Today we made the journey from Burnaby to Vancouver via Sky Train, to pick up our tickets to the figure skating training session. I finally feel like these Olympics are a little more than road closures, security measures, and protests. This was the first time we had been downtown since Olympic set-up really got going, and wow! I must say I'm very impressed with everything I saw. People in the street even stopped to ask if we were lost - was it really that obvious? I guess Vancouver can really be a friendly city.
We got off the train at Granville station, and for those of you that don't know Vancouver, that is underground. We were both completely turned around and had no idea where we were when we surfaced, nor which way to go. Our faces must have betrayed our confusion. Soon though, with our trusty Olympic visitor's guide in hand (I hate feeling like a tourist in a city I have lived in for 5 1/2 years), we were on our way. We stopped every few feet to take pictures of all the cool Olympic "stuff" on display. Did you know that they can "wrap" buildings with pictures and other images? Here's an example:
I can certainly empathize with the country mouse when he visited his citified cousin. We finally managed to get to the main box office and pick up our tickets with no more mishaps. Atleast for a while.
Lunch time came and we wanted to return to the Tim's (Tim Horton's for you un-Canadians) we had seen in the sky train station. We headed back and found Tim's and had lunch - great Chili, btw., then proceded to buy our return tickets to head home. As we were approaching the platform, we were stopped by a security guard and asked to show our tickets. While holding a can of Diet Pepsi, an extra large steeped tea (triple-triple), and a Boston Cream Donut (very long story) I managed to procure the tickets to show the guard. With grave demeanor he informed us that we had purchase the "wrong" tickets. I had unwittingly purchased senior citizen tickets and we now had to go back to the fare machines and re-purchase our tickets. Through much shuffling about we got the new ones and headed back down to the train. Once again, ready to board, we came to the realization that the train we were getting ready to board wouldn't take us back home, but to Richmond and the airport. We had to go find the very nice security guard and ask him how to get home. We were told that we were at the completely wrong station and had to go back upstairs, outside, cross two streets, and descend more flights of stairs and then we would get to the right train. Sure enough, his directions were true and we found the train and headed for home. Who knew that there were two Tim's that looked identical in two different stations both under shopping malls? I wonder how many Olympic tourists are going to get lost? I live here for pity's sake.
And just think....I get to do this all over again in a little over a week. Only it's a completely different station. There is a reason I don't go into the city.
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