Germany

If it is at all possible, I think June went faster than May! I have been to Berlin and Kiev (Ukraine) and returned home to work at the airport during the G8 and G20 summits, which were in Ontario this past June. My travels as always were fabulous experiences and I'll tell you about both starting with Germany in this post. Arrived in Frankfurt on June 6, pretty wiped out - hardly slept on the flight. Since I had a five 1/2 hour layover, I had thought about perhaps catching a quick tour of the city but by the time I got my luggage and checked back in and wandered over to the tourism desk I had missed the only possibility, so I had to hang around the airport.

Well, for most people that would be a dire experience, but I have become an airport geek after working in one for 28 years, so I managed to amuse myself - this airport had much to offer. It was busy with more than just travellers - the German team was flying out today for South Africa and the airport had scheduled a whole slew of activities, from musical entertainment to interactive soccer goal nets and more. And they have a massive observation deck - I think it's almost a kilometer long! So my five hours flew and before I knew it I had arrived in Berlin.

Ah Germany, the country where taxis are Mercedes or BMW's and everyone speaks English! How civilized. Despite a mild case of jet lag, I sat up with my niece till the wee hours and then got up early to catch a ride into town with her. I was taking one of those hop-on, hop-off city tours, which are fabulous to help get your bearings in a new city. I did the full 90 minute tour to see all the sites so I could decide which ones I wanted to explore more in depth. This is an incredible city - so full of history, architecture, art and culture - and the choice was tough. Of course one of the best-known things about Berlin is the (former) Berlin Wall, which after more than 30 years of dividing east from west, came down in 1989. This was a dire time in the country's history, but credit to the Germans who recognize that terrible things should not be swept under the carpet, but should in fact be memorialized in some way to teach the coming generations and ensure that bad history does not repeat itself.

 After driving by the East Side Gallery where a section of the wall had been retained to be used as a permanent outdoor art exhibit, with new artists invited annually to paint their reflections, I decided my tour of Berlin would start with learning more about this randomly placed wall which created East and West Berlins. I disembarked at Checkpoint Charlie's, the actual spot where the US army had a soldier posted to guard the west side opposite a German soldier guarding the east side.
In a nutshell, the US was open to letting residents escape the east, in fact, often helped in some way and this is commemorated on a hoarding wall that tells the stories of escapees, some who survived and others who did not (shot by Germans as they were leaving the east). I simplify here, for the sake of the blog, but you get the picture.

Although the wall is gone, the location has been marked by a double row of cobblestones all across the city. It is possible today to retrace the steps of the wall and see how it split residential neighbourhoods and quickly separated families and friends on either side. However today there is no separation - east is indiscernible from west. Well almost - the west is marked with historic beautiful architecture in its museums and government buildings and the east offers up gray slab blocks of building. But the people are no longer separated!

From there I walked around the area and came upon treasures like murals commemorating a labour strike of 1953 on the Ministry of Finance building's exterior wall and a cool sculpture by Claes Odenberg dedicated to the suffering of bohemian immigrants, refugees from other countries arriving with nothing and the challenges  of starting life all over again in a new home. 
I walked and walked for the next three days, in spite of the sweltering heat of 30+.

I wanted to capture as much of the city as possible so between the bus, the bahn and my feet, I saw the main sites like the Brandenberg Gate, the Reichstag building (their main government building where parliament meets), and the radio tower towering over an ancient cathedral. Like so many European cities, Berlin has wonderfully  mixed in the new while still embracing the old and every corner you turn you are struck with how complimentary glass and steel is to stone.

A green city, Berlin offers parks throughout, so it is easy to rest and cool off under a large shady tree, next to a water fountain or inside a beautiful museum. One day I walked the length of Unter der Linden (Under the Linden) Street which literally has linden trees lining the wide European boulevard.
Near the eastern end of the street, I stopped off at the Berliner Dom to take in the cool interiors - a magnificent cathedral that overlooks the River Spree - and marvelled that this building had survived two world wars and bombings in the city.  Then onto the majestic buildings of Museum Island - literally an island between the arms of the River Spree, with several museum buildings, most reminiscent of ancient Roman and Greek styles.
Built in the early 1900s, the government needed a place to house the many treasures that German archaeological teams were bringing back from early Mediterranean civilizations. The Pergamon is a definite must stop for any visitor with its soaring ceilings and its Blue Walls of Babylon transporting visitors back in time. You can almost hear the horses hooves as they bring chariots through the wide hallways into palace courtyards. All I can say is Wow!

On the hottest day I was seeking cool refuge and took the bahn  to Tiergarten, the city's largest park (bahn is train - I love the transit systems here and have mastered it - there is u-bahn which are the underground and S-bahn which are the above ground and the D-bahn which is the long distance rail system. I love the German's efficiency!).  I think many other people had the same idea. This park was originally some king's hunting grounds and there were deer and all sorts of other animals running free into the early 20th century. Much like High Park in Toronto, it is decreed that the city must retain it as a public park and although Berlin is not as busy a city traffic wise as so many other capitals, it offers a fabulous refuge, for all of those people who work in the government offices, being situated next to the Reichstag, the Bundestag and most of the consulates and embassies.

