Olympic City 2

People laugh about the cauldron leg that failed to rise during the Opening Ceremonies but they come to gaze at the cauldron burning outside against an ocean and mountain backdrop. Those rings are floating almost a mile away out in the harbour.



Meanwhile, the friendly, almost exhilerated crowds wander the downtown streets, to take in the pavilion exhibits, the free concerts, entertainment and amazing people-watching!

Adrenalin is pumping in Vancouver. At night, the party continues into the wee hours!

Olympic City

It's been a full week since the Good Fairy of the North smiled on Vancouver. She gave us a symbol of light and put the spirit of joy in our hearts.

Yeah -yeah, you don't believe that for a minute. But you would believe, if you were here. Vancouverites believe.


I have lived here for over twenty years and have never seen so many smiles, heard so many cheers and been part of such a truly momentous party. Canadian patriotism and pride are front and centre. Red and white is the new black. Everywhere you go, there is amazing people energy and camaraderie. Russians party with Americans. Brits party with the Irish. It's a sight to behold.

While the determined, the wealthy and connected go about the business of observing world-class competition, the rest of us are enjoying every minute of day and night, free entertainment, the almost unprecedented cultural outpouring(probably nothing like it in Canada since Expo'67), the food, drink and all round fun. People need to pace themselves as this party is only halfway done.

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If you can, come to Vancouver NOW. Seat yourself in a sunny sidewalk cafe. These are the "spring olympics". All at the same moment, you will feel just too cool on the outside as you feel something wonderfully warm on the inside.

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It's not too late. Come to Vancouver and feel it for yourself!

Welcome World !

Vancouver is ready. I am ready. Only hours to go before the Opening Ceremonies and the Olympic Torch Relay is winding it's way towards the stadium through cheering crowds on Vancouver's streets.

Last night, I joined thousands of people at one of the LiveCity public plazas to see the torch finally arrive in Vancouver. And incidentally, the runner who passed us with a huge, happy grin on his face was Vancouver's own, Michael Buble. It was Day 105 on the longest torch run in Olympic history. Over 45,000 kms. from sea to sea to sea. The torch has been passed through the loving and excited hands of more than 12,000 runners. I actually got to hold one in my own hands.

Wandering the streets afterwards, it was impossible not to be thrilled at the international flavor of the crowds - the athletes are from over 80 nations - and the sounds of celebration everywhere. New and dramatic art installations literally light the night sky. Twenty 10,000 watt searchlights, mounted along several downtown shorelines, are controlled by people logging onto the internet at Vectorial Vancouver and suggesting where the lights should shine.

We came to a stone inukshuk that originally stood before the Northwest Territories Pavilion at Vancouver's other world party, Expo '86. Despite considerable local controversy, a stylized inukshuk was chosen almost seven years ago as the logo for Vancouver's Oympic Games. Some people didn't think that it was West Coast enough. The organizers replied that the Inuit people stack rocks in human form as a symbol of hope and friendship. The organizers said that they wanted these to be Canada's Games.

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Along the way, millions of Canadians embraced the Olympic torch and fell in love with one piece of Olympic merchandising - red mittens - like your grandma might have knitted. Well, last night, we saw that someone unofficial has added grandma's mittens to a stone creature that used to look kind of forbidding.

The Vancouver Olympics have coined several successful catchphrases. They have used "with glowing hearts", some evocative words from our national anthem. TV ads have been asking Canadians for months "Do you believe?" My own feeling is Yes, maybe belatedly, we do believe.

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The newest slogan features celebrity British Columbians like Michael J. Fox, Sarah McLaughlin and Ryan Reynolds telling the world - "You just gotta be here."

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I hope you will be - maybe now on your living room TV and someday soon on your next vacation. You really should see this beautiful place for yourself.

Welcome World !

Back to the beach...

Day after tomorrow, it's an early morning flight to Puerto Vallarta. I know from experience that a good book, walks on the beach and tequilas by the pool will take precedence over my fiddly notebook computer and a WIFI signal that seems to waft on the breeze.

I will leave you with something to entertain you for many hours. It's the latest year-end List of Lists , compiled by Rex Sorgatz on fimoculous.com. Sorry no sound of the waves and warning: may not be hangover-free.

Talk to you from Mexico :)

Top Ten Blog Posts

I've been blogging for just over a year now and I want to thank you for reading! A special thanks to those of you who commented. Your remarks and my little old "statscounter" give me a real insight into what you would like to see and read. Sometimes it surprises me - a lot of you looked at my post on the life and death of architect Arthur Erickson. A lot of posts largely made up of my own photography seemed to grab your attention. That tells me to keep the blog personal.

