So on this, out great Canadian roadtrip, we felt it was very important to get to know our oldest rivals.  That's why, yesterday we dug in and got to the bottom of all things Russian!

The day started off with amazing seats in the 9th row to see the Russian men's hockey team take on the Czech's.  These are two squads loaded with stars from Ovechkin, Malkin, Kovalchuk, Fedorov, Datsyuk and more on the Russian side against the likes of Jagr, Michalek, Kaberle, and Zidlicky on the Czechs.  With Vokoun and Nabokov squaring off in goal, the stage was set for a great game.  Fittingly, the turning point came when Ovechkin caught Jagr with his head down coming across centre ice and laid down the hit to end all hits. 

After a great game that Russia took on a couple of big goals from Malkin, we headed back to watch the Canada / US game with our friends in Gastown.... but we don't need to talk about that.

Desperately needing to drown our sorrows, we were invited by the fine folks at Sochi World to head down and check out their celebration/exhibition for their successful bid to host the 2014 Winter Games.  While we've been joking all week that the Vancouver weather hardly makes this feel like a winter games, Sochi takes things to another level.  A 30 minute train ride from the mountains, Sochi also boasts huge beaches and even palm trees that will be a part of the Olympic sites?!?!  Sounds like a pretty cool place right?  And that's not even touching on the party at "Club Sochi".  Let's just say last night I learned that there's Vodka, and then there's Russian Vodka.  Wow. 

In addition, we were lucky enough to have the chance to chat with hopelessly vapid but gorgeous women as well as with some amazingly interesting folks.  One of my personal favs was Eddie Nedelko, essentially the straight, Russian equivalent of Perez Hilton.  We did an interview with him for the blog, but the CBC would probably not appreciate it if it was posted. A real shame as this guy was a total character - check him out.

So needless to say, we had an amazing time with our Russian hosts and after a day with the Dutch on Saturday, our Russian Sunday was another amazing experience in a town that's quickly proving to be full of them.  I should also say, I hope the producers at CBC.ca are reading this and getting things prepped for our "Destination: Sochi" blog 4 years from now, though much like the cast of Jersey Shore, we'll be looking for a raise for our second season...

Get all of our live updates right now as we take on Vancouver and get ready to head up to Whistler - twitter: http://twitter.com/ZedNLane

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