At one end of Tiergarten is the zoo - another wow - this is a massive place and although you might think it's a good choice when the temp is near 40, in fact it was very cooling. So green and leafy, a lovely breeze blowing through and of course I was immediately distracted by the animals anyhow. This zoo is internationally renowned and I can see why. It originated the concept of not caging the animals but instead creating moats or deep crevices where the animals could not cross and touch or be touched by humans. What that offers is a spectacular unspoiled view - so I, like may others, felt like I was strolling next to elephants and zebras and giraffes without any barriers.  Of course the monkeys are caged or behind glass - mischievous and smart creatures that they are - they would definitely figure out a way to get out! But I delighted in their antics nonetheless - so human-like, they show off for the audiences and the more we chuckled at them, the more they performed.

A friend asked me what was my highlight and I was hard-pressed to answer - there were so many. SO I thought of the two things that moved me most, one in a manner not so positive and the other very beautiful.  The Topography of Terrors is an exhibit that that has been installed at the former Reichstag headquarters location. Next to a four foot high portion of the main building, there is a piece of the wall where someone had scribbled a fitting piece of graffiti - Madness. Plaques on the outside give an overview of how the Gestapo and its members plotted the horrors of the 30s and 40s. A new modern glass building has a walking series of panels (50 plus) that tell the full stories through text and images and give homage to all the countries that were taken over, vandalized and destroyed, and their people who were imprisoned or killed during the Nazi regime. A section was devoted to Ukraine and I found myself looking deeply at the photos to see if I could recognize my parents or other relatives. Of course there were too many and I felt myself choke back tears of horror and pain several times as I walked through the space. I will never forget this and so while it is indeed a topography of terrors, I sought the positive and believe that these kinds of exhibits and memorials offer a reminder to any who visit how easy it is to slip into evil, so we know that through education, we can never let such an abuse of human life occur again. I learned that these tours are mandatory for German youth and perhaps this should be extended beyond to youth around the world.  
The positive highlight was definitely the Pergamon. I have seen many museums in many countries, but this truly is the only one where I left the present and felt completely immersed in history. I'm not sure why, but suspect that the uncluttered approach and perfect recreation of what used to be thousands of years ago, even in part, allowed me to live in the past even for only a minute or two.

If you have a chance to go to only one city in Germany, I urge you to pick Berlin. Its character is warm and friendly and easy and it is a fabulous learning experience. It is open and free and acknowledges that humans are not perfect but that we are smart enough to do better. Of course this may be a disservice to other parts of Germany, and I must admit I have only been to Koln (which I loved for many different reasons) but I was definitely charmed enough to want to go back and see those places I missed. In the meantime thank you to my lovely niece for being such a fabulous hostess and her roommate for letting me crash in their living room.

Spring has sprung in TO

Once again – it’s been awhile since my last post. I really don’t know where the month of May went. I am going to blame the weather for keeping me away from the computer. It has been absolutely glorious and I think I have spent more time in my backyard in the last 4 weeks than I have in the last four years!

So what have I been doing to keep myself busy? Lots of reconnecting (which means wining and dining!), gardening, walking, biking, and hiking among so many other things. I am getting pretty used to my daily routine – a big stretch when the cats come into my room to meow their hunger, I begin my slow leisurely start to the day, grabbing the newspaper, brewing a cup of tea, I wander into the backyard to stretch out and enjoy the morning sun. Because there sure has been a lot of sun lately. Or turn on the TV and watch Canada AM on those cooler or wet mornings. Sound like one of those boring reality TV shows? Sure feels like it. But I’m ok with that – at least for now. And besides that’s only the morning – after that, I really have been making a deliberate effort to change the routine.

I think of my friends in Vancouver who has spring before us but the tides have now turned and it’s cooler there and I am reminded now of how beautiful Toronto can be at this time of year – the tulips and daffodils came out early in April, my neighbours magnolia was more glorious than I can remember from other years, and this month the lilac tree in my backyard has been lush and heavy with scent and blooms. Too bad the rain this week was so strong – it washed the flowers away all too quickly. But today I picked the first of my strawberries – the small patch I planted six years ago has taken over a huge area in my backyard but I forgive it for those ripe berries are the sweetest tastiest red morsels you could imagine. California eat your heart out – ain’t nothing better than an Ontario berry. So the garden front and back has taken up much of my time – I have done my planters for the porch, landscaped the front, planted a whole bunch of herbs and some cherry and grape tomatoes so in a month or so, I will be enjoying more fruits of my labour. What amazes me is how bad a judge of time I have become! Is it because I am not in a hurry to get somewhere else, so I don’t pay attention and take the time to stop and smell the roses? Or is it that I always scheduled everything and rushed through to try and pack in as much as possible in that thing we call spare time (which are those short days you are not working)! If I figure something will take an hour, I find it actually takes two! So I am not doing twice as much I’m just taking twice as long – but the luxury is – I can!

