Olympic Memories, Vancouver, B.C.

I have to admit that I become a bit obsessed with watching the Olympic games whenever they occur. It doesn’t matter whether it’s the summer games or the winter games; you’ll find me excited to tune in and watch the different events. However, if I had to choose between the two then I’d take the Olympic winter games. Yes maybe it’s because I live in Canada which does lend itself to winter sports, but maybe it’s also because my hometown of Vancouver got to be the host city for the 2010 Winter Olympics.

Of course every Olympics begins with the torch relay and my excitement was at a peak when the torch came through the town that I live in and I had an opportunity to have my photo taken with one of the torch bearers. This torch relay was the longest relay within one country in Olympic history.

The city of Vancouver embraced the Olympics with companies, stores, and restaurants displaying logos, mascots, and official clothing.

There were different “houses” to visit with displays both inside and outside.

Although I didn’t get to see any of the events in person (ticket prices were a bit too high) I did get to watch a victory ceremony which was held each evening at BC Place Stadium. You could purchase tickets for any evening and then go and watch as the winning athletes from the day’s events (in the Vancouver area) received their medals. Whistler which hosted many of the alpine events had their own medal ceremonies. It was a lot of fun and we got to see Shaun White receive a gold medal for the snowboard half-pipe event, one of the many Olympic medals he received during his career.

There was even an opportunity to get up close and personal to the Olympic medals.

Approximately 2600 athletes from 82 countries competed in these Olympic games. There were 82 events that took place in venues located in Vancouver, Richmond, the University of British Columbia and the Whistler area. We definitely welcomed the world to the city!

Saving the best for last…here’s to that Olympic flame…which I still think is one of the most picturesque anywhere.