The Scavenger Hunt

I am a competitive person. I try to surpress this baser part of my personality, but sometimes I can’t help it. But under the right circumstances: this part of me comes alive... like the Hulk. Yesterday was one of those days.

When Franz gave us a scavenger hunt, I initially tried to talk it down to myself. “I don’t know how comfortable I’m going to be riding around Paris on a bike – I may get lost, I might fall, I don’t really know where I’m going”.... I soon changed my mind.

We start out with this list of 5 major monuments that we HAD to visit with about 25 extra things to find/do/explore on the way. Some things we just had to know (like which bridge Rush Hour 3 was filmed on, what bridge is in Bourne Identity, what fountain is in Devil Wears Prada, and what bridge was in the last episode of Sex and City [the answers are: Pont Alexandre III, Pont Neuf, the fountain in the middle of the Place de la Concorde, and Pont des Arts in that order in case you were wondering]). But for the most part they were just big sights (Eiffel Tower, Louvre, Notre Dame, Arc de Triomphe, Pompidou Center, Opéra Garnier, The Thinker) – so me, Murray, and Chris were “Team Red.” And we set off... and take a wrong turn to get to the Eiffel Tower (which is right next to our shop)... rough start.

So we keep going and haul it from the Eiffel Tower to the Musée Rodin, to Les Invalides, to Pont Alexandre III, to the Place de la Concorde. Along the way, we saw a tour, took some pictures, did some karate kicks and climbed into a fountain (also met a random Aggie couple... WHOOP).
But things start to get more complicated – it starts to rain... minor set back. (By this point in time, my competitiveness has set in, and I was in it to win it.) We make a tactical decision and decide to skip the Louvre for the moment and head down to the Champs-Élysée. So... remember my fear about riding on the streets in Paris... well, I got over it... we were weaving in and out of cars/buses/CRAZY taxis, running through red lights, going the wrong way on one way streets, cutting off pedestrians... all the typical Parisian traffic maneuvers (although we did see a car totally crash into a lane barrier... AND a moped underneath a bus.) Way to dominate the street team... the honks just mean “Welcome to Paris!” right?

By then, an hour had gone by, but we were on the ball... so we decide to make a risky move and go to the Opéra Garnier (note: this sight is NOT on one of our tours... we had NO IDEA where this was, but we had a map and a dream... and that’s all that matters). So off we go again – take a picture of a Ferrari, some smart cars, us impersonating Napoleon, and head down... the wrong street. Fortunately, along with losing my fear of cars, I also lost my fear of speaking French, so I asked for directions, and we were off again.

Note: I think my French is already better than it was yesterday... YAY!

We booked it down to the Opera... it was a long way and still raining (by this time, we are soaked)... took some pictures, sang some opera – off to the Louvre. Make a pyramid, see Louis - off to Notre Dame... take pic at the Pont des Arts.... but then, the inevitable happens. As Murray looks down to change his gear, I stop suddenly next to a book seller to ask if they have a copy of something by Victor Hugo... and Murray CRASHES into me. Man down.

I was ok, but I have a huge bruise on my leg that is kinda swollen... but such are the perils of battle. No blood. All is well.

Back to the race – we finally get to Notre Dame – take pictures in front of the church and with a street performer. But then who should arrive but the competition!!! Its Team “Office Girl Kregg” – they talk some smack, we talk some smack... but I know that we must immobilize them in order to be victorious! So as they turn to take a picture... I unscrew the seat of a bike and start to ride off. But I wasn’t fast enough... they catch me and make me give it back. But as we’re riding off, Murray goes missing... AND RETURNS WITH ONE OF THEIR BIKE SEATS!!! All is fair in love and war... the rules were, “there are no rules.”

45 minutes to go, we start heading back to the shop. We take some more pics along the way, snag ourselves a baguette, a pic with a wheel of cheese bigger than my head, and an old man holding a baguette.

In the end: We were the first ones back with the most pictures worth the MOST points – We won by a landslide. Victory is sweet. It tastes good too... we’re going to eat at some awesome restaurant called “Breakfast in America.” Way to go team, way to go.