It was October, 2002. I had accompanied my husband on business to Vancouver, Canada and we were looking forward to staying at the Fairmont Waterfront, located in the heart of Vancouver, a short drive to Gas Town and beautiful Stanley Park.
Beauty, eh?
Pic credit: Fairmont
We had driven up from Seattle and were a bit road weary as we pulled near the hotel. Traffic was congested and there seemed to be a lot of hubbub in the surrounding streets. Police were suddenly everywhere, and one crabby cop waved us to keep moving. Rolling down the window, we tried telling the giant lawman that we had reservations and were trying to check in, but he gruffly offered to arrest us if we didn't clear out immediately.
Exhausted, I had had enough. I was craving a shower and a bite, defeated by the crowds, and offended by Mr. surly policeman. Briefly filling the shoes of the ignorant American, it wasn't on my radar we had entered a British commonwealth country or that it also happened to be Queen Elizabeth II's golden world tour. I just wanted our journey to be over. We were so close but so far, as cliché would have it.
We managed to drive slowly round the block and stopped on the other side of the hotel, where I got out with my suitcase and decided to use my orientation "skills" to trek to the front desk. Shuffling to the first door I could find, I found it unlocked! With no security! I couldn't flipping believe it! It was quite a hike through the hallways to the lobby but I managed to get there dragging my 2 wheel, old school suitcase behind me. The lobby was crowded and there was a buzz of excitement in the air, which I deliberately ignored. I'm not one for flocking to what others gawk at, and I guess I was too tired and annoyed for trying to work it out.
So I arrived at the front desk, having walked, celebrity fashion, up an impromptu catwalk in the middle of two rows of smiley people with their cameras and keen eyes darting, on the watch for something. The desk clerk was not happy to be pulled away from the buzz to check me in. I gave my name and went for my wallet to get my ID. Whoops! No wallet! No purse, cell phone, nothing! I had left it in the car, how embarrassing! In my "flustration," I had too hastily exited the car. I had doggedly foisted my way into the Fairmont by illegitimate means, made my way in front of hundreds of people who were clearly waiting for Something, and had pulled a majorly distracted clerk back to her post to check me in, only to have no proof of my identity or reservation on me! And I had a big suitcase! Anything could be in that suitcase! Nobody stopped me, nobody demanded ID, they just let me wait in the lobby with my big case with no ID. And then the elevator doors opened...
Out of the elevator, not 15 feet away, stepped Queen Elizabeth II, an attendant, and Prince Philip trailing just behind! A restrained enthusiasm overtook the lobby and outside crowd. It's she herself! She's coming! With Philip! The venerable lady calmly walked by, greeting the crowd, sedately pressing on towards her waiting car. It was all over in less than a minute. I was left stunned and floaty. What just happened? I had literally just bumped into the Queen! If I had been at Buckingham Palace itself I could never have gotten so close, I'd be outside the gate, only knowing she was there by her flying flag. Everything seemed so right with the world then, in that moment, except for the fact that my silly husband was probably lost somewhere in the bowels of the parking garage, not knowing this was all happening!
My petty complaints forgotten, I waited sheepishly for my husband to bring our things to the front desk so we could check in. Over the following days, I watched from our window when Queen Elizabeth went out or came back to the hotel. Always people lined up to witness her pass by or catch a chance word with her. She stayed on the floor directly above us. Her security took up the entire floor! She actually occupied the suite that had been booked for my husband's boss, who, as a native Irishman, enjoyed the irony of being bumped from his suite by the Queen of England. After she left the hotel, the boss moved into the suite, and we had a great party in her room, each of us making sure we used the loo to say we'd sat on the same toilet as the Queen!
I've had a few other celebrity sightings in my life, but none so good a tale as this. What famous people have you run into? Have you sat on their toilet? I bet you haven't, lol. :-)
And by the way, we had a great rest of our stay in Vancouver. It's one of my favorite cities, which everyone should visit sometime if they haven't already.
Post Script: Wikipedia has this paragraph on QEII's golden visit to Canada:
In Vancouver, on 6 October, the Queen, accompanied by Wayne Gretzky, and in front of a crowd of 18,000 at General Motors Place, dropped the ceremonial first puck for the National Hockey League exhibition game between the Vancouver Canucks and San Jose Sharks; this was the first time any reigning monarch, Canadian or otherwise, had performed the task.[32][33] The Queen and the Duke then watched the first period of the game from the royal box—the first time they had done so since their first hockey game at Maple Leaf Gardens in 1951.[34] Premier Gordon Campbell said during the visit: "Your Majesty, much as the world has changed in the last 50 years, one thing has always remained constant – the sincere affection between the people of British Columbia and their Queen."