Curling in the desert

In the Patch -- the Orleans Ballroom.

Much was said over the last few weeks about curling making its debut in Las Vegas. So I'll say a bit more in this blog to complete this story -- a story that almost writes itself with all the tempting clichés about curling taking a gamble on Vegas or being a hit in Sin City.

My first impressions of the Continental Cup of Curling in Vegas were documented in a blogpost in the Curling News and in a story I wrote for the Canadian Press that was picked up by many Canadian news outlets.

Escorting curlers onto the ice - Vegas style.

While in the Orleans Arena, the actual on-ice activity was much like other curling events I’ve been to in Canada (Continental Cup, Brier, Scotties and Olympic trials).  About 80 percent of the fans in the stands in Vegas were Canadians who were escaping the winter weather. But, when curlers are escorted onto the ice by showgirls in sequins, cast members from Thunder from Down Under and Marilyn and Elvis impersonators, you know you’re not in Canada, anymore!  And the noisy crowd almost matched what we heard at the curling venue at the Vancouver Games.

When we left the arena and walked through the brightly-lit casino to the shuttle bus stop and waited for the bus in the desert sunshine surrounded by palm trees, we certainly enjoyed this new twist on a winter bonspiel.
 

 Skips such as Niklas Edin were pleased to pose with curling fans .

Curling officials said they're pleased with the success of the event -- with an attendance of more than 50,000 over the four days.  And it looks like the event will be back to Vegas in a few years.

The skips I talked to support a return to Vegas.


Canada’s Brad Jacobs said the crowds, with some 4,000 fans in the stands for many of the draws, were “phenomenal,” adding that “with all of those people (from Canada) travelling here, it’s really made this event a huge success.”

The view from the media bench.

Norway’s Thomas Ulsrud, the silver medallist from Vancouver 2010, said he’s been lucky enough to play in other Continental Cups, “but never played in front of a bigger crowd than this. That’s what the Cup needed, a move to Vegas.”


And 2013 World Champion Eve Muirhead of Scotland said being in Vegas “was unbelievable, I will be back.”

In the meantime, curling fans have a lot to look forward to in the next few months: Canadian national championships and of course the Sochi Olympic Winter Games.

The US Olympic Committee promoted the Sochi Games outside the Orleans Arena. Look for scenes of palm trees in Sochi during the Winter Games next month!



The WFG Continental Cup in Las Vegas.

 

Montréal en hiver

Instead of heading back to the West Coast for the holidays, I decided to venture east to Montreal to experience that city in the winter.

The Montreal skyline - view from the Port of Montreal.

 

The trip on Via Rail made for some snowy train stop vistas along the Toronto-Montreal corridor.

The Queen Elizabeth on Boul. Rene Levesque on the right.

My home for three nights in Montreal was the Fairmont La Reine Elizabeth Hotel.  Located above the central train station and built in 1958, the hotel is billed as the largest hotel east of Toronto and is famous for hosting heads of state at Expo 67 and being the host hotel for the International Olympic Committee for the 1976 Olympic Games.  And it’s the place where John Lennon and Yoko Ono staged a "bed-in" in 1969.  OK, these are some trivial facts, but all contribute to the history of the hotel.

 



The owner of Beautys:  Hymie Sckolnick.

 

Of course, the focus of any trip is experiencing local food.  A lunch stop was at a luncheonette called Beautys. It has been serving meals since 1942 in the heart of Montreal’s Jewish garment district. There's plenty of atmosphere. I had the Special - a bagel sandwich made with lox, cream cheese, sliced tomatoes and onion.

 

A trip to Montreal is not complete without smoked meat sandwiches and poutine. Waiting in line (left) with the tourists for a sandwich à la viande fumée lunch (right) at Schwartz's Deli.

  A colleague recommended a “Montreal Special” at the Montreal Pool Room.  The street location isn’t great, but the meal inside, poutine and two “steamies” hot dogs, was tasty.

 

My search for decent mandarin oranges here in parts east continued with a stop at the Jean Talon Public Market. Again, as in Toronto, I found clementines. At least the oranges were sweet and easy-to-peel.

The most local food was a traditional holiday meal at the home of my Quebec friends Ginette and Yvon, They welcomed me to a family celebration – complete with jambon (ham) and Tourtière (French Canadian meat pie).

Bonne année!



The Montreal skyline from Mont Royal.

It's Christmas Time in the City

The first real blast of winter (technically still fall on the calendar) hit Toronto this weekend with 20 cm of snow.

Believe in Santa Claus

 
How can one not get into the Christmas spirit when watching the 1947 holiday classic Miracle on 34th Street -- on the big screen!  Having seen this film dozens of times on TV, it was great to enjoy it with the reactions of a live audience at the TIFF Bell Lightbox. The five-storey complex on King St. W. has five cinemas and other galleries and studios.



Christmas lights in Little Italy on College St.

