Erstwhile Traveler-Torino

Ciao Italia....

2006-03-12T21:56:00.000-08:00

Well it’s finally over!

After landing in LA and having all of one day off it was back to the office to prep for the Oscars, then actually doing the Oscars, then back to all the other work I missed while I was gone.

The Olympics is a massive, massive event. I’m struck by how much it felt like film production; we build the city, we live in it for a little while, then we take it down and go somewhere else. And we’ve all gone somewhere else; today on IM I was talking to 2 people who were at arms length for 3 weeks; now they are 10,000 miles apart.

I can’t help but thinking that we had our own mini-olympics; with people from offices all over the world brought together for 3 weeks; just like the athletes and fans. We all had fun, but more importantly we all made it work. Our company has been raving about how successful the Olympics were for us.

I’m sure the Italians had their work cut out for them but they certainly didn’t do us any favors. Many people told me this was the hardest games in recent memory; and while I'm sure there was a certain level of organization many of us failed to see it. But what they failed to provide in meticulous, clockwork-like execution they more than made up for with friendly attitudes and welcoming demeanors; despite our limited Italian the natives seemed happy to see us if a bit overwhelmed.

But now, like the athletes we are scattered to the 4 corners of the earth and going on about the business of our lives. Now about Beijing; those games are only about 28 months away….

Ciao,

The Traveler….

If you want to see the entire blog for the Olympics on one page click here; otherwise you can see each entry in chronological order below. Each link will open in a new window.

Andiamo a Torino!
Walking walking walking....
Benvenutto a Torino
Settling In
Out and about
Down in it...
Loooongoto
Day 1
Men in Tights I
Oh-no
Men in Tights II
Here I am
Passion Lives Here
Hats off to the Men in Tights
Medals Ceremony
Like Moths to a Flame...
Girls on Ice
The Jorge and Mary Show
Lost in Torino
Olympic Stadium
Streeters Meat
Medals Plaza
Patrick and I see Torino
Last Night in Torino
The Voyage Home

The Voyage Home

2006-02-28T18:42:00.000-08:00

The last time I came back from Italy my journey started at 3 am Europe time and ended at 9 pm LA time; I went through 4 cities and 5 airports. I remember thinking that anybody who would willingly do this was insane.

This time was slightly better in that we didn't have a connection in New York or a long layover in Paris (unlike the guys going to NYC, another 5 hour layover). But we still arrived at the airport at the ass-crack of dawn; only to realise that nobody was really manning the show.

Pierce waits while Robert checks..are we really going home today?

Christian's luggage waits...as does Christian

Mary is happy to be going home

Check-in seemed to take forever; at one point I was convinced that someone ahead of me was negotiating a disarmament treaty or a new trade agreement. We were more awake than the gate agents...but not that much more awake. But the Air France guys and even security seemed to be in reasonably good cheer (especially considering what their day was about to look like), and eventually we all got checked in. Now it was about 4:30....so only 2 more hours to kill before we could get onto the plane.

I think at this point whatever adrenaline was keeping us going (fear of missing the flight, excitement at seeing friends and family, hatred of packing, fear of Italian cabs) finally ebbed. We crashed. Streeter tried to sleep on the floor; Brian was hunched over his luggage.

The rest of us tried to have a coffee, or an orange juice, or whatever in order to remain awake enough to remember to get on the plane. And it wasn't just us; everyone else at the airport had just finished the Olympics too. You've never seen so many people this tired in your life...

Jeff stares into space while Streeter has a weird euro Power-Aid; Robert looks mad.

Even Elsa was tired..I think Brandon was about to take away my camera

Streeter's out...

Reb is knitting, Pierce is waiting for his coffee to kick in,
Al looks like he wants to be anyplace else in the world right now.

As the boarding time got closer we ran into Freideman about to get on a plane for Germany.

Finally they boarded the plane. We were all packed into 3 rows on the Airbus. We got on the plane....and sat for nearly an hour. By this point most of us (myself included) had nodded off. As the plane taxied for takeoff I got this shot of the sunrise.

During our flight we had some spectacular views of the Alps. Maybe I should say I had great views because I think everyone else was out cold.

These are the Alps!

At one point the pilot said that outside was a nice view of Mont Blanc. However in French he said the left side of the plane and in English he said the right. So this could be Mont Blanc. Or it could not be.

C'est Le MontBlanc? Vraiment Je ne sais pas....

Once the plane was descending into Paris we realized that our hour and a half layover was now really a half-hour layover thanks to our on-time Italian departure. We would have to repeat the journey from 2c to 2d and go through security again and somehow make the plane to LA.

When the plane landed I think we were all about to open the emergency exits and slide down the wings; but cooler heads prevaled and we walked (ok we basically ran) off the plane (sorry no goodbyes to the NYC bound contingent) and bolted through the terminal.

As we lined up in security on the other side we realized that Patrick was not among us. We got worried....did he go to the wrong gate? Did he doze off on the jetway? Fall in love with some Parisian barista at the coffee hut?

