 14th 2010
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Friday, I traveled the seventy miles from Whistler to Vancouver to see what the city was like with this entire Olympic atmosphere going on. It sure didn’t let me down.
I tried to be a regular tourist, visiting Vancouver’s famous market, Granville Island Market. It was a very cool place that reminded me of Pike’s Place in Seattle (you may have heard of the fish throwers, that’s Pike’s Place). There was an incredible amount of fresh fruit and vegetables on display and for sale. It wasn’t long though, until my tourist hat came off and I got sucked into the Olympic Games.
The city felt alive with energy, almost pulsing. There were people out everywhere at 9 a.m. Team jackets supporting their favorite country were all around, Russian, Croatia, Norway, and it seemed everybody had on the red and white maple leaf of Team Canada.
There are several downtown streets blocked off to cars and hold activities, events, art, and decorations all for the Olympics. The first I went to was called Robeson Square. This is the home of the Vancouver Museum of Art, a small ice skating rink, the official countdown to the Olympics clock (which was
only at 6 hrs. when I was there), a zip line, and several big screen televisions that were playing Olympic themed programs. It was so much fun!
The I headed down to a historical section of town, the neighborhood is called Gas Town. The old brick buildings and cobblestone streets gave all the souvenir shops much more character. At the end was the man which Gas Town was named after, Gassy Jack. I’m not sure if I would like to be called, Gassy Jon, but that’s what was printed on his statue.
A short bike ride away from Gas Town is North America’s largest Chinatown. I have recently visited Beijing, a true China town, and this most closely looked like a town in China than many Chinese neighborhoods in other countries. The streets were lined with lanterns and very little English was used on the restaurant signs. There was a beautiful and peaceful garden centerpiece of the area, as well as massive Chinese gates over some of the streets. I couldn’t resist the smell of the delicious food and stopped in at a restaurant offering dim sum. Mmmmm…
Then, it was on to BC Place, the stadium
hosting the Opening Ceremonies of the Olympics (I didn’t have a ticket, but just wanted to see the activity around- tickets were selling for $2,000!). It was a bit difficult to get near the stadium because there were too many roads blocked off and police men keeping the order. So I went as close as I could, took a few pictures and began looking for a place to watch the ceremony.
I planned on watching it at a designated festival site at a park near the stadium, but when I arrived, the line to get in was almost a mile long! There must have been 10,000 people with the same idea I had. So, I changed my plans and headed back to Robeson Square and their big screens. I’m glad I did, because I found a place to sit and enjoy the ceremony. It was very special being in Canada, let alone Vancouver, for an even like this. The crowd was cheering for their athletes, waving their flags, and wearing every imaginable combination of red and white. The CTV (Canadian television station) did a wonderful job of broadcasting it, and I recorded the beginning I will post above (sorry,
i had to cut it into 3 separate videos- and then it mixed them up, too 1,3,2- just so you know). It is different, for me, to watch a different country’s perspective on something I’ve only seen as American, so it was extra special for me.
A Special Moment
I’m sure you all know by now of the tragedy that happened at Whistler’s luge track, the death of Nodar Kumaritashvili from the country of Georgia. It is something you never want to hear, my thoughts go out to him, his family, teammates, and people of his country. For a person so close to competing in the Olympics for the first time, so close to a dream come true, to have this happen is so, so terrible.
During my day of rambling around the city, I did not know this happened until I arrived at Robeson Square and watched the coverage of the Ceremony. One of the very touching moments, I think I will remember for a long time, is the moment during the ceremony when Georgia walked into the building. I was surrounded by Canadians, I’m sure with no connection to this man or country, and for
a moment, it was silent. Completely silent, as if the crowd of thousands I was with didn’t know how to react. It was very strange, awkward even.
Then, as if everyone became filled with sympathy and support… erupted. And I mean erupted! Everyone who was sitting stood up and applauded, people took their hats off to honor the fallen athlete, some could wave only Canadian flags- and did so as fast as they could to show their support. It was easily the second largest and longest applause any team of night received, behind Canada (of course), and illustrated, yet again, what these games are about.
Despite the tragedy, the minor glitches at the end of the ceremony, and the fact that Wayne Gretzky took the torch right passed my bike, while I was quite far away from it (argh!), I say, “LET THE GAMES BEGIN!”
I stayed around the Square for a while to watch the firework, laser, and fire show that happened after the games. It was a wild atmosphere with everyone cheering and dancing to the music, screens replayed Olympic events from the past, and everyone was so excited the games have finally arrived!
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