Olympic fever is in full swing here in Canada! I am so proud to be Canadian and it is hard to believe that four years ago to the day I was sitting in my room in Italy feeling that same pride!
Being at the Olympics in 2006 was one of the highlights of my year in Italy and probably of my life thus far. There is something so amazing about getting all geared up and cheering on your fellow countrymen/women as they play/skate/ski etc. their hearts out to show the world what Canada is made of. I cried, I'll admit it, but I challenge anyone to stand in that arena/stadium or on that hill and not be overwhelmed with emotion when our flag is raised and our national anthem is sung.
I didn't really appreciate the amazing blessing that it is to be a Canadian and living in this great country until I lived somewhere else for a while. Don't get me wrong, Italy is great but it is just not Canada.
So cheer on my friends! Wear your maple leaf, red and white proudly and appreciate all that it means to live in "...the true north strong and free..."
JS
February 19, 2006 3:45:33 PM
Week 19-Adventures of Olympic proportion!
Good afternoon friends and greetings from the home of the 2006
Olympic Winter Games. I have to say that I am glad that I came to
Italy to help my family and to experience life in a different way
but all of those things aside my two days at the Olympics was worth
the trip!
But let me start at the beginning…Monday we spent the day in Venice.
Adele, the best tour guide you could ask for, drove us to Venice to
show us the city her way. We started off on a water taxi that took
us into the piazza where their Duomo is. After Adele and GC
fed/were attacked by pigeons we ventured into the Duomo to soak up
all of the beauty. All of the artwork in the Venice Duomo is done
in mosaic form, it was absolutely beautiful. There was another
amazing piece of art in the Duomo that was made entirely of gold and
precious stones. The Duomo also boasts a balcony that overlooks the
piazza and out into the ocean. We also ate a delicious fishy lunch,
rode a gondola, and wandered the streets of my now favourite city in
Italy other than Modena of course!
…Tuesday and Wednesday it was Torino for the Olympics. The spirit
of the city was great. We did so much I don’t know where to start.
We saw all of the mountain venues, skiers practicing ski jump,
downhill skiing, and of course the Canada vs. Italy hockey game
where we won 7-2. The game was amazing, not bad for my first “real”
hockey game. Italy totally put up a great fight but they just
couldn’t bring it home!
Here’s a story to tell the grandkids. On Tuesday morning Sol and I
were guarding our bags while GC and Pete were trying to buy tickets.
I was looking around when I said to Sol “Hey isn’t that Wayne
Gretzgy’s Dad?” “Yeah I think so”, he said. And then I said “Hey
isn’t that Wayne Gretzgy?” “Yes it is”, he said. We were standing
50 feet away from “The Great One”. I took some paparazzi type
photos from a distance as he and his family went into a restaurant
for lunch. But wait there is more about half an hour later Wayne
came out of the restaurant with his two little children and went
next door to buy gelato. This time I was all by myself guarding the
bags but I decided that I must seize the day. So I walked right up
to Wayne and introduced myself. I am sure that I was a total nerd
but I was so nervous. He was super nice but not as dynamic as I
thought he would be. Fun times eh!
GC and I parted ways with Sol and Pete on Wednesday night in Torino.
It was a super fun week hanging out with them that it was kinda
hard for me to say goodbye. But I am sure that our paths will cross
again sometime. I am so glad that they came to visit mostly because
they were fun to be with but also because it gave us a great excuse
to travel like crazy for one week.
Life around here is back to normal now. Nonna is doing great. She
really missed us while we were gone which is good because I think it
helped her realize how much she likes having us around.
Dad is away on at a tradeshow in Germany until the end of next week.
Well that is all for me this week. If you want more details about
my travels or some photos let me know, I would be happy to
elaborate!
Hugs,
Julia
