The Games, They Have Begun

Pronto, Pronto!
Sorry for the delay. Let me just say, it has been a "gong show". Yes team Murman has arrived in Torino. I will appoligize for the lack of photos as a technical problem is preventing me from loading them into the computer. Stand By stations, we are working the problem.

The flight was, less than comfortable. I had a middle Isle seat with a Russian old lady who did not speak any english or german. At one point in the flight we thought she had died.
The layover (7.5 hours in Frankfort) were spent in an Irish Pub. Needless to say I did not sleep for 24 hours.
The flight into Turin was much more pleasent. I had a window seat and had a wonderful view of the alps as we flew over Switzerland. The sun was setting at the time, kit was very humling.
I did get a nice look at the olympic stadium as we flew into the Turin airport.
ALL EQUIPMENT arrived!!!! That was a big relief.
Accreditation was validated at the airport. Things were going very well. We were told to que up for a bus. No Busses for an hour,,, to hell with that. We hailed a cab. This guy made a 45 min trip into Torino injust under 20. This guy then went to do a few test laps at the Fiat track after he dropped us off.
We checked into the media village at the Polytechico and thing were going so far so good. I am sharing a room with CTV producer/storyteller extrodinare Brent Glibert. We get into the room and it is much bigger than I had figured. The we opened the bathroom. NO TOILET SEAT.

The best part of the check in, well at least we had beds. Our colleague working for NBC had warned us about the rooms and the conditions. Lucly I had managed to pack a sleeping bag into a tripod case.

We have found the best little restaurante just about 2 minutes walk from the front gate of the media village. La Restaurente Fattoria, the owner is a guy named Mario. SuperMario.
The food is meraviglioso (wonderful). Very Very good. The vino,,, Bella.
Our first stop was the TOROC media conference. Gong show #2. After a Bus ride from the village. They drop us off at the media center which is located at an old Fiat plant. It a mall and it's huge. They drop us like a mile away from where we are supposed to be. We ask one of the many Volunteers. they haven't got a clue where the media center is. finally we find it and finally we find the press conference area. Now here is where the fun starts. I walk inot the room which is very large and There are two fixed cameras in the center of the theatre. They are host and rights holding cameras. No problem. I set up on the just to the left of them. There are audio feed wires and it all seems good. This young guy come over to me and askes "Where's your sticker?"
And then informs me that this area is for rights holders. I figure I better get used to it. So I take my gear and I go to the front desk area to inquire about an audio feed. Just then a guy from Reuters and ABC ( Aussie TV) comes in and sets up to the right of those same cameras. They have the same accreditation as I do, Non Rights holding. I go and ask about feeds, the women politely tell me to find the young guy with a blue shirt. The same guy that just punted me and sent me to the front desk. He now is embroyled in a big discussion with mr Reuters and mr Dundee. I set up beside the Reuters guy and we all agree that since we are the only three cameras there we are staying.
Well come to find out the guy in the "blue shirt" doesn't understand the press protocal inside the PRESS Conference center. He apoligized later. We asked him if there were more audio feeds. As there are only 12. My friend from down under ( His name is Louie) told buddy with the blue shirt that they might want to get a few more feeds together as by Friday there will be 60 or 70 cameras all looking for audio feeds. I think the guy nearly had a shit right then and there. That sort of sums up the state of readiness of the origanizers here.
Speaking to a couple of my CBC friends from back in Vancouver, they are staying in the same media village as we are, and they told me that the ice hockey venue didn't have power yet. Ah, Italy.
We left the presser,we called our hired gun and asked him to meet us at the press center. As we leave, it suddenly occurs to us that we don't know what this fellow looks like. He is a young blond fellow is all we have to go on.
Mike picks this guy out first. There he is standing outside the secure area waiting by his car. And this discription is for the ladies, (READ Shelley) he is a handsome young medical student, in a long Italian overcoat, hair waving in the the sun, we met "Alberto" our guide to the Piemonte region of Italy.

Well I need to go and edit now, I will continue, I hope to be able to have photos soon.
Cio