Watching this movie on a Sunday afternoon took away the disappointment of visiting Little Italy on a snowy Saturday afternoon in search of Baccala (salted cod fish, an Italian tradition for Christmas).  I had called one market and asked if they had baccala. The guy said they don't carry Greek desserts.  So, trudging along College Street, I, and my friend Agnes, searched the shops. 

In the end, it wasn't a speciality shop that had what I was looking for. Thank goodness for Metro (a grocery store chain) for carrying salted cod from Alaska. A nice cappuccino at the Sicilian Sidewalk Café helped this situation.

Here are a few other random photos below to illustrate the winter weather and Christmas time in Toronto.

Holiday shopping at Eaton Centre.

King St. West after the winter storm.

Lake Ontario after a week of sub-zero temperatures. Ferry making its way to Toronto Island.

Eight weeks in Toronto

As we head into December, I am heading into my third month of living and working in Toronto. Here are some random photos and thoughts - in no particular order or preference - summarizing a few highlights of my first eight weeks here in T.O.


The ever-changing views of Lake Ontario from my 36th-floor window.

 

Christmas window at The Bay on Queen St. reminds me of the famous Woodward's windows in Vancouver.

ONroute stop on Hwy 401 between Toronto and Kitchener. These are "one-stop shop" locations on some of the highways in Ontario with services such as Tim Hortons and Starbucks, tourism info and gas stations. They're called "beacons of hospitality, convenience, innovation and safety." I think it's a great idea.

The Royal Canadian Curling Club on Broadview. My first on-ice curling experience in Toronto. This club deserves a full, future blogpost!

St. Paul's Basilica Parish. I've been to mass here a couple of times. Established in 1822, this is the first Parish of the Diocese. Located on the east side of downtown Toronto.

The Spadina Garden on Dundas and Bay.  I found a ginger beef and hot and sour soup lunch special. It was good, but my quest for this dish and soup will continue.

First snowfall of the season on Nov.23. The view from my window after a quick 10-minute snow flurry - or snow squall as they're called here.

 

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

As a former Eaton's employee, I have always enjoyed how department stores gear up for the holiday season.  So, I had to see the Toronto Santa Claus Parade today, which began in 1905 as the Eaton's Santa Claus Parade.


With 25 floats, 24 bands, 1,700 participants and 3,000 volunteers, the 109th edition of parade made its way along a nearly six-kilometre route in downtown Toronto.

It was great to see the community support for the event. And the parade was a welcome change from a week of  shenanigans at Toronto City Hall.

Yes, the Christmas season is definitely here!

 

Road to the Roar in Kitchener

For my first mini road trip in Ontario, I headed west of Toronto for 100-plus kilometers to Kitchener. I spent the day at the Memorial Auditorium at the Road to the Roar curling event. 

Twenty-four teams from across the country were in Kitchener this week in search of their Olympic dreams. Four teams from this qualifier bonspiel (two men, two women) will punch a ticket to Winnipeg next month in the Roar of the Rings Olympic Trials. That event will determine Canada's representatives in Sochi.

BC's upbeat Kelly Scott speaks to the media.

It was great to be back at a major competitive curling event.  I had a role to play, as a blogger for The Curling News. Here are my observations:

http://thecurlingnews.com/blog/2013/11/road-to-the-roar-2013-sunday/

http://thecurlingnews.com/blog/2013/11/road-to-the-roar-2013-saturday/





Over the years, I've had the opportunity to attend many major competitions including the 2001 Olympic trials in Regina and gold medal games at the Salt Lake 2002, Torino 2006 and Vancouver 2010 Olympic Games.

And I saw every game at the 2010 Paralympic Games as a sportswriter for the Paralympic News Service.

So, now it's time to stop writing about curling and actually get back onto the ice and throw rocks and do some sweeping. I haven't joined a team in Toronto but have put the word out that I'm available to spare!

Good curling.

Friday Night Lights in TO

A last-minute plan saw three TO2015 staffers head to the Rogers Centre to catch the last regular-season Toronto Argonauts game.  When I was asked late Friday afternoon if I wanted to go to the CFL game, I replied, "well, going to an Argos game is on my list."  With that, it was off to the stadium formerly known as the SkyDome. 

The stadium is holding up well, in my opinion, since it opened in 1989.  The stadium is the site of the opening and closing ceremonies for the 2015 Pan Am Games.

But on this night, the focus was football -- Argos vs. the Montreal Alouettes. It was the first CFL game for my American colleague Cecil who commented that "field is massive" compared to the NFL.

There was plenty of on-field marketing activities in a family atmosphere.


As for the game, in true CFL fashion, it was down to the final minutes to determine the score in a tight game.

The visitors beat the home team 23 - 20.  Here's the game summary:  http://www.argonauts.ca/article/week-19-recap

Next up for the Argos: hosting the eastern final on Nov. 17.