Hockey Team Canada Wins GOLD!!!

I was on the toilet ........when I took this photo! haha, not when I was watching the gold medal game!

I ended up at a random Greek restaurant with one television shared with at least a hundred other people! We were lucky to find a seat in a warm place, as every bar in the city had lineups that morning started as early as 8am. We wandered many parts of the downtown core, to find nothing. Every bar was at capacity by 10:00am! The game started at Noon, and we were very lucky to stumble upon Kalypsos Greek Restaurant on Robson. (P.s. DO NOT EAT THERE--- terrible food!) But, it will forever have a sweet spot in my heart for this amazing Hockey Game! WOOO-HOOO!!! The streets downtown were a crazy place to be, and if you like feeling like a sardine it's exactly where you want to be. It was hilarious, and a once in a lifetime experience!




Of all the gold medals won by Canada at the Winter Olympics, the last may have been the most important. The big game lived up to the hype, thank GOD!  I was worried our city would erupt into terrible chaos and madness if we lost against the Americans. I have no nails left because of the game, but man was it an exciting way to win!! If you didn't watch the game, we went into overtime to beat the US and won the gold medal in men's hockey at the 2010 Winter Games!  (ALSO THE WOMAN'S HOCKEY TEAM WON GOLD TOO!! I need to keep cheeering- forever! WOOOOOOooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!! I've never been more happy in my life about a hockey game. It was a MAJOR  first today, not just for me, but for all Canadians!  It was tear-jerking, happy day. I wish I had something better than exclamations marks to show my excitement!

All in all, it was a fitting end to the Vancouver Olympics for Team Canada which won a record-breaking 14 gold medals during the Games! We made history today, and I was extremely proud to be Canadian.  CA-NA-DA, CA-NA-DA!  Downtown Vancouver after this victory was nothing I could ever explain into words! You would get chills if you were here today. It was FAN-FREAKIN-TASTIC!!! I wouldn't have wanted to be anywhere else in the world. People were high fivin' every person they walked by, and screaming so loudly you could barely hear yourself think. I spent the aftermath with my good friend Katie, and was glad to have her there with me :) 

I HEART CANADA

Quebec House

I had yet to check out the Quebec House as there is only one day left of the Games, so I thought I would today.  I did this one especially for the Blog. I probably wouldn't have gone there otherwise. There was no lineup, which made me think before I even went in, it would be a bust! I hadn't heard very good things about it, so didn't have very high expectations! We walked in and were immediately disappointed.  There wasn't anything to look at or eat. Boooo!  Here is my photo. This blog is boring. The Quebec House was boring. Maybe it was bad timing?!?  That's that. Another first down the drain!

The structure does look quite interesting at night though! It's a brilliant glowing blue color, and from far away looks quite intriguing. I took this photo the night I went to Ontario House..... 

One more day left of the Olympics. So sad!! What am I going to do now for my Blog? This was so easy to find something new everyday. Gold Medal Hockey Game, here we come!!!!!!!

Hand Grenades

We made it to the GOLD MEDAL GAME!!!! wooooot wooooooot! This is the first time I've cared about hockey in the Olympics, and WOW what a great game against Slovakia! It was an exciting game for all Canadians! Now, we better win the Gold Medal!!  My friend Mike's expression on his face, is exactly how EVERYONE was feeling for 2 hours watching the game...

I was sitting with five other guys, watching the game and each period we had a "hand grenade" which I've never tried, but sounded a bit scary! You get the usual amount of red bull in a tumbler, then balance 1 shot tequila and 1 shot jager in the tumbler (they should be  too big to fall into the glass and balance). Pull the pin (tequila) and down it, the jaeger will fall into the tumbler and then you continue with the normal jager bomb.  Yup, sounds dangerous? It was. .... the rest is history!

It's fun to watch hockey with boys!! They drink a lot, grunt a lot, cheer a lot, and jump up and down and high five a lot when our team scores!  It's really good fun :)



GO CANADA GOOO!!! Gold Medal here we come :)

Sochi House

My mom and I went to the Sochi (Russia) House today and sadly the best part of it was the bathroom stall posters! We had the most laughs, and the most fun the first 5 minutes we were taking a pee!  This isn't even part of the Russian exhibit, it is part of the Science World stuff that is normally there every day! But, if you want to learn something new about farts or poo, read the photos!

