Though it hardly seems possible, our Olympic experience got even more epic yesterday. The wonderful day with the Hudson Bay Company tour and the Speed Skating event was truly once in a lifetime (blog post here). I could have left the city feeling lucky and blessed but Metro Vancouver had one more perfect day planned for us.
During our morning education session, Metro Vancouver brought in three incredible speakers: economic commentator Michael Levy, the Director of the Vancouver Foundation (Peter Jackman) and the President of the McLean Group (Jason McLean). They all covered different subjects about doing business in Canada. Michael Levy spoke about the divergent paths of the US and Canadian monetary policy. Peter Jackman spoke about the incredibly generous and kind spirit of Canada’s citizens and Jason McLean talked to us about how supportive the Canadian Government is of entrepreneurial pursuits. It was a wonderful morning of learning and I walked away feeling very inspired by their positive messages.
Then it was off to Salt, a tasting room in Vancouver. They served us three types of wine and paired them with three different types of cheeses. The room was dominated by a huge table filled with exotic foods and the group was thrilled to have such a sophisticated lunch. Who doesn’t love cheese and wine? It was a crowd pleaser!
Our guest was equally sophisticated: the former Mayor of Vancouver and also the former Premier of British Columbia – Mike Harcourt. He spoke about his love of Vancouver, his focus on sustainability and views on city planning. We were honored to have him at our table.
And then it was off to the main event – USA versus Canada Hockey! We had stellar seats right near the middle line and the entire game was breath taking – fast, aggressive, passionate and entertaining.
I was such an obnoxious American that my husband pulled me aside at one point to suggest piping down (lest I offend The Great One in the box next to us). The entire audience was a sea of red shirts. The American fans were probably outnumbered by at least 50 to 1. We did have the privilege of sitting next to Wayne Gretzky’s box at the match. It added a surreal, magical feeling to the entire experience.
We ended the night with dinner at La Terratza where the current Mayor of Vancouver Gregor Robertson visited. He sat at our table and we were able to hear about his political journey (from entrepreneur of the Happy Planet to politician ) and his passion around social issues (especially homelessness) and his commitment to a more green, sustainable Vancouver BC.
A big thank you to the City of Vancouver for being such an incredible host city and to Metro Vancouver for such a fantastic introduction to the business opportunities in British Columbia and to Barbara Mowat of Impact Communicationsfor alerting me to this incredible opportunity in the first place.
nice blog
That's awesome! I wish one time in my life I can watch the Olympics live.
Sounds like a wonderful day.
I love Wayne!
Michelle in Nevada
Oh, and I love the new Olympic themed header!
I've been enjoying your recaps. What a terrific experience!
Sounds like an amazing experience. Thank you for sharing it with us.
Sounds like you had a wonderful and productive trip! Watching the US v.s. Canada hockey game right there in the arena had to be way exciting! Thanks for the posts and photos! 🙂
Wayne Gretzky ~ WOW !!! How cool is that!!!!
What a dream of a day!!!
I got to visit the great city of Vancouver in 1987 and go to the neighboring island.
There is something very magical about that city; I especially loved walking around the water's edge and memory fails me what part of the city that was.
The whole atmosphere was very European and artisanal; but I love any bay view that has water, stormy clouds and purple mountains majesty in the background.
I felt like I could make myself quite at home there and hunker down for some really artsy musical and somewhat alternative lifestyle as well!
Glad you got to enjoy it!
You looked so absolutely patriotic!
I missed it somewhere….now Who is The Great One?
Glad you had such a great time away from life as usual!
Wow! Sounds like you had an AMAZING trip AM! If only the kiddos weren't so little, I would have loved to gone. What a once in a lifetime opportunity
pipe down? Now that's a chuckle! If you didn't toss red, white and blue BB soaps out in the crowd, then I'd say you were safe. lol
anyone one of these paragraphs is reason to be jealous but all of it together! wow!