We never meant to stay here
We were here for the gold
Here for the gold
Here for the gold
Out on the Shield – Said the Whale

Glad to see I’m not the only who feels slightly embarrassed by the Olympics so far. First someone dies, then the torch malfunctions, weather cancelled half of the weekend events, the speed skating zamboni is malfunctioning, and the Black Bloc smashed the Bay windows. I’m sure the average tourist could care less, and I’m just being an overanxious host, but still I’m embarrassed. But we won GOLD so it’s all good … right?

Vancouver is an amazing city, it’s just not a good tourist city. There aren’t a lot of showy attractions. I see hundreds of people line up every day to get into the Bay to buy Quatchi dolls and red mittens, as if there is nothing else to do. People are lining up for 6 hours for a 30 second zip-trek ride over Robson Square.

I went to the Yaletown Live site on Saturday night. Lined up for 30 minutes, went through airport-style security, and got to see Wilco perform under a haze of pot smoke. My friends couldn’t get in because they showed up at 8 pm and by then the site was at capacity, a measly 8000 people. Most of the space was taken up by giant exhibitions for Olympic sponsors. Later this week I’ll check out some of the other pavilions and concerts. Hopefully the lineups aren’t too bad.

Maybe once the curling and men’s hockey events get going things will start to get better.