If you haven’t done a free walking tour before–they’re popular in Europe but fairly new to Canada–here’s how it works:

• Go to www.tourguys.ca to choose your tour. If you only have time for on, consider guide Steve Woodall’s recommendation: “My favourite tour is the West End & Granville Island, as it highlights how Vancouverites actually live, it’s filled with some hidden gems like the float homes of Granville Island and some great stories. Besides, who doesn’t like a tour that ends at a brewery?”
• Reserve your spot online so they can staff accordingly. They can, for example, offer tours in French and Portugese if demand warrants.
• Show up in comfortable walking shoes at the Olympic Countdown Clock in front of the Vancouver Art Gallery at 1 pm. Tours run daily through the 2010 Olympics, Feb. 12-28.
• If you enjoy the 2.5-hr tour, consider offering a tip. $10 is pretty standard, but it’s completely up to you how much–or even whether–to give. And Steve promises: there is no nagging-for-tips on these tours.

That’s it! Fun and virtually free!

Have you done a TourGuys walking tour in Vancouver or Toronto? What did you think?

With these sorts of crowds, public transit is the only way to get around the roads during the 2010 Winter Games.

I just did a post about Vancouver’s “Top 5 public transit sight-seeing tours” over at InsideVancouver.ca.  Check it out and add your own route recommendations!

I just got back from Whistler where things are ramping up like crazy. Steve Podborski was bringing the torch down the mountain and you could feel the electricity in the air.

This little video by Classified–someone sent me the link via Twitter–says it all: Oh Canada. Go Canada.

Let’s face it: commuting sucks at the best of times, and commuting in Vancouver during next month’s 2010 Winter Games is going to…well, let’s just say it’ll give us all an opportunity to practice our Pranayama breathing techniques.

The folks at TransLink want to get the word out that you really need to “know before you go” if you’re going to enjoy the party.

There are tons of rumours circulating about which roads are closed, which buses are being re-routed, how much it will cost to travel and who rides free—but for hard facts, visit www.travelsmart2010.com and get informed before you hit the road.

To inspire you to leave the car behind, TransLink is offering two TheseBoots readers a limited edition 2010 souvenir transit pass good for six weeks of unlimited travel in all three zones between the start of the Games on Feb. 8 ‘til the end of the Paralympics on March 21.

To enter, just tell me why you want to win. I’ll do a random draw on Monday, February 1 at 8 pm.

Update Feb. 1: Congratulations to Dee Anderson and Jen Sandri who each win a 2010 Olympic transit pass! Hope you enjoy the Games ladies! Check your email–I need your mailing addresses…

From January 22 to March 21, it’s going to be a feeding frenzy for culture vultures in BC’s Lower Mainland thanks to the Vancouver 2010 Cultural Olympiad.

(And yes, it is weird that in this time of brutal funding cuts to the arts we are about to enjoy 600 international-calibre performances in a period of 60 days.

My only hope is that someone with a bit of political clout will be so inspired by the experience that they will deliver a demon-crushing come-to-Jesus speech in Victoria as a result….)

The good news is that there are still tickets available for most of the shows; the bad news is, they’re going fast. In fact, had not a kind stranger handed me a friend’s unused ticket to see Streb:Raw at the Roundhouse on Sunday afternoon, I would have been shut out of the (insert superlative here) performance.

Repeat after me: I will not wait ’til the last minute to buy a ticket.

Ask 100 people for their pick-of-the-litter performances and you’d get 100 answers. Best to browse the program guide (pictured above) available from libraries, theatres, and community centres around town, or visit the Olympiad’s events listings page.

Here are my top 5 picks (feel free to disagree!):

• Robert Lepage’s The Blue Dragon/Le Dragon Bleu
• Inuit throat-singer Tanya Tagaq and the Kronos Quartet
• Nix’s The Only Animal, set in Canada’s first theatre built of snow and ice
• Maria Pages’s Flamenco Republic
• U Theatre of Taiwan’s Sound of the Ocean

What are your top picks for the Cultural Olympiad?

These are the souvenirs of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games–stores here can barely keep them in stock. They cost $10 a pair and a portion of the money goes to help Canadian athletes.

