Friday, August 17, 2012

wordy Friday: pleasure in June

2012-08-21, 11pm:  This post has evolved over the course of a few days, but I believe it's in its final form now. Thanks for your patience, readers!

James's late flight back into Ottawa on June 7 (see previous post) meant we only left for the Formula One Grand Prix du Canada in Montréal around 10am the next morning, about the same time that Practice 1 (P1) got underway.

We'd been looking forward to the June 8-10 weekend since we first booked reservations on January 21.  It was a pricey weekend, no doubt about that, but we reasoned that it would serve as a combined birthdays/anniversary/summer vacation retreat.  And it was something we both wanted to do.  I've enjoyed watching F1 races since James introduced me to them sometime last year.  We've known people who've celebrated milestones in Africa, Las Vegas, or London, whereas we've kept comparatively low-key, so we decided we'd indulge ourselves at least once.

James got me signed in on his Playbook, so I could update my Facebook status in transit (something I've never done before); that was very cool.  We arrived noon-ish at our hotel in the northeast quarter of the city, stashed our bags, and headed straight for the nearest Montreal Métro station (about a 10-15 min. walk).  We'd had a late breakfast, so we skipped lunch, although I did pack granola bars and fruit snacks in my backpack.

I asked the woman at the ticket booth, in my elementary French, for two 3-day passes, which were $16 each, and gave us unlimited rides on the subway.  (It helped to have researched the STM Website in advance.)  The "occasional smart cards" were made of stiff paper, but we held them up to the scanners and were "beeped" through the turnstiles.  We took the green line from Station Viau to Berri-UQAM, then transferred to the yellow line which took us all the way to Station Jean-Drapeau.

Once we exited at Jean-Drapeau, we had arrived--at the site entrance, that is; our seats in Grandstand 11 were still a substantial distance away.  As a preventative measure in case protesting students were thinking to cause trouble, there were groups of police officers stationed near the entrance.  (On our way back on Friday and for the rest of the weekend, there was an increased police presence on the Métro, with officers monitoring the capacity of the subway cars and riding on board to keep order.)  We collected our tickets, which, much to my delight, came with complimentary lanyards and pouches and a pair of ear plugs.  (Given my work for individuals with hearing disabilities, I'm in favor of protecting hearing whenever possible; in fact, I'd brought along two pkgs, or 22 pairs, of ear plugs of my own accord, as a precautionary measure.  I was pleased about the free lanyards, too:  I had thought they might be sold separately, although for the price of weekend tickets, they should be included.)  Then we made our way to the grandstands, a lengthy trek, but scenic:  the nearly half-hour walk around Île Notre-Dame led us through gardens and past the beach.  P2 had already started, so the F1 engines were audible even though most of Circuit Gilles Villeneuve itself was not visible along the path.

As I recall, the camera's battery needed recharging on Friday, so we left it in our hotel room.  Just as well, because as the afternoon went on, the sky got darker and darker (moths came out of hiding under the grandstands, too, which made my skin crawl), until finally, as we had exited the grandstand and were maybe one-fifth of the way back to the park entrance, a torrential downpour hit.  It was like someone turned on a shower full force.  We joined other people sheltering under the overhang of one of the buildings, hoping the rain would let up.  It did, but not by much, so since we were already soaked, we got our wet selves back to the hotel as expediently as possible and changed.  I had sandals along, but James had to use the hair dryer to dry his runners.  (I had to do that to mine the next morning, since they hadn't dried overnight.)  We had a lovely, if late, dinner in the hotel restaurant.  I had Caesar salad to start, followed by penne telefono--penne noodles with mushrooms in a rosé sauce.

On a side note, friends of ours had loaned us their expensive binoculars (2 prs), asking only for a souvenir program in exchange.  I'd decided to buy one on Friday, so I wouldn't forget in the excitement of the rest of the weekend.  Wouldn't you know, the one I bought Friday got completely soaked through, so I had to buy another one Saturday to replace it.  My Métro card suffered a damp corner, also, but seemed not much worse for wear, although any other papers I'd had in my small tote or backpack sported permanent waves from thence forward.

The weather cooperated beautifully for the rest of the weekend:  sunny & warm.  (I would surely have sunburned had it not been for my pre-tanning.  Yes, even with sunscreen.)  We took the following photos on Saturday and Sunday.  On the way to Station Viau, we passed the Olympic Stadium and a statue of Maurice "The Rocket" Richard--so a brief photo shoot ensued.


