Blogging for Tourism Vancouver

I guess someone does actually read these blogs! I have yet to get Google Analytics working for this blog so I have no idea what kind of visitors I'm getting or where they are coming from. Why are tracking codes so hard to figure out?
Anyway, someone somewhere is reading my blog(s) because I received an email earlier in the week from the Manager of Digital Marketing at Tourism Vancouver. Turns out they are looking for people like me to contribute to their blog about our experience and preparations leading up to the Vancouver Olympics. I have committed to post at least once a month on Inside Vancouver and once it gets closer to the Games, much more often, and daily when I get to Vancouver. This is kind of the schedule I had planned for myself for this blog. I wanted to do daily posts so the people back home get the daily birds eye view of what is happening in Vancouver.
I am so excited to get started for Inside Vancouver! I'm in the process of getting my profile set up and then I'll be free to write whatever I want, well, within reason of course.
It feels great to be an official blogger for such a great organization like Tourism Vancouver. I am certainly making use of their site now and I'm sure I will much more as it gets closer to the Olympics. I hope you will follow me on both blogs and I continue to document this amazing experience. Somehow it all still seems so surreal!
Note to self: Must buy laptop, SOON!

Vancouver Links

I found a link on the Tourism Vancouver site for information on accommodation in BC for the Olympics. Here you go. Hope you find these helpful:

Tourism Vancouver
2010 Destination Planner
Access Vacation Group
Breakaway Vacations

I have been in contact with Paula from Mode Suites. Mode is a company that provides long term accommodation to business travellers in the Vancouver area. They are opening up their inventory to people needing places to stay during the Olympics. There are a variety of units available at a variety of costs. Paula managed to find me a great unit located close to downtown that is actually within my budget! You can contact her through a general email address located on their website. Good luck all!

And so it continues

The great hunt for a hotel room is continuing. I found out recently that the Olympic committee has all/most of the rooms on hold. I don't know why. If you have any insight to this great mystery please enlighten me. I am a little perplexed. How do you offer to host the Olympics, to which hundreds of thousands will probably travel, and then tie up all of the accommodations within any reasonable distance? Is this a normal thing when it comes to the Olympics?
I have started looking into renting private residences since that seems to be the only option. However, I do not have $10 thousand dollars to spend on a room for one week. I expected rates to be ridiculous but that is a little too much. As I fight to stay within my budget and not be two hours outside of Vancouver, I will continue the search. One way or another, I will have a roof over my head and my travelling companions heads, when we reach Vancouver in February 2010.

The Race for a Hotel Room

And so the hunt begins. I never thought I would actually end up with tickets to the Olympics and have to go through the horror of finding a place to stay. Our first attempt has confirmed what we already know: its going to be very difficult. Several downtown hotels appear to be full, another is not taking reservations until the Fall. Hopefully there will be others like that. Right now, they seem to be my only chance.
I've moved the search away from downtown, out by the airport and am even considering Burnaby or Richmond. But how far are these places from where I need to go? I don't want to be on a bus for 5 hours to get to one event. I'm calling on friends in BC to help me figure out a good location. Maybe they will even have the inside scoop on some places to stay?
If you know a good travel agent please give me their name!
I feel like planning to go the the Olympics should be its own sport. May the best, most determined man/woman/family win. Good luck all.

Money, Money

As I start telling people about my good fortune in getting tickets to the Games, the one question they all want to know is "how much did it cost?". For obvious reasons I have decided not to divulge this information. Needless to say it was not cheap, but to me, it is and will be worth every penny. I know this is probably the only chance I will have to see an Olympics and what better one to see than the one being held in Canada. If I had to travel any further than Vancouver, the cost would be significantly more. If I had to pay an exchange rate on tickets, they would be more expensive than their face value.
So if you dream of going to watch a Superbowl or Euro Cup Game, I say go ahead! As long as you plan for the amount of money you are going to spend, go and have fun. Its not like we get to do this every year! For me, it's a dream come true to be going to these Games.
I get goosebumps when I think of being able to cheer for Team Canada at the Vancouver Olympics. Hopefully I will see some of Team Canada at my events! There is no way of knowing right now.
The hunt for the hotel has begun. I'll keep you posted.

On My Way

I remember being a child and watching the summer Olympics on Los Angeles. I was fascinated by them, all of these competitors, all of these sports, in one place. I loved every minute of it. The following year I asked my mom when the Olympics would be starting. She broke the horrible news to me that Olympics only happen every 4 years. It seemed torture to wait that long. Ever since, I have watched summer and winter Olympics like a maniac. I was glued to my TV last year for the Summer Games in Beijing. I didn't even go out the 16 days they were on. I came home from work every day to catch up on what happened, I watched before I went to work. Basically I am a bit obsessed and the first to admit it.
The thought of going to Vancouver for the Winter 2010 games didn't really start to form until last fall. When I read on the Vancouver 2010 site that Canadians would get first shot at tickets, I thought I may have a chance. If ever I could get to a Games, this would be the best one to try for. After all, its in my home country, who better to cheer on Canadians on home turf than us crazy Olympic Canadian fans.
I put together my list of ticket requests and sent it off to VOC and awaited the results. December brought major disappointment. Out of all the events I requested, I got two! Two! I thougtht I would have to give up my dream trip. I wasn't going to make the trip for only 2 events.
Yesterday, June 6th, brought about a whole new plan. Phase 2 of ticket sales began. I figured this was my last chance to get the events that I wanted. June 6th would be the deciding factor as to whether or not I continued on the next phase of trip planning.
I am happy to say I got tickets for everything I wanted and more! I even got tickets to the Closing Ceremonies, something I've always dreamed of going to but never ever thought it would be possible.
The next step is finding a place to stay in Vancouver and figuring out how to get there. Sometimes I think that getting tickets may have been the easiest part! I have put the word out to all Vancouver friends to keep their ears open for places we can stay.
I've got all the tickets I wanted and will make sure I am there to see my events. My mom and my brother will be by my side. Mostly because I needed someone to go with, but I hope that they get caught up in the excitement and have a great time with me. I feel so honoured to be going to the Olympics and cheer on our Canadian athletes. I have so much admiration for their talents and dedication to their sports. This is a dream come true for me.
Stay tuned for updates on the quest for accommodations. Maybe the hardest part is yet to come.