We got onto the little bus which drove us I believe to Belgium where we got our plane. It was parked next to another 777 and an old 747...the reject line? Oh boy. And let me tell you our plane really needed a wash....just like us.

We all got off the little bus, climbed up the air stairs and settled into our seats...but where's Patrick? One more bus pulled up and the door closed; and Patrick, Christian and Brandon walked onto the plane. Apparently they had stopped Patrick for some kind of security screening after he got off of the Torino flight...first Christian than Patrick. Do the CDG people have some kind of policy where they have to annoy one American per flight? Sheesh.

A 12 hour plane trip, all during the day, when you haven't slept, and just want to get home, is torture. There is no two ways about it. We were all able to get some sleep, but not much. The plane was packed. You can only watch the same 3 movies so many times. By this point you have read the in-flight magazine on the way out, you hate all the movies, you have read all your books, your ipod is near death, and so is your spirit. I swear airlines should provide in-flight gambling or bellydancing or something to keep people from banging their head against the wall. How people fly from LA to Singapore (18 hours) I will never know.

Somewhere over Greenland, or maybe was it Canada I really was ready to grab a parachute and jump out of the plane, but instead I took this picture:

Christian and Brandon in repose....

Eventually after who knows how many games of Solitare on the back of the headrest the plane landed in the good old US of A. Or should I say slammed onto the runway so hard we thought we blew a tire. We didn't care, we were home.

As I walked through immigration the passport control officer asked me jokingly if I was at the Olympics or something...being that I was gone for a whole month. I said yes...if I had any more of the pins I would have given him one...

I remember re-entering the US kind of odd when we used to visit from Europe...coming back from Italy was very similar. By this point I was used to people speaking Italian, German or French around me; I had to concentrate to realize that people were speaking English (or spanish). Very odd how the mind works.

Brandon went immediately to Starbucks and ordered a Chai something.....never seen someone enjoy coffee that much in their entire life.

Patrick and I shared a cab back to Santa Monica in the rain. I hauled my very heavy luggage up to my apartment and collapsed on the sofa.

I went to bed at 4 pm. I slept for almost 13 hours.

Last night in Torino.....this is Tha End..

2006-02-27T23:37:00.000-08:00

Evening at the Student Union

After running back to the office I met up with a couple people for our last dinner in Torino. We went back to the steak place where we went a couple of nights ago and had another wonderful dinner there. It was Jess's birthday the next day so we had them bring out a birthday Tiramisu (Jess loves Tiramisu).

Jess and her Birthday Tiramisu

After dinner we returned to the Media Village. Being that our flight was at 7 am, we decided to leave for the airport at 4 am. Being that Closing Ceremonies didn't end until about 11 pm we all figured there was no real point in going to bed (and a real danger of oversleeping and missing the plane).

We all went to our rooms and finished packing. I took a quick shower and changed, which turned out to be a very good idea.

God time to go already?

We went downstairs to have a quiet drink and say goodbye to everybody and await our cabs. The last night the entire place was lit by candles. The Maitre 'D, who we all called the Godfather, seemed especially sad to see us go.

Jono, Elsa and the Godfather

Pierce signs Streeter's credential

Rob is adamant...about something

Simone shows us where passion really lives

Look at this motley crew...

clowning around..

Halleran gets lucky...

Not sure who the Asian guy is...

Godfather enjoying a smoke

Yeah, peace to you too Freddie!

And Chris Lee wonders why we call him Dracula?

Chris, Julian and Patrick

Christian, Mary and Halleran

Done for the night...

Eventually at 3:30 our cabs arrived. Somehow we managed to get us and all our luggage into the cabs and scrape together enough Euro between all of us to pay for them!

Goodbye Verolengo!

Patrick and I go to the superstore, or how to see everything in Torino in 2 hours

2006-02-26T21:03:00.000-08:00

Sunset over Torino near Il Duomo

On sunday Patrick and I decided to go to the Olympic Superstore. This would entail a trek clear across town to Piazza Vitorio Veneto. So we got onto one of the MC7 busses and off we went.

The crowd in Piazza San Marco

The old part of Torino is very pretty; it's what you think of when you think of Italy. We had planned to take the bus to the Medals Plaza but eventually settled on a bus that took us close to the Piazza San Carlo (where the Today show was striking their set....Matt and Katie had already left).

Sun setting over Piazza San Marco

Patrick had never been to this part of town so I took it upon myself to give him a brief walking tour right up to the Medals Plaza. Being the sunday of Closing Ceremonies, I expected people to be out and about. What we saw was amazing; streets that were the most crowded I had ever seen in Italy; worse than Venice in July. Later I realized that this was the Italian Carnavale (similar to the Rio one I guess) with adults and children dressed in strange costumes.

Family all dressed up

Crowds on the Via Roma
We walked north and then turned east towards the superstore. More crowds.

Patrick heading to the Superstore..way in the background
is the Piazza Gran Madre de Dio

After walking for nearly an hour (a walk I'm sure would have taken about 10 minutes on any other day) we arrived only to find the line wrapped around the building; this was the entrance marked VIP.