We waited for 2.5 hours to get in! I told myself I wouldn't wait that that long for anything Olympic related as it was crazy. But, after one hour passed we were committed to the process of waiting. Argh.  We learned as we got closer to the front of the lineup, that the President of the IOC (International Olympic Committee) was coming to the Sochi House today and that he would be having some sort of "meeting" up on the second floor. They cleared out the top floor, and weren't letting anyone else in!  Booooooooooooooo, to Jacque Rogge. I got a pretty sweet video of him coming in to the building, but it takes so long to upload them, I will post a photo they put on the Russia Sichi 2014 website here instead.

At least he was dancing and having a blast with the Russian ladies, while we were lining up outside for twice as long as normal. It was a bad day to come to the Sochi House, however it was kind of cool to see this guy in the flesh and blood. As he finally left an hour later, he got booed when he came out.  I did feel kind of bad as I booed along with everyone else, but he could have come to the Sochi House at any point, and even after hours!















As we were inside my Mom noticed someone getting their photo taken by many people. Being the curious lady she is, she ran over to the people and realized it was Eric Roberts! (Julia Roberts brother-incase you didn't know) and she got a great photo of him! He was looking pretty haggard and run down, but it was him! I wish I could've seen him when he was young! damn!  Either way, it was pretty sweet!  The only thing really Russian, were the singer/dancers! They were ok, but I got bored of it quite quickly. It was very fun few hours, and worth every hour we waited:)

Olympic Quarter Finals in Vancouver~ home city!

There is something about Team Canada playing in the 2010 Canadian Olympics in Vancouver where I currently live. It's exciting! The city is bustling and jumping and freaking out over every medal we get! I have never experienced the Olympics like this and honestly I could've cared less about it in previous years. It's here in Vancouver, and damn, I am proud of it all! It's one of the best life experiences and for people who are "anti-Olympics" well I feel sorry for them. They are missing out on a once in a lifetime opportunity! Go Canada Go! We won 4 medals today, and ALL by woman! That in itself is incredible.

However, how about that amazing game against Russia and Canada tonight?!? It was just that: amazing. I am not normally a huge fan of hockey, and you wouldn't normally catch me watching it during the NHL Season. This is the first time in my life I've been so excited about hockey! I've seen playoff games during The NHL Season, (don't get me wrong they are definitely exciting) but it's not quite the same as an Olympic Hockey Game, in your own city! I watched the game in a Pub called "Jimmy's Tap House" just a block away from where the LIVE game was taking place and the crowd was insane!! You can't even explain the noise that bubbled out of this place when we scored 3 goals in 10 minutes!!! It was indescribable. It game me chills ......

I will post a video tomorrow of the crowd, but for now, it's time for bed. Olympic Hockey is exciting! I can't wait for the Semi-Final game on Friday: Canada vs Slovakia!!! This city will be a CRAZY CRAZY Place if we win!

Olympic Flame

The Olympic Flame is a symbol of the Olympic Games. Commemorating the theft of fire from the Greek god Zeus by Prometheus, its origins lie in ancient Greece, where a fire was kept burning throughout the celebration of the ancient Olympics. The fire was reintroduced at the 1928 Summer Olympics in Amsterdam, and it has been part of the modern Olympic Games ever since. (wiki)

For the Vancouver 2010 Olympics, the flame was lit in Olympia on October 22, 2009.  It then traveled from Greece, over the North Pole to Canada's High Arctic and on to the West Coast and Vancouver. The relay started its long Canada journey from the British Columbia capital of Victoria. In Canada, the torch traveled approximately 45,000 kilometers over 106 days, making it the longest relay route within one country in Olympic history. The Olympic Torch was carried by approximately 12,000 Canadians and reached over 1,000 communities. 

It now sits in the downtown Vancouver harbour front area, with a massive fenced gate around it. There was much complaining about this, so VANOC moved the gate closer to the flame . They've added some plexi glass so people can get decent photos of the flame without an ugly fence in the way. Our experience lasted about 5 minutes as there really isn't much to see. You take a photo, you say an OHHH and an AHHHH, and that's that. But, how many people can say they've seen the official Olympic Torch? Not many.   Good times! 

Time makes the heart grow fonder

Today Matt comes home!! I know, this is not the first time he's come home, and it's not the first time he's been away from home, but it is the  first time we've been apart for more than 4 weeks! I believe it was 31 days in total; I will pick him up at the airport tonight around 11:30pm.