My cats are demanding much of my time too – I guess they missed me – have you met Fonzie and Tipsy? They are brothers from the same litter and are big boys – a tad overweight – but also just big cats – their father was a wild cat from up near Orangeville. Any time I sit, one of them wants my lap and the other wants petted. Daily brushing required with this warm weather – I’m sure there’s been enough to make a cat-hair coat, if someone would wear that! They are enjoying my leisure with me, sprawled on the back deck, sunbathing or cooling ion a shady spot. I think they’re happy I’m home!

I have had lots of reconnections, lunches, dinners, phone calls with friends from the past. One was with two childhood friends, Laila and Myrosia, women who I went to scouts with and spent summers with at their family’s cottages. What fun it was to reminisce and see how our lives had changed and evolved. And how special it was that we could chat like it had only been last month since we had seen each other. We are social beings, we humans, and the connections we make with one another are so important to our own growth and happiness – we need each other. I feel for those people who have not known good friends or do not have close family to spend time with and hope that they can find other ways to fulfill their needs. I consider myself very lucky, my circle is as lush as my garden and now that I have time, I am finding those parts of the circle that had drifted off in different directions can easily be rejoined!

Not to diminish any others, but I have one very special group of friends - my best buddies from high school, Lily, Shelley and Lucille. We reconnected about 12 years ago and since then have made a point of getting together four times a year to celebrate birthdays. As it turns out each of our birthdays is in a different season so this spreads it out nicely over the year. And each time we try to go out of town and someplace new. Since I came home we have had two outings – one to Bronte Harbour and last weekend we went exploring to Alton. What a treat Alton was – an old mill has been restored and turned into a small art community, with a sculpture garden, artists’ studios and galleries. Starting with a lovely lunch at the Millcroft Inn, we then trekked through the woods to the Alton Mill (I forgot my camera so you’ll just have to go see it for yourself!). My nephew-in-law is a creative stone mason and some of his work is there, so it was a particular treat for me. The girls were just delighted at finding another spot that was so pretty and calming less than an hour from Toronto. Alton as a town looks a little depressed so I hope that the mill’s restoration will turn the tides here into something positive economically.

Although my time has been mostly play, I am slowly beginning to think about the future and a new career and business. I’ve started nibbling a bit and networking and have a business name – Good Works Consulting, but I’ll tell you more about that in a future blog. But before I get too serious, I am heading off this weekend on another trip – this time I head east to Europe – four days in Berlin with my niece who is there on a six month internship and then five days in Kiev, Ukraine to celebrate my aunt and uncle’s 60th wedding anniversary! And I know those two will be dancing up a storm so I gotta get packing. This time I will not forget my camera!

I'm home and back on blog

Back home in TO after my 8 weeks in Vancouver Well, actually I have been home for more than a month now, and yet it still feels like yesterday that I was heading out onto Lonsdale Avenue to catch the Seabus into downtown Vancouver! Lovely vivid memories that are, sadly, slowly starting to fade. Yet isn’t that what we cherish so much in our lives, those little passages of time that make up the different chapters in each of our own personal stories. It has been my pleasure to write about this particular chapter in the book of my life and share with you my feelings, my impressions, my photos and all of those things will become part of my memories.

I know it's been ages since I last wrote - please forgive me - I have not deserted you. I think I just really needed to take some time to get back to me. And somehow, I just couldn't get the words down to say my town in Vancouver was o ver. Maybe I just haven't wanted to admit that it was done and writing would just make it too real. And I had writer's block, really. Strange feeling after spewing for so many weeks. But I'm back and ready to get verbose all over again, so hope you're ready!

So as I sit here in my backyard with my two fat cats next to me, I will reflect on my last couple of weeks on the west coast and bring you up to speed on my return home. The time has flown and yet it seemed not really to have moved at all. I have been busy taking time to catch up, reconnect with family and friends, reacquaint myself with my home town and find my footing again.

I didn’t work the last week I was in BC, which gave me time to do a bit more sightseeing and have those good bye visits with my friends. Who knows when I will be back or when they will head east. Nevertheless, we’ve made up for lost time and opened the door to staying better connected in the future. Yes technology sure will help – how easy it is to drop a line in an email and just let someone know you are thinking about them. But it’s more than that – as Michelle said – you are my heart – and all of you will always hold a special spot, each for your own reasons. Lifelong friends, friends that become such through growing families, co-workers who became friends, and just those people you meet in life, it’s so wonderful the connections we make as human beings and the way we bond. Friendship is like one of those stretchy bands – it can pull far apart but it always comes back together, so even though distances between us are long, that’s just geography, as people, we will always be connected. And the ones I spent time with in BC – well – you will hold a special spot in my heart because you made me feel at home, Like Larissa and the kids.

I took my last chances to sightsee Vancouver. I walked around downtown to take in the architecture - the city doens't have many great buildings, but the library - Wow! And of course I had to go back to Granville Market. Yes to buy some coffee and little souvenirs, but more to revel in the colours and the sounds. The day I went, the weather was another one of those picture perfect Vancouver days – sunny, warm, blue skies that showed off those beautiful vistas. I bought my several ½ pound bags of JJ Mugs beans for coffee loving friends and walking past the fresh oysters and the berries piled mountain-like in their baskets headed outside to savour my free cup of coffee. Starbucks – you should take a lesson from this – a free coffee for a loyal customer – pretty good marketing strategy if you ask me! .