While Patrick held our spot I hunted around and found a smaller line on the other side; at the entrance marked public. ??? Whatever. In we went.

The Olympic Superstore at one time was worthy of its name I'm sure but I'm also sure that time has past. Everything looked pretty picked over; all that was left was some rather uninspiring stuff. OK it was crap. And not particularly cool or inexpensive crap. We each bought some souvenirs for family members and got out of there as fast as we could....a stampede was in the works.

Madness of the Olympic Superstore
At this point we figured we could walk back to the Medals Plaza seeing most of the sights of Torino on the way. I really wanted to see the Mole (say like Ole with an M in front of it), which is on our pin (and the NBC Torino logo) and Patrick wanted to see the Cathedral that housed the Shroud (the real shroud itself is only shown once every 25 years). So off we went.

Torino Mole. Not sure what the numbers are for

The Mole was easy. This being Europe we figured it was probably a church of some kind, and at one point perhaps it was. Now it seems to be an office building, with a museum of cinema in the bottom. Being that this was the 2 hour tour we didn't have time to go in or to climb the stairs, so we took our pictures and headed onward.

At this point I must confess I sent us on a wild goose chase. When one wants to learn more about the Shroud you would figure the Museum of the Shroud would be a good choice. It was either my inept reading of the guide book or just my enthusiasm at the mere possibility of a museum but I sent us walking clear across town to the Museum of the Shroud. Of course this journey had to be on foot because seemingly all the streets in between were closed and a) finding a cab and b) getting said cab to drive in and out of the available roads seemed ludicrous. So we walked.

Patrick on the Via Garabaldi. Look at all the people! Look at all the stores!
We walked past seemingly every store in Torino. We went in one or two but neither one of us could find anything worth purchasing.

Street vendors show their wares..
Eventually we threaded our way through the streets to the Museum which was...closed.

Patrick on his way to the Museum
Actually the 'museum' seemed like a regular house with a couple of exhibits on the ground floor. At this point I whipped out my guidebook to see that the real exhibit was at Il Duomo...which was a half mile backtrack to where we came from.

Il Duomo...finally Shroud search 2006 is done!
We hightailed it back to Il Duomo and walked in just as mass was starting. They have a copy of the shroud on display (and presumably the real one is stored away somewhere in some kind of climate controlled vault). Patrick and I snapped some pictures, bought a couple post cards from the little old lady at the back, and slipped out.

The Copy...of the Shroud

I'm sure some family paid a lot for this altar. I wonder if it worked? Are they in heaven?
At this point we were very hungry; so we figured we would go back towards the train station and Piazza San Carlo and stop at a restaurant or bar we found on the way. We found a small bar next to a Sushi place that served Focaccia and was playing some very interesting Michael Jackson remixes. Rebecca called us (she was walking around downtown as well) and we were able to direct her to where we were. It was great to see her as we hadn't seen anyone from the mountains team for almost 3 weeks!

Olympic Rings on the Porto Nuovo train station
At this point we decided to join Jess for dinner. I had to run back to the office and finish packing...everyone else was packing up as well.

Packing Insanity. Steve looks remarkably calm.

Medals Plaza

2006-02-25T10:26:00.000-08:00

On friday morning I went downtown (right bus this time) in search of some souvenirs. While I didn't find anything (and didn't feel like treking out to the superstore) I did get a very nice picture of the Medals Plaza.

Medals Plaza, on the left is the Egyptian Museum

At night they do the medals presentations here. During the day it's closed off to the public.

People at the gates

Streeter's Meat

2006-02-25T10:06:00.000-08:00

On Thursday night Mary made a reservation (in Italian, you go girl!) at La Cantinela downtown. This place is famous for its steak, which is cooked on a soapstone griddle right at your table. The hostess is also very strict, when Mary tried to change the reservation she got a stearn lecture, saying that it would not be possible and don't be late.

When we got there we could see why; La Cantinela is what all Italian restaurants in the states dream to be: casual yet elegant, with fantastic food. Everything we ordered was great; the pastas, the starters, all definitely (several) cuts above what we had been surviving on for the last couple weeks.

Finally, the celebrated meat arrived. Streeter was particularly thrilled, as you can see.

Pierce is serious when cooking, Streeter not so much

A happy boy!

Truth be told, so was I. Every place I travel to I try to have at least one really nice dinner--this was definitely worth the wait. As we left; we had to press by the throngs of people trying to get in and went, very satisified into the rainy Torino night.

Olympic Stadium

2006-02-24T11:54:00.000-08:00

Well it's almost done but it's not over yet. Yesterday Jono and I went out to the stadium to make sure that all our equipment was still working and we'd be in good position for the Closing Ceremony. The Closing Ceremony is harder than the opening ceremony because it's just as long, but you've been working for 16 days so you're less patient and less interested.

I got this excellent photo of the stadium by combining about 6 pictures...you can see some of the seams but it's a decent general view.

They were rehearsing part of the ceremony. I saw a woman on 10 foot stilts and a bunch of hockey players. As we were leaving a large marching band streamed onto the stage...guess we'll see what that's all about!

