La Place de La Francophonie

Granville Island visitors got a fleeting glimpse of laid-back royal pomp late this afternoon when Michaëlle Jean made at surprise appearance at La Place de La Francophonie, a must-go destination for anyone taking in the Cultural Olympiad. Even the mimes lined up out front stopped trying to break out of their imagined boxes when Jean’s limo and  four-car security entourage slowed down in front of the building. The crowd who’d stopped to gawk at the procession burst into a spontaneous cheer as a radiant GG appeared in a HBC black Canada hoodie with her husband, Jean-Daniel Lafond, (who eschewed any obvious national branding) and daughter Marie-Eden. They toured the agritourism pavilion right along with the hoi polloi.  Outside, her security seemed amazingly laid back. One took the picture of another alongside a mime, like any other tourist. I tried to capture it here with a Flip camera.