Early to event means early to a fun time ...

The travel alarm clock I have still exists, even if it does go off at exactly 6:47 a.m.
That was the time I'd set for myself to wake up as I was preparing for my first in-person Olympic event, the two-man luge (see the accompanying AP-esque story if that's more your style). This was also going to be my first experience utilizing the train station at Porta Nuova in Torino, a very large facility that sends passengers all over the area, including trains to Milan.
Nevertheless, I arrive at the station around 8:30, only to find out that the next train to where I'm going, Cesana Pariol via Oulx, via a train that will only list Bardonecchia (site of the Olympic snowboarding, by the way) isn't until 9:10 a.m.. I buy my ticket -- the lady speaks no English but I am still able to acquire a ticket with my limited Italian (how's that for knowing my stuff Kathy O'C?).
The train ride is smooth and takes about an hour to Oulx, a place that serves as haven for all Olympic fans, media and officials because there are numerous shuttle busses to take you to where you really need to be. As I ask the first two helpers where the bus to Cesana Pariol is, I am directed to a young man named Paolo (the other two helpers hollered for him to help) who quickly understood my dilemma. No, not that I needed a bus to Cesana Pariol, but that because the luge event starts at 4 p.m. (gates don't open until 1 p.m.) and it is currently 10:15 or so that the next shuttle bus isn't until 2 p.m.!!! He then mentions, not sure if he was joking or not, that there is a free bus to take me to the small resort town of Cesana, which is a short walk to where I'd need to be to get to Cesana Pariol.
At this time, two Australians, Nigel and Ann, looking for the same info as me follow me across the train stop and into an area filled with police but also close by is a bus that's loading up for Cesana. The three of us climb aboard and settle in for the drive. It, too, is a nice bus ride and once we arrive at Cesana, we are surrounded by Olympic ski fans who are either attending the Alpine downhill skiing event at noon or are taking their own skis to do a little skiing themselves (Most of the mountain areas where the Olympics stuff is going on is either very limited or won't reopen until after the Olympics). Also, you get to take a chairlift to the events which is a cool idea in my opinion. You get an upclose, breathtaking look at the mountainside, you pass where the biathlon athletes are going through practice training (it was an off day for them on Wednesday) at Cesana San Sicario. You then reach the Cesana Pariol part where Nigel and I (Ann had accidentally jumped on the lift ahead of us) watched as Ann did not get off the lift. So we didn't either. Instead, we all go to the next area, San Sicario Fraiteve, where the alpine skiing is happening. Ann gets off her lift and jumps into ours as we just take the lift around the bend and head back to the spot where the luge event will take place. Mind you, it's only 11 a.m. and we know we all got here WAY TOO EARLY (I guess Dave from Colorado can laugh at me right here .... OK, that's enough).
So what do one person from California and two from Australia who have been to Bakersfield do with themselves? Well, you walk a few minutes to the small town of Cesana and you look around. Up and down one true main street. After 10 minutes of that, even looking down a few other streets with a store or two, we still had A LOT of time to kill.
That's when you take the cappuccino break (sorry Aaron). And you talk about everything. You get to know each other better. I expressed to them some things about the U.S. that aren't to my liking --- too many straM-laW in places they shouldn't be, too many skcubratS and they said they were shocked by the number of SUVs in California and that USA's coffee isn't much to be desired. They also mentioned they spent three nights in Baker (has ANYONE else done that?) and raved about the Mad Greek restaurant, but said their one and last experience eating at a Denny's was god-awful (I agree, but then again, in the college paper days, Denny's tasted pretty good at 3 or 4 a.m.).
It was somewhere around this time, not even noon yet, when Nigel had a Hollywood tourist from out of town moment. Her name was Shelly. No last name required here. She is a TV star in Sydney, co-hosting "Get Away", a very popular travel show for the city of Sydney. Nigel and Ann, both of whom had their Aussie flags with them immediately went outside the cafe we were at and got Shelly's attention. Nice lady. Typical blonde, perky TV person. Beautiful, yes. In California, she's a penny a dozen. But she was very sweet to Nigel and Ann. Nigel posed for a picture with Shelly which Ann took. Of course, what's a popular TV show without a male host for the women to ogle. Ann initially wanted to see Tom, Shelly's counterpart on the show. Ann talked up Tom's image, likening him to an International Playboy-type. Best part was her response to seeing him in person -- "he's shorter than I thought."
Nigel and Ann did get to be in a segment Shelly was filming as background extras for the episode that will air on, I believe it is Channel 7 in Sydney on Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m. Nigel and Ann plan to have friends tape the show for them. I hope they do get to see it because they are both really nice people and I truly enjoyed my time with them.
We then parted ways with Shelly and the three of us went to an area where a much smaller version of the Olympic flame is lit and sat down at a bench as Nigel and Ann ate something that looked like fiber-rich cardboard smashed together with something in the middle and finished it off with a large yogurt and we later ate some lemony poundcake (I did have a piece of it, not the other stuff) which they were given by their B&B hostess. It was delicious.