Pizza Bianca from Terra Breads, the Farmhouse‘s fresh Chevre Provence goat cheese from Capers, fresh fruit from the Granville Public Market… these are some of my favourite things in Vancouver.
I’ve visited Vancouver over a dozen times since 2005. I’ve walked Grouse Mountain and the Capilano Suspension Bridge, I’ve visited the Vancouver Art Gallery and walked the halls of the Museum of Anthropology at UBC. Tourist sights don’t hold a lot of wonder for me anymore. I look at Vancouver as my second home, my relaxing-be-myself-do-what-I-love kind of home. I have routines when I’m there, and I like it that way.
When I heard that the 2010 Olympics were being held in Vancouver I said no way! There’s no chance I’m going to be there. Too many crowds of people, long lines, higher prices, ugh! That was until this morning, when my position started to sway. I’ve been contemplating what to do with my four days off in February. I could stay home, but I know that after the second day I’ll be climbing my walls. So I started playing around with the idea of driving to Vancouver. I made some calls, and found a bed at HI Jericho Beach for $30/night. 2010 Vancouver Adventures was born.
I’ll be bringing my laptop and Nikon D60 with me on this trip. The idea is to capture the excitement and vibe of the city through my lens and this blog. I don’t have event tickets, and I only have 2 days there. But that doesn’t mean I’ll be missing out. In fact I know I won’t be. I’ll be feeding my passion for travel and new adventures and there is nothing better in the world than that.
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I decided to get out of town for the olympics, and so did several of my friends in Vancouver. A part of me wants to support the athletes, and thinks it would be fun to be in town for the celebration, but I just can’t support what the IOC, VANOC, and the city of Vancouver have done these past few years. From not allowing women to compete in ski jump for no good reason, to interrogation and detainment of reporters and academic lecturers at the border, to asking the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra to record it’s music so another show orchestra could perform it, to the havoc it will wreak on an already overburdened transit system, to the copyright lawsuits for business having names with Olympic long before the bid was announced, to sheer greed and rampant inflation sweeping the city, to the homeless in Whistler forced onto buses and sent into outlying communities with no support infrastructure for helping them, I just can’t support the Olympics in any form.
It’s said that Vancouver will be putting on it’s best face for the Olympics, and I think it’s an apt description. It’s like putting on some pretty makeup to cover the bruises from an abusive system.
Sorry to be such a downer, but thinking of the Olympics just angers me these days, and I can’t wait for them to pass. I’ll come back to read your impressions of the event, and I’m curious as to what you think of the whole big show.
Mark, you have some interesting points. As I only visit Vancouver 2-4 times a year there is a lot that I’m not aware of. I’ll definitely try to have a more rounded view of what’s happening. As you’ve given a lot to think about. In fact I think you’ve changed my mind in terms of my approach. So thank-you!
Initially I had no desire to go anywhere near Vancouver during the Olympics. I totally forgot the Olympics were running during my 4 days off from the hell that is my work life, until a friend in Vancouver reminded me.
Thank-you again for your thoughts!