I don't think anyone is even reading this Blog anymore. If you are, leave a comment! Is this considered a first? I'm going to say YES, because I really wasn't able to do anything else today, but WAIT. Wait patiently for him to come home. I watched "Love Actually" and cleaned, and did laundry, and cleaned out shelves, and even dusted while waiting for him to be home.  I didn't think I'd miss him as much as I did.  At least I kept busy doing all sorts of Olympic adventures as you can read about in my previous Blogs.

We've been planning our wedding over the internet for the last month, so it will be lovely to actually talk about it in person.  It's still more than a year away, so I've realized I had to chill out a bit, and wait until the date gets a bit closer to really start planning too much.

Not much else to write about; time really does make the heart grow fonder!

xoxox

Ignite the Dream - Light Show

Tonight was the first night I watched this show Ignite the Dream from start to finish. It goes on every night (2 shows a night) downtown in Robson Square, during the duration of the Olympics. This is not my video, but this one captured it far better than mine did. Just imagine being way down in the depths of crowds of people, looking up at the lights that surround you. It's quite amazing. I'm not the type of

person who normally appreciates fireworks but this was really quite fun! You'll have to go and check it out for yourself, because videos and photos cannot capture what this show has to offer! The only thing that could have been improved was the feeling of being trapped in a can of sardines. There were so many people, it could make you feel quite claustrophobic. I do not suggest you go into the crowds of people unless you can handle this. It's not for everyone. 

Go HERE to read more about the show! ... "With a sophisticated rig of automated luminaires, LEDs pyrotechnics, lasers, projected images, and performers on zip lines high above the ground, Ignite The Dream is produced by Partrick Roberge Productions, with lighting design by Electric Aura Projects, and lighting gear supplied by Christie Lites and Epic Production Technologies."

Go Canada Go! 

Urban Barn Lounge Night

Urban Barn is one of my favourite stores in Vancouver. Every time I pass by, I linger and walk a little slower just to check out the window displays. I would furnish my entire apartment with everything in this store if I had the money. Go here to check out the website and all the beautiful items for your home.

Tonight, we stumbled across my favourite store, and realized that it had transformed into a lounge/bar. It was quite strange, so we wandered in to listen to the music, play fuse ball and use the facilities. They called it "Urban Barn Lounge Night" featuring DJ Case spinning deep, sexy lounge and house music. This place is supposed to be a furniture place, not a lounge. WTF?  So, I'm going to call this my first for today, mainly because I've never partied, and danced after hours in a furniture store!! It was awesome.

Another weird but interesting thing about this place (that I found out after I left) is a guy named Robbie is staying/living in the Urban Barn for the duration of the Olympics. A shower was installed for him, but he will not leave the place for 17 days. I don't really know why he's doing it but it's a crazy, fun idea so why the heck not?! Go here to watch live webcams of the guy in the store! Maybe you will find him sleeping if you look close enough? I tried, but couldn't find him. I will check it out tomorrow during the day to see what's going on. You should too! You might see me :) Check out this article written by the Vancouver Sun to find out all the details: article

Toodles

Heineken House

My mom and I went to the Heineken House today for the Olympics! Woo-hoo! I've been wanting to go here for a week now, but didn't want to mission out all the way out to Richmond at night time and not get in. The lineups are ridiculous in most Olympic Pavilions. We went during the day around 11am. My mom is a Dutch Passport holder, so we went ahead of everyone in the line! Saawwwwweeeettt! Since the colors of the flag are orange, white and blue the majority of the colors inside were a bright orange. It was wicked.

Once you get inside there are some fun interactive games to play. You can ride a race car at top speeds, you can hop in a bobsled and race on a track, you can put on a snowboard and race down a hill, you can get your lungs tested to see how healthy there are, and you can get your body fat percentage tested. All these games are done via digital media of some kind.

Of course, there is also Heineken beer available. It was too early for this though, so we drank water. Yes, I know we are exciting!The highlight of the day for me, was eating croquettes. MMmmmm... (wiki) Whereas previously the dish was regarded as a French cuisine delicacy of varying meat or vegetable content, in the 1800s it became a way to use up leftover stewed meat. After World War II, several suppliers started mass-producing croquettes filled with beef. The croquette subsequently became even more popular as a fast food; a deep fried meat ragout covered in breadcrumbs. Its success as a fast food garnered its reputation as a cheap dish of dubious quality, to such an extent that Dutch urban myths relate its allegedly mysterious content to offal and butchering waste. The "kroket" is even so popular that it is sold at Mc Donalds.

