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I've been talking to Olympics Minister who has just finished her visit to Vancouver to see what lessons London can learn from the before .

After the hiccups at the , she told me that London organisers have to make sure they carry out plenty of rehearsals before the big night - not just of the ceremony but also of the transport plans.

She also says London needs to keep things "simple" and, as she put it, "keep things British."

I think, she has hit the nail on the head as far as the Vancouver Games are concerned.

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for its organisation of the Winter Olympics but, as far as the locals are concerned, it's having success in what is usually the biggest headache of any Olympics; transport.

I've heard the odd story about buses not running that well in the mountains - and that has happened at most of the five other Winters Games I've been too - but the city seems to be using public transport in the city.

Frightened off by streets full of road blocks and Olympic lanes for the exclusive use of vehicles for athletes and VIPS, Vancouver's residents have left their cars at home. They are taking ferries, trains and buses to get around the city.

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In the last couple of days, I've been out with the looking at how they are trying to make sure the Games are safe.

Walking and driving around the city with Superintendent Warren Lemcke from the Vancouver Police Department, I was struck by the large numbers of people on the streets, well away from the venues. You can see my report below.

It has surprised the police too how many Canadians are simply getting outside to enjoy the atmosphere.

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The thousands of people who enjoyed the "Fan Parties" at the 2006 World Cup finals in Germany showed that there is a real appetite for people to watch major sports events on giant TV screens at open-air sites.

London 2012 want to make the "live sites" a big part of the Summer Olympics and .

I've spent much of the opening weekend visiting the sites in the Canadian city, entry is free, and what I've seen is queues and queues of people desperate to get in.

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I had breakfast today with , the man who lead Vancouver's bid for the and has now spent the last seven years heading the organising committee.

It's unusual - and quite frankly exhausting - for one person to be in charge for all of that period and is trying to match Irish-born Furlong in the role with London 2012.

On the eve of the opening ceremony, Furlong told me and a handful of other Olympic journalists that it had been "quite a toll" getting Vancouver to the finish line.

And he had some advice which Seb Coe should note.

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They call the Olympics the largest logistical challenge for any city in peacetime.

But I've been surprised by how far the are affecting everyday life here - way beyond the usual blocked roads and traffic congestion.

The other day I was at the Vancouver house of a 91-year-old woman who is waiting for a .

Around a third of non-emergency operations in hospitals here have been postponed because of the Games and she's now decided to go to the to have treatment because she's fed up waiting and putting up with the pain.

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I have come to and I think it is going to be the most controversial I've ever covered.

Canada never gets much luck with the Games, does it? Montreal, which staged the , is remembered as the Games which took residents decades to pay for.

And Vancouver has been forced to stage the Olympics during the toughest economic times since London hosted the 1948 Summer Games during rationing after the Second World War.

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