The Last Two Weeks - Week 1

Wow what a time it has been. For the last two weeks my life has seem to revolve around one thing and that is the Olympics. I signed up to be a paid volunteer and work the merchandising booth at the curling venue and although it was hard work it was a ton of fun. I don't know if I would do something like that again when I was 5 months along as my feet and legs took a big thrashing because of it but it was sure fun getting to re-connect with some old curling friends and meet some of the curling fans that made it to Vancouver. I was so impressed to with the number of out of towners who came to the game as well. I met people from all over Canada, the United States, Britain and Asia. We traded stories, pins and even taught each other stuff about the games. That to me was the best part of all.

But it was all just work. I did manage to have a bit of fun while the games were on. First it started with a little men's curling.


My Dad, hubby and I all headed down and were thrilled with the games that we would get to see, Canada vs Sweden, Denmark vs USA, Great Britain vs Switzerland and Germany vs Norway. Couldn't have asked for a better line up!

The boys (and the other teams) had some warm up time


Then they were all piped in before the showdown began


Martin and his team were great through the whole game. They really do work together and their communication is something that all teams should study as they are one of the best. Here they are working together to get Martin's rock in the house.




Of course though the main topic of the men's curling was how cool the Norwegians looked in their pants.


This is one of the few events where each team could choose their uniforms and not all have to conform to the same styles.

Also the most sought after item of the games.


No not me but rather the cow bell around my neck. Most popular item requested (next to ticket holder lanyards). That was the last blue cowbell in the venue that we got in and I managed to snag it somehow! Everyone had some noise maker though. The best was the Swiss fans who had a cow bell that was probably bigger then my head. You could hear it from outside the stadium it was that loud!

After Canada won the game we headed downtown to see some of the pavilions. First stop the Mint.


We arrived and were thrilled that it was only a 25 minute line up. However if we wanted to go see the Olympic medals it was a....4 HOUR LINE UP! Couldn't believe that and it stayed like that through the whole games. So we just saw the mint and saw things like
The Million Dollar Coin


A real gold bar that you could try to lift


And other cool coins that they had displayed.



Next it was on to Canada North house which showcased items and artistry from the Yukon, Northwest Territories and Nunavut.






Our final stop was the cauldron. There had been a lot of complaining because they had fenced off the cauldron and force everyone to view it from far away. Yes it was a little disturbing to have a chain link fence around it but in the end it was so beautiful and such a wonderful symbol of the Olympics you easily forgot the fence was there.



It was a long day and lots of walking but it was great to see some of the sites the Olympics brought to our great city.