The Rocket and the Chyc
"Bonjour, Maurice!"
Olympic Stadium on the way to the STM Station Viau
STM - Montréal Métro

Exit Station Jean-Drapeau, enter F1 site entrance:
people, people everywhere
A break in the foot traffic
Grandstand 11 to the right, via Pont Concorde Bridge
An approx. 2 km hike through Parc Jean-Drapeau

It was quite a circuitous route

Arches made with stones from Israel, Floralies Gardens

Vendors' tents:  everything priced to gouge
e.g., bottled water - $4.25
Standing water from the torrential downpour
on Friday afternoon
Through the woods
Towards the beach
Past the beach

P3 ran from 10:00-11:00 a.m, with Qualifying from 1:00 to 2:00 p.m.  Other qualifying rounds and actual races, like the Porsche GT3 Cup, the Formula 1600, and CTCC were held between F1 P3 and F1 Quali, as well as afterwards.

Virage Senna (Senna turn or corner, after Ayrton Senna): 
the trees just obscured the start/finish line for us

The grandstands were still relatively empty
when we arrived Saturday morning
Off in the distance behind us


Behind the grandstands
Food carts and porta potties
Our grandstand, #11, in forefront;
Grandstand 12 in the background to the left

Safety car
Into the corner with Jean-Eric Vergne (JEV), Toro Rosso
Romain Grosjean, Lotus
Vitaly Petrov, Caterham,
followed by Mark Webber, Red Bull
Sebastian Vettel, Red Bull (♥)
Michael Schumacher, 6X F1 World Champion, Mercedes
Bruno Senna, Williams
Fernando Alonso, Ferrari
Grandstands filling up closer to Quali
We sat next to and amongst interesting characters.  The three or four men sitting behind me had a difficult time keeping their beers from spritzing or splashing onto me.  The couple beside James were from New York.  I struggled to keep my face neutral (instead of the disapproval I felt) when the woman told us that when they travel internationally, they say they're Canadians.  Given the general tone of her conversations, I'd say it's fair to say that Americans posing as Canadians is a huge reason that Canadians are acquiring such a bad rep as travellers!  Huh.  So it goes.

Still, thanks to the father and son from Texas, I learned how to tell the #1 and #2 cars of a team apart:  the number ones have red cameras on top, while the number twos have yellow cameras.  They also shared that the Red Bull cars had "Total" on their back wing, whereas the Toro Rossos had "Cepsa."  Very, very helpful in distinguishing who was who as they streamed by.

As a result of our speaking with the Texans, James rented a FanVision for Saturday and Sunday.  He offered me one of the earbuds, but it put me into sensory overload.  We had James's Samsung with an app that showed us the cars on the track or in the pit lane; we had a huge screen situated to the left of the trees obscuring the start/finish line; we heard broadcasters over the loudspeakers; we had the FanVision, which had multiple channels.  Honestly, I preferred to watch the track with my own eyes, check the screen for replays or for action elsewhere when nobody was passing our corner, and consult the all-important 150-page program (a glossy mag), with its synopses of the drivers' careers and its two-page spread depicting the cars' team colors.  (What can I say?  I am a creature of simple comforts.  Just give me a book with pretty pictures.)

Porsche GT3 class

The end of F1 Quali saw Sebastian Vettel on pole for Red Bull, Lewis Hamilton 2nd for Vodafone Mercedes McLaren, Fernando Alonso 3rd for Ferrari, and Mark Webber 4th for Red Bull.  James was rooting for Hamilton, I was crossing my fingers for Vettel to finish at the top of the podium.  (Alas, things did not go my way.)

Sunday, June 10
Formula 1 Drivers Parade
Bruno Senna, Williams
Daniel Ricciardo, Toro Rosso, in front,
followed by Nico Hulkenberg, Force India
(Ricciardo, a rookie, took photos of fans)
(front to back)
Kamui Kobayashi, Sauber; Jenson Button, McLaren;
Michael Schumacher, Mercedes; Paul Di Resta, Force India
Fernando Alonso, Ferrari; Lewis Hamilton, McLaren
Lewis Hamilton, McLaren; Sebastian Vettel, Red Bull
Jenson Button, McLaren
Kimi Raikkonen, Lotus
Lewis Hamilton wins!
Track Walk (on the track after the race)
Track Walk 2
Beginning the long walk back

to be continued
continued still further
We knew we shoulda' taken that left turn at Albuquerque

not even close to the end

Hamilton won.  Romain Grosjean of Lotus came in second, with Sergio Perez of Sauber coming in third.  Seb only came in fourth (sigh).  But really, I came to terms with the results for a few reasons:  1. James got his wish (a belated birthday gift/wish).  2. Hamilton's win made it 7 drivers winning 7 races--a super-exciting, unpredictable year, as the broadcasters at the time were so fond of reminding everyone.  3. Grosjean and Perez got to be on the podium and pick up points for their respective teams.

All in all, quite an enjoyable getaway.  We'd like to repeat the experience in future, if possible.

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