Heineken House was definitely worth the trek to get to!

Ontario House

My friend Katie and I went to the Ontario house for the first time today. We got there around 8:30pm, so I didn't have very high hopes of getting in, as most Olympic Venues are packed by this point in the evening. We decided to try anyways and we got in after about an hour and a half wait. The time went by very quickly as I had great company:)



My first impressions of the Ontario House was that it just looked like any other bar in Vancouver. (boring!) I've only ever been to Toronto once in my life, and it was more than 10 years ago so I don't recall anything about Ontario. Does it have culture or anything interesting about it? If they do, the house did not display this at all. It wasn't anything special (ok maybe a few pretty pink and purple glowing lights). They had some kind of art installation titled "Waterfall" made of recycled bottles on a far back wall from floor to ceiling. (see photo above) It was somewhat interesting and the light passed through the bottles in a unique way. Go here if you'd like to read more about it: Waterfall

Jully Black was performing, and we were thrilled, but not jumping up and down in our shoes by any means. We've heard of her, and knew of some of her hit songs from the radio like "Running" and "Seven Day Fool" and "Until I Stay". 

Here's an interesting story about her a few years back:  "In summer 2005, a newly recorded album, This Is Me, was released by Universal Music Canada. According to a piracy report by IFPI, the international music industry body, there were "2.8 million illegal file swapping requests for her music in the first two weeks of her album's release in 2005". At the same time, Black reportedly "struggled to sell 15,000 copies of the same album".  Isn't that sad? Artists these days must have a tough time making money, as it's very simple to download any music you want for free. 

I always become more of a fan, when I see a musical artist perform LIVE. I really loved her; her energy, her spunk and her shoes! (how did she walk in those things?) She really got the crowd moving and singing and dancing! There's something about a live show, that really makes me love music; music in any form. I came into the show with no expectations, and left a happy Jully Black fan!  Check out some of the videos I took. The videos are terrible, and shaky, but you can get a feel for the music and appreciate how talented she is!

Victory Ceremonies/ Paul Brandt

This morning, my mom got last minute tickets for the Victory Ceremonies. We knew that Maelle Ricker had won the gold medal (the second gold medal overall) for a Snowboarder Cross Event that day, and the medal would be given out that night at BC Place. My mom's a volunteer at the Olympic Village so she has "special" access to leftover tickets. This was exciting! We showed up at 6:30pm and had the most amazing seats! Third row to the front of the stage; we could have practically touched the athletes as they came on the stage. I took no photos from this point, unfortunately. Soon after we sat down, we were approached by some "official" person who offered us floor/stage seats to switch the Gold Medalists mother! How could we possibly say no to that? We watched the majority of the show back about 20 rows which were Maelle's mother's seats originally (still awesome seats) and then went up to the stage area to watch Paul Brandt perform. Back in my country-listening-days, I used to really love him, so it was a blast from the past and he played a few songs that I recognized.

The crowd was filled with so much red, it was amazing!  Even after we traded seats you can see how close up we still were. Last-minute tickets, worth every penny. I heard some people saying they paid 50-$100 for their tickets. Thanks Mom, for hooking us up!

The view was quite remarkable, and definitely an experience I will never forget. My mom had an interesting first today, too. She'd never been this close to a live-band in her life in a stadium this large. (we were very close!) So, she was quite taken aback by all of it. It was really cute watching her wave her flag back and forth as Paul Brandt sang. I was very happy to experience this evening with my two favorite people in the world. Love you guys!

Yay to experiencing new things! The olympics have been amazing thus far, and it's only been a week, one more week of firsts to go!

Here's a little video of the evening:

Bell Ice Cube/Hockey on the Street

I went to yet another Olympic Venue. The city is covered with random things to do, and see. Today, for the first time, I checked out the unique high-tech design of Bell Ice Cube. It provides visitors an opportunity to view ceremonies and competitions on multiple plasma screens in high definition Bell TV. During the Opening and Closing Ceremonies and during major sporting events, visitors will be able to watch the magic on a large projection screen. As you walk in, you are given a new, decent pair of Bell headphones ( I heart free things) to hook up to random plugs inside the Cube. It is cold as ice inside the building, as expected, and is quite visually appealing. There are hanging cube shaped lights on a wire, glowing tv stands, and blue ice lights to light up the space. Apparently you can see live Music here at times during the day and can watch interviews with Athletes. (we missed this bit).