Lost in Translation

2006-02-23T04:21:00.000-08:00

My friend Anusha always insists on doing 3 things in a foreign country; watch TV, go to a grocery store, and take the public transport. Since I had already done the first 2 things I figured today instead of taking the media bus I would go into Turin via the city bus (ETT) #72.

I love public transport. The New York Subway, LIRR and PATH train, London Underground, Kyoto subway, Tokyo subways (with help from Jon and Mayumi), San Francisco tram and BART, and even the DC metro I have conquered. After a day I was zipping in and out of the Madrid metro like a pro. I am one of the few who own a car AND take the bus in LA (to the airport). Even when the city is un-navigable and I get lost instantly (Boston) usually I can figure out the public transport (the T).

My plan was to go into the center city, then walk down to the Porto Nuovo train station and take the media bus down to the MPC. I figured this would add at most 20-30 minutes to my morning commute. Easy peasy lemon squeezy.

I consulted my map, double checked the route. The city bus and the media bus stop at the same place, going in the same direction. I walked down to the bus, stashed my media credential inside my jacket, and went into stealth mode. Incognito…just one of the guys on the street.

The first thing I noticed about Italian public transport is that apparently it’s free. Of all the people I saw get on the bus I think I saw 2 pay. And you can’t really pay with cash….apparently you have to use these little cards…so I feigned ignorance and sat down. The next thing I noticed about public transport is that it makes a lot more stops than the media bus….the stops are easily walkable but people still get on and off after one stop. People in a rush?

At this point I pulled out my guidebook and tried to figure out what, if anything I would walk past on my trek down to Porto Nuovo. I got seriously engrossed in an article about the Shroud of Turin…apparently the one on display is a photocopy and not the real thing.

The Cloud of Turin? I think it's god laughing at me...
Serves me right for getting sucked into religious relics, I hear lots of screaming and I look up. 2 old ladies and an old man are yelling at a driver who has double parked…on a street that is about 2 cars wide. At this point I realize that the bus is stopped and can’t turn. As they get into it with the driver (who has gone inside for a coffee and is now coming out) I think….so charming, ahh Italy. The odd fact that there are only 3 people on a bus in the middle of the morning in Turin escapes me.

We turn the corner and I realize that I am really in deep trouble.

We are not in Kansas anymore....
We are not in downtown Torino. Not at all. Not even close. We could be somewhere in the San Fernando Valley. There are too many cars, too many wide roads and way too much open space. We’re in the sticks.

NOoooo problemo; I will just walk around, find a cab, and go straight back to Verolengo; or even into the office. Except for the fact that there is not a cab in sight. No problem, I’ll duck into this nice café we just drove past and call one, except that when I look in my wallet and realize I have about 5 euro to my name and not a bank or ATM in sight. This is not good. Not good at all.

I’m screwed.

At the next stop I glance at the route markers and realize that I am 3 stops away from the end, the wrong end, of the bus line. I decide immediately to get out at the next stop; except that we are now in a maze of one way streets..so getting out does not necessarily mean that there will be a stop on the other direction close by. I get off the bus and realize that I am really, really lost.

So I go back to the bus stop and get out my bus map. I figure out where the other bus stop SHOULD be and just head out there. There are no street signs to be seen so I'm going on faith...dead reckoning. I walk three blocks and turn right, and there is…..A BUS STOP. I check it and it’s the #72 heading INTO town. I’m thrilled. Moments later a bus shows up and I slink into the back.

The bus stop. The other side of that sign is for the motel to the right.

The bus!

This was a cool stadium. Don't know for what or where...

Riding public transport back into town is far different that going out. There are lots more people; including the scary looking wo(man?) in a fur coat with a small dog who stares at me and the Italian teenagers who look at me like I am from Mars. You’ve never seen a tall Americano in sunglasses before?

A very nice park...very far away from where I want to be..

2 old men...maybe they tried to take the bus and are lost too?

For some reason the buses are also very hot… like the trains in Japan. So after a couple of minutes there is BO. A lot. Unlike the trains in Japan. I get several dirty looks from old ladies until I realize I am sitting in a handicapped seat. So I get up when the next old lady gets on and on of the teenagers promptly takes my seat. Whatever.

As we get closer things start to look much more urban and a lot older….thank god. At some point a nice lady asks me about one of my pins on my jacket. I give her one of our pins and she seem genuinely pleased.

Getting close...this is what it's SUPPOSED to look like.
The bus ends. We all get off and everything around me looks at least 100 years old....success! We get off and I start walking…I’m navigating by the sun at this point so I think I’m heading east but I’m still not entirely sure. The streets change names every 3 blocks or so downtown so a quick glance at a map is out of the question. I hit a square, turn right and see the Today Show set. Never in my life would I have equated the sight of Matt Lauer and Katie Couric with salvation. I know where I am! It’s a miracle!

I rush down to the station and grab the X1 bus back to the office. Plan foiled…nothing seen in downtown Torino (at least nothing that I haven’t already seen). 3 hours of my life wasted. Very late into the office with some taunts from Eugene. And that lady's stare still haunts me.