I bought a couple of pairs in Whistler two weeks ago just as a new shipment came in…and just before Haiti’s earthquake nightmare.

It’s a small thing, but I’m going to auction off a pair right here. Just tell me how much you’re going to donate to a registered charity to help Haiti and the most generous gift wins the mittens. I’ll send them anywhere in the world.

(I gave to the Red Cross, but there are others out there. And if you’re Canadian, remember that the federal government will match whatever you give…)

If you’re the winning bidder, you’ll have to send me proof of your donation: either an e-mail or screen-shot of the confirmation page.

The bidding ends Friday, January 22 at 8 pm PST. May the biggest heart win!

Update January 25: And the mittens go to Nancy Lee, who donated $200 to World Vision. Thanks Nancy!

[This post originally appeared on Sept. 24/09, but since we're just a month out from the start of the 2010 Winter Games, I've brought it back...]

Just back from Whistler where a small group of international travel writers were this week treated to an impressive dog-and-pony about British Columbia’s upcoming Winter Olympics.

Let it be said that I did not cave to the hard-sell. There is no bandwagon in my future. Surely anyone with half a brain understands that the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games are the worst thing that has ever been unleashed upon an unsuspecting Canadian public.

Consider the evidence:

Sea-to-Sky Highway improvements will threaten family values.

Even before they spent $600 million straightening out the death-trap turns on Highway 99 between Horseshoe Bay and Whistler, this long and scenic road was named among the world’s top drives by Britain’s esteemed Guardian. Now, with the rough edges smoothed off, you can actually take your eyes off the road long enough to appreciate the glorious views–and that can only lead to one thing: motorcycle riding. What will happen when decent men—and even women—are tempted to leave junior with a sitter so they can hit the highway on two wheels?

The Cultural Olympiad will make children want to grow up to be artists.

It’s insidious how these things happen: one minute you’re a well-intentioned parent taking advantage of the Cultural Olympiad’s artistic bounty to introduce your youngsters to the wonders of Robert Lepage’s multi-media theatre spectacles or Tanya Tagaq’s mesmerizing throat-singing and the next thing you know they’re clamoring to enroll at Arts Umbrella. Then they’ll hit voting age and start lobbying the government to increase funding for arts and culture and before you know it, Canada will be a hotbed of creativity and innovation.

Taxpayer-subsidized video footage will bring more tourists to Canada.

Believe it: Canadian tax dollars helped produce stunning, professional-quality B-roll of Canadian destinations for use by international broadcasters before, during and after the 2010 Games. For months and possibly even years, friends, family and even total strangers from around the world will see this dramatic footage on TV and web sites and be inspired to come and spend money in our country. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

The Canada Line will lead to decreased workplace productivity.

No joke: the clean and green light rapid rail service that will whisk the Olympic masses from Vancouver International Airport to downtown Vancouver in 25 minutes for less than a cabbie’s tip will also be used by local commuters. Every day these hard-working Canadians will be surrounded by international visitors and their suitcases. How long will it be before they begin to waste precious hours day-dreaming about their own world travels?

The Squamish-Lil’Wat Cultural Centre will promote co-operation and cultural pride.

The striking new $30-million aboriginal cultural centre at Whistler is just one example of what can happen when Canada’s First Nations are consulted and included in the planning and execution of major projects. There are, in fact, four separate First Nations working together as co-hosts of the 2010 Winter Games. And to see what can happen when a nation’s racial rifts begin to heal, you need only look to the example set by our good neighbours to the south…

Someone over at Heritage House Publishing deserves a bonus for releasing John Lee’s Walking Vancouver: 36 strolls to dynamic neighborhoods, hip hangouts, and spectacular waterfronts just as the city-by-the-sea prepares for the Olympics and its worst case of gridlock since the invention of the automobile.

Local boy Lee is an internationally published travel writer hailing from the UK. He appreciates a good walk almost as much as a good pint (and sometimes both together–see Chapter 8: Gastown Bars).

In this well-conceived $19.95 softcover, he covers plenty of Metro Vancouver ground from the North Shore to New Westminster and everything in between–including the contentious Downtown Eastside.

