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.