ETT 1. Jorge 0.

Thanks for playing…better luck next time.

The Jorge and Mary (Today) Show

2006-02-22T10:48:00.000-08:00

The Today Show Set
Today is Mary's mom's birthday. She said that she really wanted to go down to the Today Show set and try to get on TV with the sign she made.

My mom actually called me last week to ask me if I was at the today show. I wasn't; I was working. The Today Show is in Piazza San Carlo, a 15 min cab ride away from here.

I haven't seen anything of Torino...but today it was quieter in the office so I was able get some away time (the Today show starts right around lunch time here). I had exactly one hour to get out of here, get over there, and get back to the office. We jumped in a cab and off we went.

Mary having a 'La Dolce Vita' moment

The set in Piazza San Carlo

The Today Show set is basically a large tent plotzed in the middle of Piazza San Carlo, which is really pretty. My mom keeps saying that Torino on TV is so pretty....well this is the part she's talking about. The set is open air, so that's why Matt and Katie are wearing coats...depending on the weather I'm sure it's pretty cold. I wonder how they can get keep the sound of the crowd out of the seated shots...whatever.

We're ready!
So we show up and I have 20 min to basically stand there before I rush back to the office. Matt and Katie are sitting during commercial and then they decide to come down to the crowd....right where Mary and I are standing. She puts up the fabulous sign, they come back from commercial....and we are on the air.

Mary is psyched to see Matt Lauer

Here they come...

Katie Matt and Al before they come back from commercial

unfortunately my camera died at THAT VERY MOMENT but I was able to get a snap of us on the feed before it croaked, and then another one with Marys' camera.

You can see me and Mary on the feed...I have the camera and am waving on the right hand side

Closeup of me and Mary....we look odd b/c of the angle

You can clearly see Mary over Matt's left shoulder..click the image for larger size

Our 15 minutes are up!
Then they moved to another group and that was it. Such unbelievable luck....20 min and we are on TV. The one time I get out to the set and we get on the air....amazing. Oddly I go to NYC all the time and have never been near the Today show set...I have to go to Italy to do it!

Puerta Nuevo Station
Then it was back to Puerta Nuevo to find a cab and rush back to the office. And yes I called my mom...this time it really was me.

Top of Lingotto

2006-02-22T08:12:00.000-08:00

One day I decided to go to the Pinoteca on the top of the Lingotto. I figured that this would give me a good view of the top of the Lingotto as well as a welcome break from the office.

The Pinoteca houses a bunch of paintings from the Agnelli art collection. It also hosts travelling shows, as was the case on the day I went there, a show about European landscapes.

The show was very quiet but I did manage to snap some shots on the top of the buildling; here are 2 photo composites. Click the pictures for larger images.

Top of Lingotto, you can clearly see the bubble shaped board room and the track.

The archway and a clear view of the Olympic Village.

Jess

2006-02-22T08:11:00.000-08:00

Meet Jess. Jess is from Sweden. After the US lost to Sweden in women's hockey Jess is working the mens game. I wonder who she's routing for?

Pins

2006-02-22T08:09:00.000-08:00

Every outlet, company, sponsor and organization has Olympic pins made. Janey, who's a huge Olympic fan has the biggest collection of pins I have ever seen....you cleaned up girl!
Janey shows off her pins.

I haven't collected any yet....time to get cracking.

Turin by Night...

2006-02-21T03:35:00.000-08:00

Every night I see things on the bus or in the car back to Verolengo that amaze me. If I get more pictures I'll put them up:

There are banners like this all over Torino

This is actually a sculpture close to the Media Village. We text each other and say "just passed the crane"

Girls on Ice

2006-02-21T03:22:00.000-08:00

Inside the hockey stadium
Well after men in tights its Girls on Ice...Sweden vs. USA. Our seats were pretty far down in the arena and we were able to get some pretty good views of the action. By the time we arrived Sweden and the US were basically tied, and after 2 more periods they were still tied.

See the cool translucent seats

US trying to score the goal is THAT way...

Scene of many a disappointment

Missed. Again
Eventually they had to do a shootout, where each team gets 5 chances to score a goal on the other team. Basically the US got creamed. What's the deal? They spent all their time down by the goal, but couldn't hit the puck in. I'm not a huge hockey fan but defense, passing, coordination? All sound good to me! I must say the Swedish girls played a good game and did well.

They don't look so happy. Not at all.

The winners...

Yehaw! Cheerleaders!
The rest of the event was surprisingly like one in the US, with the cheezy rock music during downtime (to Rob and Eugene's delight they played Coldplay), cheerleaders, and the big jumbotron telling us to make noise, etc etc.

Like Moths.....

2006-02-21T01:41:00.000-08:00

...to the flame
A couple nights ago Mary got some tickets to the women's hockey match. This was in the Hockey arena that was right by the Olympic stadium, so we had to walk past the Olympic flame.
Flame and Olympic Stadium
For what basically amounts to a giant cigarette lighter there is something magical about it. It's the irrefutable evidence that you are at an Olympics, and not some exhibition event or regional competition (as if the Olympic rings plastered all over everything make it easy to forget). We were really drawn to it.

