Two Seasons / A Day Removed

Hello avid Pharm Girl followers! Yesterday was pretty busy, so today will be a double header.

It's been really hard to know what to wear here. Every day, I see people who are wearing boots, scarves and mittens, as well as those wearing t-shirts, shorts and flip-flops. So far, I've been a little in between, with my new Canada hoodie and a down vest, and pulling out the mittens in the evening when it gets a bit crispy.

Yesterday I was able to hit a number of pavilions with little to no line-ups. The Ontario pavilion is interesting, but the line for the 4D marketing film was discouraging for me. Then again, I don't need to be enticed to go to Ontario. The Maison du Quebec was the most impressive. From the outside, it's a large white cube, but inside, it's a large white open-air cube. It's simple and it looks really cool. After spending the day walking around, I met up with my cousins and aunt and took the free Olympic line to Granville Island. The lines for the House of Switzerland and the Atlantic Canada House were a big deterrent, but the Place de la Francophonie was wide open. After dinner, we walked back along the waterfront to Michael's office, where his staff had organized a little party prior to that evening's fireworks. We had a pretty spectacular view of the fireworks, which were slightly delayed due to the party across the creek at Yaletown going overtime. As we headed home, we passed the sad sight of a Jeep that had been hit by the Olympic line train. It's sad because you know that it had to be the Jeep's fault - the train must be the slowest one I've ever been on. Also sad for the people in Granville who were probably waiting.

Today was a day spent entirely removed from the Olympic scene. We drove inland to Langley to check out a winery, the Domaine de Chaberton Estates. Unfortunately, the restaurant was fully booked, but we were able to pick up a few bottles of wine. The plan was to go see a church in Mission, but a detour was made to White Rock instead. Lunch at a Greek restaurant (very Olympic appropriate) was followed by a walk along the beach and down the pier. All of the houses are built along the side of the steep hills, which totally reminded me of Santorini. Mount Baker could be seen in the distance (fully covered with snow). On the way back, we stopped at a huge Buddhist temple in Richmond. Not quite a church, but probably a lot more ornate. A spiritual experience is a spiritual experience. Then we went to Aberdeen Centre, which hands down puts Pacific Mall to shame. Think Eaton Centre, but completely Asian. Dinner in Richmond is an ordeal, only because it's extremely hard to narrow down the options (we were able to decide on a noodle house).

Calling it a night early (relatively speaking). Going to spend time downtown again tomorrow. I'm sure I know where you'll be at 4:30 PT/7:30 ET. Keep your eyes peeled, maybe you'll see me on the screen afterward.

"Just like the white winged dove sings a song, sounds like she's singin'"