The back of the market looks out across to Yaletown and this beautiful day had brought out all kinds of people – rowers, lovers, pet walkers and the gulls – OMG – Vancouver has the biggest gulls I have ever seen – these birds were the size of an eagle or they sure seemed to be. The homeless guy with the Blue Merle puppies for sale, families watching their children skip around between the gulls and the puppies and the magician and the musicians performing. What a fabulous way to spend a couple of hours. Fond memories forever.

And I took in the last of the Olympics. Some of the pavillions I couldn;t get into when the crowds were there had no more line-ups - or really short ones. The BC pavillion at the Art Gallery was fab - interactive walk through the forests teaching you all about the province and the things it had to offer. The Canada pavillion - well the Mounties got their woman! Another interactive chance to test your knowledge about the country - I passed, but not with flying colours@! Another stop at the Bay to pick up those last minute Olympic souvenirs - no line-ups at all. But I didn;t make the mint - can you imagine on March 19, the wait was still 5 hours long! Oh well, the nearest I got to a medal was at the airport - but hey that was good enough for me!

Margaret and I took off for a couple of days to Seattle – what a neat city – I’d like to go back some day and spend a bit more time as our trip really was only a little over 24 hours. But we sure packed it in – Pike’s Place Market on the waterfront – deceivingly small selection of vendors of fresh foods, but the market is on multiple levels sloping down toward the waterfront. Maybe smaller really than Granville or even St Lawrence, but this market such neat vendors – and fish and seafood everywhere. And yes those are tulips on the roof, 1000's of them!

I must say one of my favourites though was the sausage vendor – he had dozens and so artfully displayed. Flowers galore – this is really one of the things I have missed most since I got back home – Vancouver and Seattle, maybe because their spring starts earlier or maybe just because they love flowers, reminded me more of Paris – massive selections of tulips and gerberas and so many others in all the colours of the rainbow and more! And not just the odd store here and there. As I walk along my neighbourhood street back home, only the supermarket and Chinese fruit market offer blooms, but so few to choose from that the burst of colour is just sadly lacking. If you know me, you know I love flowers. I have vowed to add some colour to my garden this year (and hopefully the cats won’t dig things up as soon as I plant them)!

This city has got it right - public transit is free in the downtown core! Can you imagine that happening anywhere in Toronto or Vancouver? OK, so it's not a huge city and walking can be quite a challenge - from the water up to our hotel - about ten blocks is a 25 degree slope - a killer for anyone with bad knees! A quick stop at the Sculpture Garden - this city loves its art and it proud to display it - and this park offered some from the best - mark Savera, RIchard Serra - so cool! And of course we had to go by the Space Needle and Gehry's cool tribute to music. Unfortuantely not many pics of this - just a teaser for you.

My last full day, I decided I would just walk, all over, North Vancouver, Lonsdale Avenue, Yaletown, downtown, just to soak it in so the images would be imbedded in my memory forever. As one of my friends said to me, it doesn’t matter if you have a camera or not, the picture is in your head. So I wanted to make sure the picture of the mountains, the blossoms, the sea, the mountains would be forever etched in my memory.

On Vancouver, the memorable things are many. I have written about most of them and shared some photos, but it’s good to recap – remember you’re also helping me remember this chapter in my life. And even though these aren't the only things I will remember, these are the biggest.

The mountains – I know I go on and on about these peaks, but there is something in the majesty of the peaks that you can see from almost anywhere in the city, even when the sun is not shining! Awesome.

The Skytrain and the Seabus. Where else can you hop on public transit, bus, LRT or boat and sit next to people with skies or snowboards who will be whooshing down a mountain in less than an hour! Inspiring.

Steveston –what a wonderful place, so calm, so serene, on the water, fresh fish, sunniest spot in Greater Vancouver, the ocean, the sunsets. Just beautiful.

The Olympics - I may not have gotten to any games events, but I sure felt the spirit. Kudos to the city - they did a fabulous job of brining the spirit of the games to everyone through the many large screens all over town where throngs would gather and watch and cheer on our teams and all the different venues. I totally get why people become Olympic junkies. I believe!

Tofino – the tip of Canada and even though I didn’t see any whales, I did see sky meet the ocean in the huge expanse beyond, topped off by a spectacular sunset. Moving.

Blossoms –Vancouver has the biggest profusion of cherry apple and other blossoms I have ever seen – a sea of pink along a busy road making even a dull gray dreary day bright. Enchanting.

Spring - I have been blessed to see two springs this year – the time when the ground and the trees wake up after a cold, wet Canadian winter. And The progressions from the west coast, with crocuses greeting me my first weekend in Vancouver to the little crocuses that were popping their heads up in my garden greeting me home at the end of March. OK, so maybe this isn’t that kind of thing they would put in the tourist books, but it was a real memory of Vancouver for me, starting spring sop early for the first time ever. Exciting.

Friends – need I say more? Love.