Mary, Helen and Me. And the Flame. Again.
We amused ourselves taking some pictures of it and us.

Yes, more flame from the bus.
I got this later shot at night from the bus after Helen and I walked around for an hour trying to find it. A french camera crew gave us their map after they got into a cab. After determining that they had it upside down we only had to walk clear across the complex to find the bus. Never been so happy to see the MC-7 bus in my entire life!

Medals Ceremony

2006-02-20T08:43:00.000-08:00

So after watching the men in tights compete, they held the medals ceremony right there on the ice. Not very many sports do this, so we got to watch.

Raising the flags

Dude show some emotion; you won!

The girl with the ponytail on the ice in front of Evgeni is Elsa. You go Girl!

Hats off to the Men in Tights

2006-02-19T06:42:00.000-08:00

Ok. In for a penny in for a pound. 2nd night of Men in Tights.

What struck me about so many of these guys is that they really must do it for the love of the sport. While the top 6 or 8 are the only ones that really have any chance of a medal or recognition (or lets face it lucrative endorsement deals), there are 20 other guys who slog it out, every day, and show up to give it their best.

This guy had no chance of a medal.

Even if that best means they score half of what Heir-spinmeister Evgeni scores. It really wasn't even fair. EP could have singled all his jumps, probably fallen once, gone out for a smoke, and still walked off with a medal. He was a Lexus in a sea of Chevrolets.

So hats off to the Men in Tights. They may not medal, hell they may not even make it through their program without falling ass backwards onto the ice. They may be the D-list athletes of their sport. Their best hope is to beat their personal best...even if its not very good. But they are here, they came for their olympic experience, and they took their shot. Bravo!

Noisy Russian Fans..

Not sure what he's so nervious about...dude chill.

Surprise...he won!

Passion Lives Here

2006-02-19T06:16:00.000-08:00

Well we are about 1/2 way through it now. I think we are starting to crack a little bit. Working for 2 weeks straight with minimal sleep and no days off is apt to make people a little......loopy. So we did what all people should do in this situation....go down the pub.

Well not really the pub, in this case we have a small restaurant in the lobby of our Media Village that we call the Student Union. What it lacks for in ambiance (yes it really is that bright) it makes up for in 24 hour service.

Add some very tired people, a couple beers and bottles of wine, stir well, and witness the results...

Yes passion lives here. Go Simone Babe!

'Dem men talking about guns and cars. Jess is annoyed she's left out of the conversation (about cars, not guns)

Carlo is really speaking Italian, and Jono and Steve have NO idea what he's saying (nor do we when he speaks English, but that's beside the point).

Ken in a serious moment

Simone agitating Rob. Patrick is not amused.

Rob, like the Gremlins, is adverse to bright light.

Cheers! Rob isn't looking to sure about this...don't be mental Rob! You're not a dodgy Geezer!

Here I am

2006-02-19T06:04:00.000-08:00

This is for Gloria. She doesn't believe I am really here in Torino. Well Gloria here I am at Palavela. Me. Torino. At Palavela. About to sit through Men in Tights.

Men in Tights II

2006-02-19T05:43:00.000-08:00

Ok, so I freely admit figure skating is not a very .... manly sport. Men in tights and sequins pirouetting around on the ice. Sounds like something out of a bad Vegas review or the Philadephila mummers parade. Liberace eat your heart out.

The big cheese Evgeni Pluschenko practising.
However we had an extra ticket and this 'unmanly' sport is one of the most popular sports here and hard to get seats to. So yes I went.

Big Cheese....big screen....
Men in Tights are small and fit. They have to be...they spin like ballet dancers, sprint like runners, and balance like Yoga masters. Its amazing. They also fall. Alot. Especially if you are not ranked in the top 10. Not quite as dramatic as speed skating, but still a substantial splat. There are also lots of Men in Tights....about 30 in the short program group. That is alot of Men in Tights.

Mary and Brandon working hard at Men in Tights.

Robert and Mary discussing Men in Tights...Robert can't decide which of the costumes he likes best....maybe he'll wear one for Halloween! Brandon just doesn't want to know.

SNOW!

2006-02-19T03:34:00.000-08:00

This picture is crappy and blurry I know.
Yes it did. Kinda pretty, but then it turned slushy and gross. It has been raining and snowing in the moutains for a while, so I guess we are lucky we only got this much.

Snow on mountains behind the Olympic Village

Another view

After this I am reminded why I live in California. We don't get frozen water falling from the sky in LA!

Oh-No

2006-02-17T07:38:00.000-08:00

The one the only Apollo Anton-Ohno

So we sat and watched some prelims of mens and womens. Jeez they go fast....one of the skaters was that Americano Apollo Anton Ohno. Didn't seem to be working particularly hard, but that didn't matter because he easily won his heat. Saving himself for later heats?

Fixing his skates

Zoom!
The women were also impressive but the men really fly across the ice. I can't event bring myself to drive as fast as some of these people skate..and the crashes! It's a miracle they dont' all look like hockey players...have all their teeth and are not cut to ribbions by those huge skates.

