Sunday was light, wet snow up on the mountain, but as you went down the mountain it just changed to light rain.I caught the bus down to Lonsdale Quay and bought a day pass. There was a wait for the Sea Bus. On Sunday they only run every 30 minutes, rather than 15 minutes during the week. Once over in Downtown Vancouver I caught the Sky Train a couple of stations and started to walk to Chinatown. I could see streets blocked off and crowds lining the parade route. The parade was already happening, so I walked along the parade route towards the Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Chinese garden. Today it was entry via donation. This is a quite pretty and serene garden in the middle of Downtown Vancouver. I walked around and had a look at the displays and then went back outside to watch the end of the parade.
After the parade people began to disperse and the Chinese Lions that were in the parade went in different directions to bring luck to the shops/shopkeepers in the area. A lettuce hung over the doorway to the shop was the invitation for the lion to stop and take the offering, and in so doing bring luck for the coming year. There was music, drums and fireworks all around.
After this I walked in to the Vancouver Art Museum to see a display of lanterns that was part of the Cultural Olympiad, which is on from now until the Olympics in 2010. There were thousands of lanterns hung outside in the forecourt, and about a dozen large lanterns on a display on the steps. I decided that I couldn't stay another couple of hours until it was dark, although I am sure it would have been an amazing sight.Heading back through the shops I realised that Superbowl was already on. The transport connections were pretty good so I was in the front door at home at half time. I was interested to see how Ben Graham and his team would fare. He was the first Australian to ever compete in a Superbowl. Unfortuneately his team, the Arizona Cardinals, was beaten in the final few seconds of the game. It was quite an exiting finish.
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