I can understand why people come here and don’t leave or decide that they want to retire here one day. You are still in Canada, but you have great weather, beautiful scenery and a much less stressed lifestyle.

First couple of weeks at home were really weird. I felt strange in my own house, things were where they should be and yet, not. Because I had stayed at many homes in the last two months, I wasn’t sure really where things should be. So I took off to visit Corrinne in Montreal – such a pleasure to spend so much time with my girl. As I told one friend, we spent probably the longest consecutive time together we have since she was about 10! Really – five straight days and granted although she went out a couple of the nights I was there – she didn’t go until 10pm when I was truly winding down for the day and quite content to putter around her cute apartment before I tucked in for the night.

Montreal is such a great city, and we walked and walked to explore neighbourhoods we knew and others we didn’t, or at least I didn’t. Corrinne has pretty well covered most of the core city on foot – you’d think she’d been here at least four years, not a mere four months! Restos everywhere in walking distance from her house and yummy food. And the weather did not disappoint – it was Easter weekend and we spent the entire time outdoors. Outside patios for lunch, cafes later in the evening. Bring your own wine – so civilized. Off to Atwater Market with Maeva to buy some Quebecois cheese, a blooming hydrangea in perwinkle blue for the living room window and a side of bone-in ham for dinner (Corrinne loves my ham!). A little shopping, a lot of good food, a few bottles of wine, and quality time with my baby girl who has grown up to be a fabulous young woman. What more could a mother ask for after two months away!

Lazy, oh how lazy I have been. Never a morning person, I have enjoyed the time to sleep in, sit with the newspaper, read it end to end, do my daily Sudoku and watch daytime TV. Boring you say? You betcha, but that’s ok – i know I will soon be up and trotting around getting busy, thinking about what to do next and where to go, how to fill my days and make plans for the future. What a luxury to have this time. As I said to a friend the other day, it’s almost like being on sabbatical, except I don’t have a job to go back to. So one of these days, I will become serious and put on my logical hat, think about business and banking and mortgages and all of those realities. But for the moment, there is no stress, I am the master of my own time and perhaps my own destiny and I love, love, love it!

Signing off as I head out to meet a friend for lunch to chat about everything and nothing.

Where has the time gone!

Really – where has the time gone!

Hello my faithful readers – I have heard from a few of you asking me where I am and why I haven’t written anything. Worry not – I am well and still practising the fine craft of autobiographical prose. However, “tempus fugit” (for those of you lucky souls who never studied Latin, that means time flies) and it really has been flying. It seems shortly after I passed the halfway point at the end of February I realized that there in less than four weeks I would be heading home. So decided I had better make plans for those places I wanted to get to – Vancouver Island, Seattle and Whistler – as well as catch up with the friends who live here and might not get to Toronto in the near future.

So I started with spending some real quality time with Larissa starting with dinner with her daughter Adriana and good friend Marlene. And of course, Larissa’s cats; old Rosie at 17 is still agile and I swear she remembered me from my last trip, beautiful Angel who is the sweetest and most affectionate and young Max, who as a 4-week old mewling kitten was rescued from the rain and adopted into the family.

It was Olympic closing weekend so we decided to take advantage of last chances to be part of the action, since Larissa hadn’t had any time to get to Olympic venues because of her crazy work schedule. Downtown was buzzing, throngs lining up to get into venues and restaurants, and still that very positive feelings with patriotism of being Canadian displayed all over the place – even saw people wearing their red mitts with other country’s jackets and toques. Reminded me of Toronto during World Cup or some other international soccer event, when almost everyone would have two flags sprouting from their car windows – I am Canadian and…… Portuguese, Ukrainian, Italian, Polish, German, Korean…………. what a lovely mélange our country is and how proud we are of where we live now and where we (or our parents) have come from.

One last chance to see the cauldron and the rings in the Burrard inlet. The flames were more spectacular at night than in daylight. Again, I moaned about my camera – night-time shots just are not nearly as spectacular as the real thing. Larissa and I wandered around and ended up in front at the Bay store windows with a whole bunch of people when Canada’s men’s curling team got their gold. What a roar of excitement – this definitely put us on the way to the most gold medals – now all the pressure was one the men’s hockey to make that happen. Well, we all know what happened!

We had been hoping to get to Ukrainian House on Sunday between the game and closing ceremonies. But running into OT, there just wasn’t enough time to go anywhere, so we decided to work our tensions off with a bit of garden clean-up, raking, hauling dirt and of course me taking photos of the all the green revealed as the protective plastic was removed. All of the energy working the garden definitely saved us from heart failure before we finally got that gold and won the podium!

Closing ceremonies – well I have heard many comments – some loved it and some hated it, but not too many people are neutral. Come on – you have to admit you have been asked at least once by someone overseas (or even in the US!) if you live in an igloo or have snow all year round (boy we sure disproved that one during the summery winter Olympics!), and how cool it is to have police that wear bright red uniforms all the time! Personally, I love that we Canadians can spoof ourselves and still make such fabulous music. But in the end, we almost cried when the flames went out on the cauldron. It was so sad to think that this amazing euphoria of the last two weeks was ending and the worry that we Canadians would lose that patriotic zeal we had all expressed across the country might shift to the back burner as everyone resumed their daily lives.