Here are my Top Ten Blog Posts of 2009:

10. Who knew that our trip to Tofino would capture your attention? Obviously, the secret is out.
9. Glad you liked my tip off that Google Earth now shows you beautiful Vancouver in 3 D.
8. As an innkeeper, I just had to get the stifling subject of nestled over-coziness off my chest!
7. Then, I took the guest perspective on common apprehensions about B & Bs.
6. I tried to look at all sides and the pros and cons of online reviews.
5. Five ways to avoid bed and breakfast burnout spoke for itself.
4. So did the top 5 reasons to open a bed and breakfast.
3. The most popular of my professional insider posts was about loving people.
2. A video review of Nelson House B & B was not only an Editor's Pick on tripfilms.com but the most watched Vancouver video there! This is the youtube version of it in a bigger screen.
1. My many posts on a local's view of the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Games drew the most hits by far. This post is just a sneak peak of what is coming!

Love to hear from you. David.

Vancouver Olympics. No pain, no gain?

Public events during the imminent Vancouver Olympic Games will include free entertainment, large screen live coverage, family food and drink at two downtown locations. One is a disused parking lot owned by the city. Unfortunately, the other is one of the most important urban green spaces in Vancouver. David Lam Park, in the Yaletown-False Creek neighbourhood, has been closed for conversion into a so-called LiveCity Olympic venue.

Security cameras are up. Construction fences have walled off adjacent children's play grounds, public tennis courts, gardens, benches etc. Workers are laying paving bricks over acres of the former lawns to create this Olympic plaza. According to this signboard, it will be almost eight months in total before the park is returned to the citizens of Vancouver.

Happy Holidays!

Happy Holidays to all and to all a good night!

Vancouver Olympics. Under the Big Top.

Critics refer to the Olympics as the five ring circus. Certainly, here in Vancouver, Olympic preparations involve hoisting a lot of white canvas tents. Pictured above is BC Place Stadium, which has just been closed to the public(and professional football) to fit it up for the Opening and Closing Ceremonies. As I walked by the tent structure in the foreground, I could hear rehearsals underway.

That's the Olympic Village in the distance. It was turned over to VANOC just last month to prep it for the arrival of the athletes.

All of this area is rapidly being fenced off and fitted up with security cameras. The City promises to remove all the video cameras from public areas after the Games. We shall see. Until then, they will see....

It surprises Olympic newbies to learn that a lot of money is being spent on temporary international, national, provincial, native people's and corporate pavilions. Sort of a world's fair for the rich and something to do if you couldn't get actual Olympic tickets.

Here, a storefront in the upscale Heritage District of downtown, is being converted to displays by Canada's Northwest Territories, Yukon and Nunavut.

Across False Creek, Vancouver's Science World & Imax Theatre(the big silver ball) has been leased in its entirety to the Russian government to show off the next winter games in Sochi in 2014.

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But the biggest pavilion of them all is Molson Canadian Hockey House. It will not fit in one camera shot. Just try to picture an 81,000 square foot rectangular, white canvas tent, surrounded by acres of asphalt. At $15,000,000, it is the largest, temporary, freestanding pavilion ever built in Canada. Like at the Super Bowl or a Formula One event, entry to the Big Tent will not come cheaply. Tickets ranging from $99 for a half-day in the "fan zone" to $8700 for 17 days access to an executive lounge area with catering by the renowned chef, Wolfgang Puck, first rate music and comedy performances, a chance to meet the Who's Who of NHL and world hockey and all the beer you can drink. Molsons is planning for the consumption of over 350,000 cans of beer.

***They better have portapotties!

Vancouver - something happening...

The 2010 Winter Olympics is not without local controversy. On the other hand, there is no denying locals' growing interest and excitement. The world has been invited and there is now no doubt that we need to rise to the occasion - this very big occasion!

Nelson House - Clean, Green B & B

It's great to tell you that this week we have installed an amazing Energy Star qualified, high efficiency gas furnace AND an air filtration system that removes 99.98% of all allergens from the House' air - even the flu virus!

Our bed and breakfast's long journey towards energy conservation and a more healthy living environment is finished - at least for 2009. Blog posts from March, April and September reported on the history of this century-old home's construction and our earlier insulation and eco-renovation efforts.

The culmination of this year-long project is a new central heating system that holds the highest energy efficiency rating of 96.7 per cent. I am told that the old gas furnace was lucky if it converted 60% of the fuel burned into usable heat for the house. Where did the rest go? Into the atmosphere. Oh, global warming. Oh, major fuel bills. No more! We have now lowered our thermostat settings as much as 5 degrees F. and the interior of the House - all of it- is warm, dry and toasty like never before! The variable-speed DC fan motor even uses less electricity while it accomplishes this minor miracle.

Better yet, the air flowing through the B & B, whether heated in winter or simply circulated for mild summer cooling, is now cleaned to 8 times the hospital standard achieved by conventional HEPA filters and 100 times the purity of air blown through the old one-inch thick furnace filters. All of the common triggers for asthma and allergies have been removed. Dust, pollen, spores, even bacteria and viruses of .1 microns or more are now gone.

This is a system that every home should have for the sake of family health. It is a system that my family has fallen in love with after only a few damp, frosty Vancouver nights. I know our bed and breakfast guests will love it too!

If you are mulling over home energy or interior air quality improvements, please feel free to contact me for the manufacturer and contractor's details.