This weekend started off well. After finishing work on Friday me and two of my mates went straight to The Lamplighter in Gastown. Arriving in the bar early paid off too as we got given a free pitcher of beer. This was because the staff believed everyone should have a beer in their hand at 5pm and we were just finishing the one we'd been drinking, perfect timing! We ended up leaving Gastown around 8pm and then I went for a bite to eat with one of my friends at an Earls Restaurant (I'm not quite sure where, I was lost and was solely relying on my mate CJ's directions!). I even tried a martini for the first time too (I know, manly hey?) those who know me well know that's not usually something I'd touch. Imagine it - two blokes sitting on a private table and drinking martini's together - I joked about what people might have thought about us! By the time I was making my way home Lou had finished work (evening shift) and we both got back to the apartment within about 10 minutes of each other.
Unfortunately Lou had fallen at work after tripping over the wire of a bed alarm and she was in quite a bit of pain when she got home. Lou has a bad left knee after an injury she had a few years back and the fall made it feel really sore and her hands and arms which she'd landed on were really hurting too. The next day she wasn't able to work and she already had Sunday off so we managed to get the weekend off together which was nice, it was just a shame the way it came about! We didn't do a great deal on Saturday, I wasn't feeling raring to go after the drinks I'd had the night before and Lou was in pain from the fall so we just relaxed. Apart from going to get some photos for her permanent residency application we didn't do much else except stay at home and watch a movie which we'd brought during the week.

Sunday was a busy day with there being many birthdays on both sides of our families. We spent most of the morning having video chats with everyone which was nice, then in the afternoon we headed out on the SkyTrain and SeaBus to North Vancouver. We'd planned on taking some more photos and hoped we'd get the chance to walk around more of the North Van area because the previous time we'd been it was very wet. However almost just as we got on the SkyTrain the weather turned and it started to rain this time too (how "Vancouver-ish" haha)! We still persisted though and thought at the very least it would give us the chance to get out of the apartment for a few hours and we'd still be able to go to the Lonsdale Quay market. There is a tea shop in the market which Lou had found on our last trip and she was quick to head back there again this time stocking up on some "White pearl of Fujian". I hadn't had my coffee fix in the morning and was starting to feel the need for one (it's becoming a necessity, it's bad!) so we took a break after an hour of looking around and I grabbed a cookie and coffee (Lou opted for a cocoanut bubble tea of course). After that we looked around the rest of the market and we then made our way home because Lou couldn't be persuaded to walk around in the rain! We got home in time to watch the Canucks on TV beat Calgary 3-1 and that rounded off a good weekend overall.

         

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Ever since we moved to Vancouver we've heard nothing but news stories about the Olympics but today is the first time I've been genuinely excited about it and I'm now officially on the bandwagon! My morning started with a much busier ride into work. The SkyTrain was twice as busy than usual and I had to stand with mere centimetres between me and the people around me. After arriving at Waterfront station (and receiving my complimentary newspaper) I was actually surprised when I got outside to see that the streets were still quiet (but it was only 6:55am I guess)!

I got to work at 7am as usual and worked for the first hour and half. Then we found out for certain (I'd brought my camera along in case) that the Olympic torch was passing right by our office so me and my mate (with the bosses approval of course) went outside to join in the excitement for an hour. None of our colleagues really worked either and most of them used the excellent location of the office to their advantage by opening the windows and sitting on the ledge with their legs dangling out (you don't seem to get the over protective health and safety stuff out here like in the UK haha)!

The atmosphere was great and everyone on the road seemed to get their own chance to be a 'celebrity'. Everyone who drove past the crowds were honking their horns and getting cheers, the best reception going to the garbage truck and it's driver who honked his horn wildly and lapped up every bit of attention that was going! I had a really good view of the torch when they eventually came around and I got some good photos which you can check out below. My friend also used my iPhone to take a video of it which I have posted at the bottom of this post.

I felt in a really good mood once it was time to get back to work and the whole event seemed to lift everyone's spirits. At 3:30pm as soon as it was time to finish work I got my march on and headed straight to the station skipping the usual 'Friday beer-time' in the office so I could avoid the chaos. Luckily it worked and although the station was very busy I managed to get on a train within minutes and get a seat too, let's hope this becomes a trend.

After months and months of talk, speculation and predictions the games are finally here. It's so nice to see Vancouver buzzing with even more energy than usual and it's great seeing so many smiles on peoples faces. I'm looking forward to the whole experience, one thing is for sure - it's going to be unique!

               

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