Back to work on Monday to face the mass exodus and the chaos – that didn’t happen. YVR had been anticipating a more than doubling of their usual traffic but with all the extra arrangements – remote check-in and baggage tagging for athletes at Olympic Village and Whistler, bussing directly to airside (that’s post-security and directly into the departure lounges for you non-airport folks), and full on staffing at every point all helped ease what could have been chaos in the terminal buildings.

I was scheduled at international departures, which meant I would be mingling with departing athletes from all over. How exciting it was to see all the colours again, but we were all really sad that everyone was leaving instead of arriving. I tried to sneak a couple of photos, but am not so good at that and got a bunch of backs and ceiling shots – so can’t share the visual with you, you’ll just have to imagine it yourself. My favourites were the Lufthansa, KLM and BA flights – throngs of athletes, coaches and other entourage, all buying up last minute gifts, especially Olympic memorabilia. How nice that they were still wearing all their colours and although there were many dejected faces, there were also tons of smiles and people taking home many souvenirs of Canada, the wonderful host country. I spoke to one young Russian, who loved his time here so much he said he would be starting to save so he can come back next summer for a vacation. Away from peering management eyes, I did get one athlete who was happy to pose with his medal – the US gold bobsleigh winner. He was charming and excited and posed with about 15 people with face aglow and medal held high. I would be bragging too, if I were him.

So finally a whole stretch with six straight days off and Larissa and I headed off to Vancouver Island for the weekend. We set out Friday morning to Richmond where you catch the ferry at Tsawassen (you might remember my blog when I saw the ferry from Dea’s Island and thought it was a cruise ship. Well no kidding – these beasty boats hold something like 1,000 cars and then some huge number of walk-on passengers. The trip out was about 90 minutes which gave us time to grab a bite to eat in the dining room and then head out to the top deck. A beautiful sunny and warm day, Larissa indulged my incessant photo snapping and we headed up to the roof deck. What a fabulous view, mountains, small islands, blue, blue water and sky. It was an absolutely perfect day and we even found a spot to lean back and soak up some sun.

First stop – Victoria. We checked into our hotel just behind the legislative buildings and quickly headed off on a walking tour of the city. Old buildings, new boats, new buildings and old boats, it was a really picturesque view. There were artisans along the marina walkway and although we were tempted at some of the unique designs, we resisted buying, just for the sake of buying!

Late lunch of sushi (rainbow roll for me) and sashimi for Larissa - boy am I going to miss the fabulous sushi selection here in the west when I get home. Always fresh and even the mcsushi (as my friend Lily calls them) places like the ones at the airport offer a fresh tasty menu. We walked through the downtown are back toward the Empress Hotel.

This is one of those original CN hotels built across the country in the early 1900s. Well this one is statuesque, almost palatial – in fact, it made me feel sorry for Toronto’s Royal York, which paled in comparison. The Empress has all this green space around it as well as an outdoor garden , is close to the legislative buildings and the Art Gallery/Museum. I’m sure back in its early days, the Royal York was a showpiece. But it is now dwarfed by all the bank and condo towers, whereas the Empress has the luxury of being on the water, so nothing will ever be built in front of it. So we luxuriated in its beauty outside and then wandered in to see the lofty ceilings and old style craftsmanship in the woodwork. We contemplated tea in the dining room, but at $50 a pop, decided we would leave the Royal Albert China for others to sip from.

The next day we woke again to beautiful sunny skies and headed north on our way to Tofino – home of whale watching and probably the westernmost point of Canada. Stopping at Port Alberni, sort of the half-way point, to check in and drop off bags at our hotel we carried on to Cathedral Grove. This is home to 1000s of giant cedars, with easy walking and more intense hiking trails through the massive wooded forest. Stretching our necks we looked up, up and up – these trees, towering up to the sky, cast an incredible calm on the space beneath them, not to mention that fabulous scent of cedar. Larissa introduced me to nurse trees, a natural phenomenon that occurs when a large tree has fallen or even been cut and a sapling grows out of the middle of the truck.

Unfortunately some of the trees have been affected by root rot and other diseases however this is a preserved area and the only chopping that has occurred in many years is to remove diseased and damaged trees that could break and injure visitors. Also preserved and in some cases even marked are trees that have rotted naturally to show how nature takes care of her own creations. Cedar roots are shallow as I learned and when these large trees topple from storms, they are completely uprooted. But this creates a protective mulch as well as homes for small animals. Didn’t see any of those and even though I could hear lots of birds, they were too high to see. It was so serene walking through these trees and amazing to see such beauty preserved.

It was amazing to think of the age of these trees - although Canada is a young country as a civilizaiton and out buildings are new compared to places like the Acropolisin Athens and Colisseum in Rome, we do have something to show for our age - the 1,000 year old cedars and other natural phenomenom.

Back in the car, we headed westward toward the Pacific coast. I was really surprised at the mountains in the island – for some reason I had thought of this mass of land as flat – like Christopher Columbus! Digital cameras are fabulous because you can just keep snapping and know that one of the pictures will turn out well enough to at least create a memory of the view. We climbed up and then down and then up and then down again and finally were at the western end of the island.