We walked in to the Bell Ice Cube, just as Canada officially won the first Hockey game against Norway.... wooo-hooo!

Speaking of Hockey: We witnessed an awesome random Hockey Game today on the busy streets of Granville, downtown Vancouver! This is definitely a first! If the Olympics weren't going on, you would never see this happen. . . . . .

Olympic Torch

The lineups for LiveCity Yaletown (Van Olympics Live Music and Coke Pavillion) is always nuts. I was afraid to check it out, as I'd heard rumors of hour long waits.  Today I went for the first time with a bunch of kids during the day and it wasn't bad at all. The lineup looks daunting from afar but we got in almost right away- as soon as the Venue opened for the day!

It was a perfect time of day to go, (11am opening) if you aren't interested in seeing the live music, but wanting to check out the other more interactive, family friendly things to do inside. (I will definitely go back to check out some live music there though)

Once inside the Yaletown Olympic Venue, the lineups continue.   If you go early enough to an event, it's really not that bad. We didn't wait very long at all, and got into the Coca Cola Pavillion within 15 minutes. It is full of interactive games, free Coke products, chances to win prizes, glowing lights, and Polar Bear "Wii" style games. It was great fun with a bunch of kids! The best part of it, was that we each got to hold one of the Olympic Torches and get our photo taken with it. This was my first Vancouver Olympic Torch experience!

I heart the Olympics!!!

Yahoo! Fancouver

My mom and I were wandering the downtown core, as there is much to do, see and be entertained for hours. Even just people-watching is enough to keep you entertained for quite some time-- It's really awesome to live in Vancouver for the Olympics!

We passed by this small building in Yale town, that was labelled Yahoo! Fancouver and it was the first time I'd even heard or seen this place. We were cold, so we went in! Here is a blurb about it :

It will keep fans on top of the action with a games-dedicated website featuring award-winning writers, a new Olympic mobile site, a custom-designed broadcast studio in Vancouver, and an entertainment center, FanCouver, where fans attending the games can participate in Yahoo! events and promotions.

Yahoo! Turns Vancouver Into FanCouver

On opening day of the games, Yahoo! will unveil FanCouver, an entertainment center where all fans can go to enjoy:

* Live video streaming with “Fan-Cam”
* Free WiFi lounge
* Free hot cocoa bar
* Photo booth
* Pin giveaway, a tradition at the Games
* Appearances by athletes
* Games and giveways

We went fairly late at night, so did not experience the free cocoa, or free pin giveaway, or athletes, however it was a cool spot to experience some of the interesting technology and a great to warm the fingers from spending hours outside. You can play the Wii, get your photo taken and put up on the Olympics Flickr Site, check your email, and get your photo taken in front of the YOU. Good times had by all! 

Ashley McIsaac

Today, I waited in line for one hour, and then another 4 hours after that, to see Ashley McIsaac (for the first time) perform at the Atlantic House (Granville Island) for the 2010 Olympic Games Live Music. It didn't cost anything to get in to this place, but we paid for drinks, and food while waiting. It was well worth it, as he put on a really high energy, wicked show! The crowd was rambunctious, dramatic, emotional and rowdy-- which made it more entertaining and fun! I got in to a few arguments with random people, and felt the urge to speak my mind. I met some lovely people in the crowd , and some not so lovely people. Overall, it was a very pleasant night, and would do it again in a heart beat.

(wikipedia) Ashley Dwayne MacIsaac (born February 24, 1975 in Creignish, Nova Scotia) is a Canadian professionalfiddler from Cape Breton Island.

While MacIsaac's fiddle-playing is traditional, he often sets it in contemporary rock songs with hip hop and dance elements. He has, however, also released several albums of more traditional folk music. Unlike most other violinists who are left-handed, he actually plays a right-handed fiddle (with the string order unaltered). His major mainstream success in Canada was his 1995 album Hi™ How Are You Today?, featuring the hit single "Sleepy Maggie", with vocals in Scottish Gaelic by Mary Jane Lamond. 

Here's one of the many wicked videos of the night. It's a bit rocky, but you get the idea. This one's for you Matty!  As you can see, he is extremely talented! Go see a new band/artist for the first time!!