Postcard from the Vancouver Olympics #2

By Diane Hart, ACSM Alliance Member

 

The Northern Canadian House was on our agenda today. It was a spectacular display of the native art and animal species of the Arctic Nunavut and Yukon regions of Canada. Gorgeous jewelry, artwork and even a diamond-polishing exhibition rounded out this regional exhibition. The wait line was less than half an hour. The wait line for the Royal Canadian Mint was three hours, but was well worth it to be photographed with an Olympic gold medal and actually touch gold, silver and bronze medals with a special white glove provided by the Mint. 

 

The foregoing exhibits were a good break from the frenetic pace of the Olympic venues and also extremely educational. Walking around Vancouver, I found it to be a very walkable city with pocket parks of waterfalls for stress reduction. Each Canadian province has had an opportunity to have a "house" to showcase the best of their particular region.

 

It is amazing to see so many people from around the world concentrated in a small area and certainly makes the Olympic slogan of "GO WORLD!" very appropriate. Gigantic TV screens on every street keep you current on whatever Olympic event is in progress and various cheers erupt from the crowds on the street when their country scores.

 

Again, the weather is very conducive to being outdoors and the air is crisp, clean and very breathable. Canadian footwear has been elevated to spectacular and they sure know how to make great boots, beautiful leather purses and men's loafers. I managed to find the first Pandora jewelry store (which just opened last week) in Vancouver and purchased the white snowball bead with Canadian maple leaf for my bracelet. This charm is only available in Canada and was designed specifically for the Olympics.

 

I will be attending the Victory Ceremony tomorrow when many of the event medals will be awarded and I will hold my breath when the American flag is raised.  

Comments

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