Driving along the highway to Tofino, we passed Tsunami warning signs – something that had never occurred to me that we as Canadians would worry about. I suppose being sheltered in the middle of the country you often forget that at both ends our fellow Canadians face this kind of risk. But here in the west, this is a reality and warnings liek this and others that there is a possibility of natural disasters could have a major impact made me realize that it doesn't really matter where you live - you need to be prepared for something that is entirely bigger than we are.

We reached Tofino at last – what a beautiful little spot – home of surfers, whale watchers and a few aging hippies. Sushi for lunch at the Inn at Tough City Sushi Bar. The view from here was east-facing (so inland) but so picturesque, I could see why people wanted to come here for a summer break. After lunch we went for a walk and headed westward to the Pacific side. Wow, I pinched myself – I’m really here - and scooped up some sand to take home as I gazed out at the ocean. I kept reminding myself this is the westernmost point of our huge country. I was actually speechless. Larissa giggled at my pleasure and said I hadn’t seen it all yet.

We drove back along the single road toward the south and stopped at Wickaninish. The sun was setting so we really wanted to try and capture the last light of the day. We just made it.

Wickaninish held a special spot in Larissa’s heart – she had come out here, many years ago with her friend Diane. As young nurses who had only recently started working in BC, they were broke but adventurous. So they pooled their money rented a car and drive to the island and kept driving. They were heading to Wickaninish to stay overnight and fell in love with this fabulous spot. This juts out just a bit more than Tofino and here we spied some surfers making their way back from the far out waves and caught the setting sun. Well the world really is round and somehow my camera lens actual captured that – thanks to Larissa who is a better photographer than me! And just at the last photo of the sunset, my camera battery died – what timing!

From here we carried on to Uclulet, at the bottom end of the land that juts out into the ocean, hoping to have dinner but everything was closed and since it was too dark to see anything, we headed back to Port Alberni. In the dark, the twisty, windy, steep mountain roads had me pretty scared, but Larissa assured me we were safe - she has driven these kinds of roads since the 70s in all kinds of weather heading into work, when she lived in BC’s interior mountains. Back in Port Alberni, we stopped at the Crab Shack and dined on a great selection of seafood. Yummy – sorry no pics this time.

Sunday morning – light rain and cloudy skies – am I ever glad we had done the big drive to the Pacific Coast on Saturday. We were taking the ferry back from Nanaimo but stopped in a couple of small towns along the way. We passed by the most amazing scene - a mountain reflected in the lake - we had seen it the day before on the way out to Tofino and here it was again - Crawford Lake - you could just barely see where the water maet the mountain, and whether the \trees were real or merely a reflection. In Parksville, I stopped to gather shells and small rocks - you know those river rocks we buy in Ontario from the garden centres? Well seriously I think they gather them along beachyes like Parksville - I collected a bag full nto really thinking about how I was going to bring this stuff home. On to the ferry and into West Vancouver’s Horseshoe Bay - and yes it really is shaped like a horse shoe.

Larissa dropped me off at Yette’s, my last host on this adventure. She is in North Vancouver – in a great condo with a view of the mountains. On Sunday, Yettewas having another friend over for dinner and to watch the Oscars, so we cracked open a bottle of wine and enjoyed a fine meal of home made pizza - two kinds. If you know Yette, you know dining “A la Yette” is a treat and so I had a fabulous end to a fabulous weekend. I cannot believe it is only two more weeks before my exciting Vancouver adventure ends.

Catching up!

On Tuesday February 22, I readied the house for Margaret and Heather who were coming back from Hawaii later that night and then headed off to Granville Island. Not really an island, but a piece of land that juts out into the water, this is a great shopping location. Home of Granville Market, this spot offers a massive fresh food market and a ton of little artisan’s shops. It has been made really accessible by public transit for visitors to the city by a short LRT tram ride from Olympic Village skytrain station. It was raining, but not heavily and although I had brought my umbrella, the hood on my jacket was enough to keep me dry. Granville had a couple of Olympic venues – Switzerland House, Francophone House and Atlantic House. I started with Switzerland, near and dear to my heart, and was disappointed to discover that it was a restaurant and not an exhibit type space. I stood in line for a free sampling of gruyere on baguette, but they ran out of bread before it got to me. I managed to convince the young man that I would be happy for the cheese without the baguette and maybe I still have a touch of Swiss in my French, but in any case he smiled and agreed. Yum.
Sauntering over to Francophone House, I made several stops in between to ogle jewellery, watch some glass-blowing, try on a couple of hand-crafted hats and admire beautifully crafted wood furniture. This house didn’t have too much to offer, an exhibit space about tourism, education and business in Quebec. Radio Canada had a broadcast station and people were lining up for a chance to say something. I wasn’t too interested, so wandered into a cafe (French style with beer) where everyone was speaking French almost made me forget I was in English-speaking Vancouver. Another line-up though, so since I wasn’t hungry, I headed over to Atlantic House, with hopes that the east coast might be a bit more stimulating than the two previous houses.
I knew I was close when I could hear the music – a fiddle playing and the sounds of feet stamping about a stage floor. This was more like it and I decided it might be worth waiting in line this time. This area had two or three spaces, the exhibit – food sample hall, the entertainment hall and the beer room. Since the exhibit hall was closing early for a special event with guests such as Mischa Grugergossman, I wanted to make sure I got in. The line moved quickly and I got a taste of beer – Alexander Keith – a package of King Cole tea, a yummy cake of some sort and little cups of candies. The people were your usual friendly and smiling east coasters, cracking jokes and inviting everyone to come for a visit.

