Day 3: Let the Games Begin!

So despite the many glasses of sangria the night before, we made an early start. We brunched downtown at The Templeton – a really cool, retro diner that serves up an organic (and delicious) breakfasts and diner favourites for lunch and dinner. Breakfast runs about $12 a person including coffee (which comes served in oversized mugs), tax and tip. You can sit at the 4 person booths complete with personal jukebox or on the red vinyl stools at the counter. If you feel like cereal – you can even order single serving packages of all your childhood favourites. I had the farmers breakfast which was delicious and my eggs were perfectly poached. Yum.
After lunch we met up with some business colleagues for a nice glass of wine and then made our way over to Gastown for some lunch and a beer at the Steamworks Brewing Co. before the big show. The city was buzzing and literally draped in red and white.

With strict instructions that we were to be seated before 5pm, and with our concerns about line-ups and security we arrived at BC place at 3:30 pm. Of course, there was no line-up and security was a cinch but we didn't care, we were just stoked to be there. When we arrived at our seats we discovered our "participation kit" and settled in. We were surrounded by people from all over the world - Holland, the Ukraine, Poland (man, do they know how to party!) and Russia. At 5 pm we were finally given some instruction on our kits which included a white cape, a flashlight, a battery-operated candle, a drumstick and a Canadian flag. The box itself became both a drum and a sign that was used as part of the amazing crowd countdown. We also received a collectible book about the event and it's participants. The crowd was really into it - everyone was in the white cape and it was cool to see how we all blended in together. Each section had a volounteer team leader who helped us with our parts - the countdown, the lights, the quiet, and the drumming.  It was a long wait...but finally the games were about to begin!

It's funny how many negative things I have read about the ceremonies - because from where I was sitting it was simply incredible! From the colours and lights and music choices (the Joni Mitchell destroyed me, and KD killed it) to the audience participation - the whole thing was incredibly (and surprisingly) moving. I will post some videos soon but for now here are some of the tons of photos I took...

After an unbelievable 6 hours in the stadium, we ventured out in the pouring rain and ended up back at Steamworks for a few beers with some of Shannon's friends. A great way to end an incredible day.

Here is a video I took of one of my fave sequences of the night - The Whales: