Curling is cool, no really
VANCOUVER, WHISTLER AND POINTS IN BETWEEN, B.C. — Tuesday was my first day in Vancouver.
Well, not quite the heart of downtown Vancouver, but rather the quiet neighborhood near Queen Elizabeth Park east of downtown where the icy screens that host curling are.
After a long drive down the Sea to Sky highway from Whistler, I took a brisk walk in the QE that prepared me for the curling action. It may sound funny but I found curling both interesting and exciting. It’s a cerebral sport played at a deliberate pace, like golf or baseball.
I’d be lying if I said that I’d watch it anywhere but the Olympics, but the national pride I saw at Tuesday’s curling event at Vancouver’s Olympic Centre was awe-inspiring, especially from the Swiss and host Canadians.
After the morning curling action, I drove back to Whistler, wrote my story and ran off to catch some women’s bobsleigh.
On the way up the mountain to the Whistler Sliding Center, I rode in an empty gondola while the snow fell outside.
I guess the Winter Games are back.
—Aaron Swaney, Herald Writer
Switching to tourist mode
Tuesday afforded me one of the rarest commodities of covering the Olympics: a day off.
Well, aside from writing this postcard anyway. And I shouldn’t have admitted to having a day off while I wrote this, because now I’ve got Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports, and the Seattle Times’ Jerry Brewer and Bob Condotta all giving me crap here in the media center. Then again, maybe I deserve it.
With the girlfriend in town, I took a day to play tourist.
First off was a late breakfast at Scoozi’s on Howe St., which offers not only great food, but perhaps the nicest owner you’ll ever meet. He’ll greet you at the door, make sure your order has been taken, refill your coffee and water, call all the women “princess” and even offer a free piece of fruit on the way out. Most of the day was spent walking around downtown despite the return of rain after nearly a week of sun. We even purchased a cheap Vancouver 2010 umbrella, then returned it two hours later when it broke. Guess I’ll have to find another souvenir.
We discovered that, even on a weekday, it’s impossible to find somewhere to sit down for lunch when Canada is about to play a hockey game. So instead we found a place selling crepes at a walk-up window.
They were most definitely delicious, or as the girlfriend put it, “These are even more amazing than I imagined they’d be.”
The city is still busy, but not nearly as over-crowded as it was Saturday and Sunday. In other words, you can ride the train or walk down the street without getting completely claustrophobic. It is still, however, a very long line to get into the Hudson’s Bay official Olympic store downtown. It’s amazing how long people will stand in line just to spend a bunch of money.
Today, I promise to get back to work. I’ll be at the men’s hockey semifinal between the U.S. and Switzerland.
But first, off to dinner at Guu, a place recommended by my favorite sushi chef in Seattle, Hajime Sato of West Seattle’s Mashiko.
—John Boyle, Herald Writer
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