Camp Canada vs. Canada Club

We received an invitation to the Canada Club Happy Hour at the Canadian Embassy for last night. We had to RSVP with passport numbers. It sounded like fun (first contact with the Cdn Embassy since we got here).

Some of you can relate to the successful Camp Canada at the Lake Louise World Cup, so let me give you a comparison....


Location:
Camp Canada : Originally a tent with heaters in the parking lot of the Lake Louise Inn, now moved into the lower level of the Inn.
Canada Club: 4th Floor of the Canadian Embassy in Buenos Aires.

Security:
Camp Canada: Volunteer Services crew with big scary mitts on.
Canada Club: Armed security guard and bulletproof glass.

Decor:
Camp Canada: Ski posters, provincial & Canadian Flags and a Christmas tree decorated with beer cans.
Canada Club: 4 Haida Indian masks and a huge flat screen TV showing a Tourism Canada promotional video...over and over and over again.

Beverages:
Camp Canada: Keg set up the corner.
Canada Club: Beer, wine and champagne.

Camp Canada: Free beer.
Canada Club (all you Canadian taxpayers will be happy to know) : Cash bar.

Food:
Camp Canada : Free BBQ'd Spolumbos sausages and salads.
Canada Club: Empanadas ($3.50 pesos each).

Languages spoken:
Camp Canada: English, French and Impaired.
Canada Club: Spanish and a small amount of English.

Outfits:
Camp Canada: Ski jackets & toques.
Canada Club: Ski jackets & toques. It's 8 degrees here, practically freezing for locals. Just kidding - they arrived wearing them but did remove them at the door.

Greeting:
Camp Canada: 'Hey, ya want a beer?'.
Canada Club: Silence.

We did meet a couple of people from the Embassy, one who "isnt here" (if you know what I mean) and someone who knows Mimi's cousin, Peter - who is also in the Cdn Foreign Service.

We stuck around for a couple of drinks and then took the remise back to the Alvear Palace Hotel (next to our apartment) for a Hamburguesa Alvear (which is yes, a hamburger). It was quite good. The Alvear Palace is a cross between the Palliser Hotel and Buckingham Palace - quite grand.

This weekend, we are going to Cirque du Soleil. Should be a great (Canadian) show.

B.