Round and round they go
Well we decided to go back to the office...in the next heat Ohno screwed up and pulled himself out of contention for a medal in that particular event. Probably just as well we weren't there...
Zamboni enters the ice in Palavela

Men in Tights Pt.1

2006-02-17T04:35:00.000-08:00

So now that things are pretty much up and running I was hoping to sneak out after work and try to see some events. On monday night I got lucky and me and Helen went to Palavela for speed skating.

Line at the Mag and Bag

After getting through security we tried to find the press area, or any area we could see the action. We went into the 'journalist area' and were greeted with a bunch of journalists watching the event on tele:

Journalists get to watch it on tele too!

Athelete Interview Area
The very helpful volunteer informed us that we would have to wait until after the heat was over. So we waited. Then we asked again...and she said the athletes wouldn't come out until the heat was over. OK. Not quite what we wanted.

Eventually we conned our way into the journalist area, or should I say we were inside but not at the spectators booth. One whole side of the Palavela venue is reserved for journalists and photographers. Amazing...

Press Area

Photographers area next to stands

Day 1

2006-02-11T08:52:00.000-08:00

Entrance to the Olympic Village, across from Lingotto

Well last night was the opening ceremony. Looked pretty much the same to me as it did to all you all....except I was watching the olympic feed in the press center. That means same images, but no narration at all....mostly good except for the fact that I didn't know who any of these people were. If you download the press guide from here you can see how those TV types seem so smart (who knew Sophia Loren was a UN ambassador?).
Last night I got this admittedly rather blurry shot of the olympic flame.
The stadium isn't that far from the press center.

Pierce and Simone working during the Opening Ceremony

This morning (yes the olympics is a 16 day straight operation) i saw this nice view of the mountains on my way to breakfast.

Mountains from the village

More soon i hope.

The Looooongoto

2006-02-09T07:53:00.000-08:00

Lingotto
Our printer fax (which I have named Fran) has been complaining about having no ink, so I stepped out today to the next door Lingotto to get some at the Saturn computer store. The store was clear the other end of the mall, so I had to go out through security, into the mall, and go down down down.

The interior

The helipad...
Like I said earlier the Lingotto is the old Fiat factory. Raw materials came in the bottom, then manufactured in various elements, then there was a track on the top where they would be tested. Later on they make this huge helipad and a big glass dome-shaped boardroom. Jono says that he thinks it looks like something out of a James Bond movie. There are also office spaces for rent and an art gallery with some of the Agnelli art collection.

Kids

Stage
When I was walking by there was a large Mc Donalds pavilion and a LOT of loud italian kids running by. Mary said it was some sponsor event. McDonalds is a big olympic sponsor, and there is a large one right at the entrance to the press center. Most people have sworn off it as we know its close, its cheap, and we'll probably end up getting way too much when things get really busy.

Other than that things are moving right along. More staff arrived yesterday so our little office is getting quite full!

The last night...opening ceremonies are tomorrow!

Down In It.....

2006-02-07T04:58:00.000-08:00

The Olympics are coming! The Olympics are coming!

Yes they are. Turin is still getting ready for it, as are we. Today was spent mostly prepping, setting up. When so many people from different offices come together getting all their systems to work in unison is a challenging, tedious task, but I think we've knocked most of that out today. Our field tech Jono and Travis are busy setting up the stations that we will be using to work at the venues, while I'm manning the store around here.

We are already covering some practices and some non-athletic related events, so we're already sending out pictures.

One of our work areas

Laura, our Italian agent and Giuseppe, one of our photographers, conver with another collegue.

Another editor work area with lockers
Our office is inside the MPC, or Media Photo Center. We are grouped with other print outlets; all the TV outlets are in another area. The media presence here is incredible: I read once that for every athlete that attends the summer games 3 journalists attend, here I would suspect that number is much higher.

There are more people here than yesterday, and as the Opening Ceremonies approach I'm sure that even more will filter in. I still haven't seen any of the venues yet, there is one ice venue that is close to us so maybe I'll get to sneak out and see it. The snow events are about 3 hours away in Siestre...my friend Christian has a picture of the view outside his hotel room in his blog here:http://christiansphotoblog.blogspot.com. I can see a construction zone out my window.

I think we will be ready; I wish somebody would go buy some coffee cups, Simone and I have a real hankering for some tea every once in a while and we have a kettle and some water but no cups...perhaps we'll make a trip to the store back at the ranch and buy some.

Out and About in Torino

2006-02-07T04:50:00.000-08:00

The main press center (MPC)is in the Lingotto complex, which is actually the old Fiat factory. We are adjacent to it (the Lingotto is actually now a huge shopping center) and there are media outlets set up all around it.

Rob, Eugene and Mary stroll around the Olympic Media Center

The first day Mary and I went off site to a very charming little Italian place for lunch. On the way back we had to cross a street that had been barricaded mostly down the middle; so we had to walk to the end of the barricade to cross it. While we were crossing the st. intrepid Italian drivers were using part of the crosswalk as a driveway. Mary found this hilarious:

Mary Mary....

