We left before 11:00 am yesterday with no plan, and got back at nearly midnight. Great day, some good fortune on our choices. Lines, but we expected them . . . longest was dinner.
Quick List and Feedback:
1) First Nations Pavilion: Hit it first as it opened at 10 and was close. Glad we did . . . not sure we would have made it in if we'd been much later, as someone commented earlier. GREAT show. Interesting children's traditional dances with cute explanations by one of the older musicians, followed by two modern first nation's performers . . . a rap-like performance with first nation's twist (sounds surprising but they were quite good) and a pop artist (who was incredibly talented and had a real professional demeanor). Her name is Inez Jasper, and I was so impressed I searched and found this article when we got home:
http://www.firstnationsdrum.com/2008/july/index.html
I would highly recommend the pavilion, but with a caveat. I got the sense that each day might feature another region of tribes so I'm not sure anyone would see what we did. Still, it was interesting and real. Live performances, and learned a bit about another culture as well.
2) Stopped in front of Canada Post and watched the snowboard trampoline show. Cute public space moment . . . more entertaining than I expected. The three snowboarders were really good - both on executing the flips and twists on their snowboards as well as interacting with the crowd. Lots of smiling faces . . . plus the sun had come out by then.
3) Skipped by the Downtown Live Site - line looked daunting and we saw the Yaletown Livesite on Thursday night for the torch ceremony. Ended up instead at the Provincial pavilions down by False Creek. Waited for the Ontario "4D" movie. It was brief and touristy, but entertaining. Didn't think we could manage another long line by the time we finished (maybe 2:30 or so by then).
4) All the other lines were daunting at that point (maybe 2:30 or so by then) so we walked along the seawall instead. People everywhere . . . happy crowds. Ate a hotdog from a stand in Yaletown. Sat and just watched the people a bit.
5) Decided to keep on . . . day was too nice for a break. Waited in line for Aquabus to Granville Island, which moved faster than we expected. Got to Granville Island, and just wandered around people watching and athlete spotting. Wandered to the Place de la Francophonie area. Fun time. Saw an intriguing "Cirque-like" performance above our heads - trapeze artist peforming while a "drum corps" played - all 10 of them balanced on a floating mobile configuration lifted and moved around continuously by a large crane. We ate a couple of crepes, then watched a really impressive Quebec performer - Pierre Lapointe. The whole band was good, and nice vibe of energy from the sizable crowd. Definitely recommend taking in a performance there.
6) After the show, wandered back into the heart of the market area. Dark by then (possibly 7:30 or so). Decided to just eat out at the Swiss House (knowing it was essentially a restaurant anyhow). LONG line, but fun crowd. I think we waited over an hour to get seated. Atmosphere incredible and 3 large visible flat-screens to take in the pairs skating and moguls. Place broke into O Canada once
. People weren't glued to the TVs, but always took note when they re-played the now famous mogul run
. We ordered from their "suisse" menu, splitting a cold cut and cheese tray, and a ham and arugula pizza. Lots of folks were getting the fondues which looked great so we did spring for a chocolate and fruit dessert fondue. More food than we really needed, but splitting everything kept the cost reasonable. And it was fun, allowing us to stick around and take in the Olympics in a warm atmosphere.
7) Took Olympic Line and then Canada Line to get downtown just in time to see the light show at packed BC Place right at 11:00 pm. Then wandered home and spent the next hour just seeing all the images on TV and web of all we missed in other parts of town. Insane energy all over the city yesterday from the looks of it, and we only saw one slice of it.
All I can say is WOW! Great Day! Vancouver looked and felt incredible. I'm glad the world got to see it shine, literally and figuratively, all day.
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I was invited to go on a 160' yacht with 4 decks, the "After Eight".
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