If you haven’t done a free walking tour before–they’re popular in Europe but fairly new to Canada–here’s how it works:

• Go to www.tourguys.ca to choose your tour. If you only have time for on, consider guide Steve Woodall’s recommendation: “My favourite tour is the West End & Granville Island, as it highlights how Vancouverites actually live, it’s filled with some hidden gems like the float homes of Granville Island and some great stories. Besides, who doesn’t like a tour that ends at a brewery?”
• Reserve your spot online so they can staff accordingly. They can, for example, offer tours in French and Portugese if demand warrants.
• Show up in comfortable walking shoes at the Olympic Countdown Clock in front of the Vancouver Art Gallery at 1 pm. Tours run daily through the 2010 Olympics, Feb. 12-28.
• If you enjoy the 2.5-hr tour, consider offering a tip. $10 is pretty standard, but it’s completely up to you how much–or even whether–to give. And Steve promises: there is no nagging-for-tips on these tours.

That’s it! Fun and virtually free!

Have you done a TourGuys walking tour in Vancouver or Toronto? What did you think?

With these sorts of crowds, public transit is the only way to get around the roads during the 2010 Winter Games.

I just did a post about Vancouver’s “Top 5 public transit sight-seeing tours” over at InsideVancouver.ca.  Check it out and add your own route recommendations!

Feel free to add your own recommendations!

I just got back from Whistler where things are ramping up like crazy. Steve Podborski was bringing the torch down the mountain and you could feel the electricity in the air.

This little video by Classified–someone sent me the link via Twitter–says it all: Oh Canada. Go Canada.

Let’s face it: commuting sucks at the best of times, and commuting in Vancouver during next month’s 2010 Winter Games is going to…well, let’s just say it’ll give us all an opportunity to practice our Pranayama breathing techniques.

The folks at TransLink want to get the word out that you really need to “know before you go” if you’re going to enjoy the party.

There are tons of rumours circulating about which roads are closed, which buses are being re-routed, how much it will cost to travel and who rides free—but for hard facts, visit www.travelsmart2010.com and get informed before you hit the road.

To inspire you to leave the car behind, TransLink is offering two TheseBoots readers a limited edition 2010 souvenir transit pass good for six weeks of unlimited travel in all three zones between the start of the Games on Feb. 8 ‘til the end of the Paralympics on March 21.

To enter, just tell me why you want to win. I’ll do a random draw on Monday, February 1 at 8 pm.

Update Feb. 1: Congratulations to Dee Anderson and Jen Sandri who each win a 2010 Olympic transit pass! Hope you enjoy the Games ladies! Check your email–I need your mailing addresses…

From January 22 to March 21, it’s going to be a feeding frenzy for culture vultures in BC’s Lower Mainland thanks to the Vancouver 2010 Cultural Olympiad.

(And yes, it is weird that in this time of brutal funding cuts to the arts we are about to enjoy 600 international-calibre performances in a period of 60 days.

My only hope is that someone with a bit of political clout will be so inspired by the experience that they will deliver a demon-crushing come-to-Jesus speech in Victoria as a result….)

The good news is that there are still tickets available for most of the shows; the bad news is, they’re going fast. In fact, had not a kind stranger handed me a friend’s unused ticket to see Streb:Raw at the Roundhouse on Sunday afternoon, I would have been shut out of the (insert superlative here) performance.

Repeat after me: I will not wait ’til the last minute to buy a ticket.

Ask 100 people for their pick-of-the-litter performances and you’d get 100 answers. Best to browse the program guide (pictured above) available from libraries, theatres, and community centres around town, or visit the Olympiad’s events listings page.

Here are my top 5 picks (feel free to disagree!):

• Robert Lepage’s The Blue Dragon/Le Dragon Bleu
• Inuit throat-singer Tanya Tagaq and the Kronos Quartet
• Nix’s The Only Animal, set in Canada’s first theatre built of snow and ice
• Maria Pages’s Flamenco Republic
• U Theatre of Taiwan’s Sound of the Ocean

What are your top picks for the Cultural Olympiad?

These are the souvenirs of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games–stores here can barely keep them in stock. They cost $10 a pair and a portion of the money goes to help Canadian athletes.

I bought a couple of pairs in Whistler two weeks ago just as a new shipment came in…and just before Haiti’s earthquake nightmare.

It’s a small thing, but I’m going to auction off a pair right here. Just tell me how much you’re going to donate to a registered charity to help Haiti and the most generous gift wins the mittens. I’ll send them anywhere in the world.

(I gave to the Red Cross, but there are others out there. And if you’re Canadian, remember that the federal government will match whatever you give…)

If you’re the winning bidder, you’ll have to send me proof of your donation: either an e-mail or screen-shot of the confirmation page.

The bidding ends Friday, January 22 at 8 pm PST. May the biggest heart win!

Update January 25: And the mittens go to Nancy Lee, who donated $200 to World Vision. Thanks Nancy!

Enjoy!

(Oh, and can anyone tell me: is that As It Happens’ Mary-Lou or Barbara narrating?)

Indeed I had–and offered to provide the VISA bill to prove it.

But it raised the age-old question (well, age-old for those of us who started our travel-writing careers in print) about whether there’s any such thing as a free–or even subsidized–lunch.

Can someone who is getting fed (or sheltered or entertained) actually offer balanced commentary on the experience–or are they in the pocket of their sponsor?

I recently heard Vancouver social media maven Rebecca Bollwit (aka Miss 604) on CBC Radio commenting on the need to introduce US-style transparency laws to the Canadian blogging scene.

Basically, she thinks it’s a good idea that bloggers be required by law to disclose freebies. She reiterated her blog post which said although transparency isn’t required, she does “offer some disclosure” (see her comment below).

My wish would be that it wouldn’t take a law to make bloggers do the right thing. I think it could be as simple as posting “Blogger X’s travels in Nova Scotia were sponsored by Destination Halifax” at the end of a post–much like Globe and Mail and Georgia Straight travel editors have been doing for years at the bottom of their stories.

Since the beginning, I have included a disclosure statement on this blog, but today I am putting it on its own page so that it is easier to find.

I ask that you read it and tell me: does it go far enough?

Do you still need me to tell you every single time at the end of a post whether this burger or that hotel room was sponsored? Or is it enough that you know what principles and values inform that post?

I really want to know, and I will bend to the will of my readers on this because I think trust and transparency are key to a successful travel blog. Please do weigh in below. I’m listening.

Related link: The great debate: To freebie or not to freebie

I’ve been given a pair of tickets to give away to a TheseBoots reader. Just leave a comment below or tweet this contest (remember to include @theseboots so I see it) by 3 pm tomorrow, Friday, Jan. 8/2010. (The concert starts at 8 pm.)

I’ll do a random draw immediately and let you the winner know by e-mail. You’ll have to respond within an hour though or I’ll offer them to the next name on the list!

If you’re curious, here’s the program:

OESTERLE:  The Sparrow’s Ledger (CBC commission)
PROKOFIEV:  Classical Symphony
GILLILAND:  Kalla for tumpet and orchestra
TRUDEL:  New Work for trumpet and orchestra
BEETHOVEN/KUERTI:  Piano Concerto No. 0

Good luck! (And if you want to be sure to attend, you can always buy tickets!)

Update 3 pm: Thanks to all who posted a comment below and who tweeted this contest. I used random.org to pick the winner–congrats to Emily Carr University prof Peg Campbell who has one hour to confirm she will use the tix or I will pass them on to the runner-up…