Home Away From Home

I've settled into my Vancouver home away from home quite nicely. I'm tired, which I think is to be expected with a three-hour time difference and 12-hour work day. But I'm finding some time for myself, mostly in the really early or really late hours, which is good enough for me.

There is a pool in my building that is quite nice. It's about 31 yards in length and situated under a glass atrium so sunlight streams into the water. I'm used to swimming in a basement so it's a real treat for me. I squeezed in a decent swim yesterday before the madness ensued.

Today I ran. And not just any run, but an inspiring run along the river and through the Olympic venues. There were flags from every country imaginable and Olympic rings everywhere I looked. I passed other runners, most wearing the numbers and logos of their media outlets or the flags of their countries. Can you imagine a more incredible place to be training? I did a 5'/1' run walk with six minutes of running at the end. I am looking forward to my longer runs this week so I can explore more.

On a non-training note, the culinary adventures in Vancouver are extraordinary. We started at Salt Tasting Room, a wine/charcuterie bar last night where I samples sherry marinated dried beef, fennel pollen salami, decadent triple creme and blue cheese, along with assorted condiments including marinated cippolini onions, marcona almonds and cornichons. From there we ended up at Boneta where I had incredible steelhead trout tartare followed by the best scallops I've had in quite some time. I promised myself I'd enjoy the food here even if it was at 10pm each night. I intend to keep that promise.