I discovered I had just missed a performance and the next one wasn’t for another 90 minutes, so headed into the market. Flowers and food were overflowing, and the crowded market was a lively spot full of colours and scents. First stop JJ Bean. Now if you have never had a JJ Bean coffee, well you are missing something special, especially if you like a full robust flavour in your java. Grabbed a couple of bags of beans to split up as gifts for friends back home – yes Tom, I got you some – and for my purchase I got a free hot steaming cup to drink. Oh, the aroma! Next stop – flowers – to get some fresh tulips for Margaret’s place. After spending 10 days in Hawaii tulips might be a little tame, but there were lovely bright colours, so I bought some orange and yellow parrot tulips that were just that little bit more exotic. So the picture isn't the tulips, but the most interesting flower I have seen - it's a banana flower and grows wild in the Philipines, but you can get it here for a mere $49.99. 

A little peckish, I made a stop at the food court – lots to choose from and although I just wanted something light to take away, I had to stop at the Ukrainian food booth – pyrohy (perogies) and kobassa and all sorts of other yummies – I loved the menu board – it said it all and then I laughed at how Canadian this was – the people in the kictchen and serving were definitely not Uky – although perhaps long ago ancestry from the Mongolians may have had a connection – but I suspect not. This was a family of Asians preparing Ukrainian food! In case you are wondering, I did not buy this but settled on sushi from the spot next door. This is BC after all, with fresh fish and I wanted to get my fill while I was here.
It’s easy to spend a long time in the market, admiring the displays, comparing prices between stalls and of course wandering through the artisan’s booths. Picked up some postcards, and a couple of other little gifts and headed back to Atlantic House. By this time it was pouring rain and the line-up was long and I was tired, so decided to head back to Steveston. I had seen lots and it would soon be dinnertime for the dogs anyhow.

I headed over to Larraine’s after Thursday’s shift. Larraine was taking Friday off and she and Scott (her son) were taking Emily (her granddaughter) to see some of the venues on Friday. Planning an early start to beat the crowds, we started off at one of the larger venues, with GE Place (home of the hockey games), Molson Hockey House (an exclusive venue for those with deep pockets), the Ontario, Quebec and Saskatchewan Houses. It was raining but that had not deterred anyone by the looks of it. The US-Finland game was on and we got caught up in the throngs of people heading to GE place. Scalpers galore and many people holding little signs saying “Tickets wanted”, it was amazing to feel the energy and the buzz – whoever won this game would play Canada (of course we knew Canada would win the semi-final later that day!) I overheard one scalper say he had sold 20 tickets so was feeling flush. Someone asked how much he was asking for one seat and he said between $400 and $1000 depending on the ticket. Who carries around that kind of cash? We weren’t buying, so we moved on.
Ontario was first as we had heard it was a great pavillion, but the line-up was horrific – ant least a 90 minute wait (in the pouring rain). Quebec House wasn’t open until 1230, so off to Saskatchewan we went. Shorter line and free samples of yogourt-covered lentils snacks, but the most exciting part was the feet of the duck on the roof dome. The pavilion was in a huge white balloon –like tent and there was a duck walking across the top – the webbed feet were comical to see and a great photo. Needless and sad to say, this was probably the highlight of this pavilion. So far none of the houses I had been to measured up to Canada North.

Ontario line was now 2 hours waiting time and Quebec still closed so we wandered away from this area, with a minor detour to the water. Across the way we could see the athlete’s Village, with the massive food tent and on our side of the water some very enterprising person(s?) had created their very own little village of Inukshuit, along the banks.

We headed over toward downtown and stopped for lunch at Frenchies, a cute little Quebecois diner style resto. Although we hadn’t made it into Quebec house, we managed to get the flavour, ordering steamies and poutine, we ate up and fortified ourselves to mingle with the crowds once again.

Live City downtown was packed, so we passed as there was nothing worth lining up for there and headed to Aboriginal House. Another line-up – poor Emily – we despaired whether she would get to see much of anything today! But a nice woman told us about a spot down the road that was exhibits and booths of aboriginal crafts and foods that had no line-up. Yay! And when we walked in they gave a us a pin – finally a memento from one of our stops. Mostly art and crafts, prices were a little high and we bought nothing, but enjoyed the view. Of course, I fell in love with the tree outside and its fabulous white blossoms.
Off to Robson Square and it was time for me to leave my friends while they explored more of the venues and I headed in to work. It was pretty exciting at the airport – busy and lots of performances planned to entertain the masses. They were beginning to get ready for the masses of visitors coming and going over the next week.