The maps and directions are clear and easy-to-follow, and for those who already know where they want to go, the index is comprehensive.

As a long-time Vancouverite with a penchant for pedestrian travel, I was delighted to find surprises in these pages: “back story” pullouts that explain the history of taken-for-granted landmarks and vistas, as well as wining, dining and shopping recommendations for each themed stroll.

If I was coming to the 2010 Olympics–or hosting guests–I’d definitely want to find a copy of this book in my Christmas stocking.

(And while you’re waiting: check out TravelSmart2010 for suggestions on how to get around during the Olympics…)

Win Walking Vancouver!

If you’d like a free copy of Walking Vancouver, just leave a comment below explaining why. The most convincing case made by Dec. 13 at 8 pm PST wins.

Tweet this contest (use @theseboots in your tweet) and you’ll get a second chance to win!

Update Dec. 14:

Well that was hard…everyone had such good reasons to want to nab a copy of this book! I decided to give it to someone from out-of-town so that left Paul from Belarus (!), Donna from Alberta, Vik from somewhere in the U.S., and A.R. from “away”. I used www.random.org to pull a random winner…and congrats to Donna Majeau from Edmonton, Alberta! Enjoy your walks! ]]> http://theseboots.travel/2009/12/12/win-a-copy-of-walking-vancouver-just-in-time-for-2010/feed/ 17 http://theseboots.travel/2009/10/08/hells-kitchen-party-lights-up-whistlers-araxi-on-october-13/ http://theseboots.travel/2009/10/08/hells-kitchen-party-lights-up-whistlers-araxi-on-october-13/#comments Thu, 08 Oct 2009 23:39:50 +0000 Julie Ovenell-Carter http://theseboots.travel/?p=1307 FOX’s highly addictive brain-candy series Hell’s Kitchen (featuring chef-tyrant Gordon Ramsay) is winding up its sixth season tonight, and this round’s lucky winner gets a plum gig as head chef at swanky Araxi (under executive chef James Walt) just in time for the 2010 Winter Games.

If you can’t make it to tonight’s viewing party in Whistler, here’s the perfect consolation prize: the brand-new Araxi cookbook–or one of the other two glossy beauties in the Top Table cookbook series, Blue Water Cafe Seafood or The West Cookbook.

Valued at $50 each, these are as much fun for your eyes as they are for your palate. If you know these best-in-class restaurants, you know the calibre of recipes we’re talking about here; and if you don’t–well, let’s just say it’s time you did.

Tell me why you simply must get your hands on one of these cookbooks and on Friday, Oct. 16 I’ll do a random draw at 8 pm.

First name I pull gets their first choice; second person, the choice of the two remaining books; and third person still gets a great prize.

Good luck!

Well, if your normal life includes snow sports, you may find a lot of sense in that strategy now that Whistler Blackcomb is pushing back against so-called “Olympic aversion” with a best-price-in-a-decade season pass offer.

Buy before October 12 and you’ll score an adult pass for just $1,099–$430 less than last year.

When I was up in Whistler two weeks ago, I spoke to a lot of locals who are laughing because they think they’re finally going to have the slopes to themselves because many people believe the mountains will be the sole turf of Olympians and their hysterical fans.

But it’s just not true: 90% of the runs will remain open to the public during the Winter Games. And okay, parking will likely be a nightmare during February (unless you have a hotel reservation that includes parking), but that’s why God made buses folks.

So go ahead: live in denial and buy a pass.

Want to win two one-day Edge Cards to Whistler Blackcomb for the 2009/10 season?

Just leave a comment below about why you want to win two passes to ski, hike or ride the Peak-2-Peak gondola. I’ll do a random draw on October 12 at 8 pm Vancouver time.

Tweet this contest (there’s a Twitter button just over there on the right) for a second chance to win!

Update: This contest is now closed.

Congratulations to Erika Wah of Vancouver, BC who made this plea:

“I will need those passes to make up for the days my 6 year old begs me to take her out to ski, and I lose a perfect day of powder on the glacier to ski blue all day “