Mary and me in front of the press center....it's cold here!

So far I have had lots of veal and some great pasta. That night we went exploring near downtown Turin to find a nice restaurant....myself and 7 other photogs/techs ended up at Alba (sorry Gloria there were no birds) where we had a very nice dinner with several bottles of wine. Then we went to this Irish pub to watch the superbowl which starts at 12 am here (yes I know Irish pub + American football * Italy=drunkenness..but I was good). Then back to bed.

Settling in, or how I flooded my Apt.

2006-02-07T04:12:00.000-08:00

Ah Torino....doesn't have the same ring as Ah Venice, but seems all in all like a nice place.

Media Village Verolengo is located about 10 km and 1/2 an hour by bus from where we work, the MPC (Main Press Center) complex, which is in downtown Torino. We are bussed by special Olympic busses from Verolengo every day; all the bus lanes have been converted into Olympic lanes, so the regular busses use them also. Check out Verolengo:

On the left is the restaurant and general reception area (we call this the Ranch) and on the right is a grocery/hardware store. Most excellent for getting those things you forgot or will run out of.

Here's my building (actually the one next to mine but mine's the same):

I know it looks like a prison but it's actually quite nice inside, very clean, very modern.
Here's my room:

Moments after I took this picture the apt. flooded
I know the bed is not made, but it's quite serviceable. The bathroom however is another story. For whatever reason this is a handicapped suite, so the floor of both the shower and the bathroom is completely flat. So I took a shower, expecting some miracle of invisible Italian engineering to protect my floor and keep the water inside. Instead what happened was a complete flood of most of the apt. My company jacket: soaked. My socks and pants that I had worn the previous day: soaked. I eventually solved the problem by determining that it was necessary to use as little water as possible. Turn on, get wet, off. Turn on, rinse off, done.

Makes for a very quick shower.....

Benvenutto a Torino (Landed. Checked in. Passed out--with a wee drink at the pub.)

2006-02-05T06:08:00.000-08:00

Pretty much somes up the rest of yesterday. After landing in Torino we had to get our credentials activated (the credential is the little laminated piece of paper that has your name, your photo and who you work for) so that the Olympics guys didn't think we were terrorists (they even gave Christian one, which surprised me after the thorough going over the CDG security gave him). Then we all boarded a bus for our long long drive into the city (European airports are a ways away...I had forgotten bout this).

Then, of course off to the pub! The Brits found an Irish bar that served passable pizza in the center of town (we were all starving by this point). We hung out there (the UK guys got in 3 hours before us) until the wee hours of the morning. Then we went back to our accomodations where we promptly all passed out.

Check out the alps on the plane from Paris....

Walking Walking Walking (or why I hate CDG)

2006-02-05T06:01:00.000-08:00

Well a dinner, breakfast, and a couple mimosas (with Mary in the back of the plane, those Air France FAs are so nice) we arrived at Paris CDG Airport. We had to transfer from 2D to 2C (or vice versa). So much walking....no elevators...lots of luggage. Then we tried to get through security and Christian was stopped and basically held up by security because they wanted to explosive sniff his laptop. The rest of us went through security, realised there was no bar on the other side, and returned, all in the time it took the French equivalent of the TSA to screen/sniff his laptop. I just think they liked having him around......

While in CDG we met up with the NYC contingent who had a lovely 5 hour layover waiting for us. After a quick drink later on we all embarked on our 1.5 hour flight to Turin....in the photos you can see some of our gang...this is what we all look like after being on an airplane for 6-10 hours....not bad huh?

Andiamo a Torino!

2006-02-05T05:33:00.000-08:00

(Written on plane and posted later)
Good god. The day has finally arrived. After months of planning, days of packing, and one ill advised night out, today I will finally leave for 3 weeks of work in Turin, Italy (Torino!).

I feel ready, not because I feel completely prepared but because I just can't think about it anymore. I have a bunch of new toys, a Digital Camera and an Ipod, with which to document and enjoy my trip.

We start out with an 11 hour flight from Los Angeles to Paris, then connect for another flight into Turin. Not entirely thrilled about that much air travel, but its better than the alternative routing which would have us leaving LA at 8 am and connecting though New York, then London or Milan to Turin. One connection is more than enough.

We all got together at the airport lounge for some R&R, and already we are seeing famous people. The one, the only, Archbishop Don "Magic" Juan, retired pimp!. He was pretty fetching in his fur coat and fabulous bling. Apparently he was on his way to Detriot to hook up with Snoop and the gang.

Check out Jed and Mary with the "Don".

Our trusty steed, the Air France Boeing 777-200ER.
Air France would not normally be my choice as I am boycotting them because of their role in getting Airbus to pull the Concorde (Don't get me started).. However the 777 is a very nice plane and we do get those little screens to keep us from going bonkers during our flight. As our departure time approached the fog got thicker and thicker....sheesh.

Christian does not look happy guarding our luggage...

Well we are off! Despite the fact that Donald Miralle did not make it (cancelled feeder flight=missed connection) our team is on its way! Andiamo!