Fortunately for us,  Judie’s cousin Marina lives in Paris and decided to accompany us on the day’s adventure.  We had decided to go to Reims to the Pommery Champagne headquarters – between the train ticket and the lunch, not an inexpensive choice but as it turned out, definitely worth it.  Dashing for the train, we breathlessly jumped on just as the doors were closing. 

   Arriving in Reims, we walked over to the tourist center to find out about the tour at Pommery and were informed you couldn’t get onto any tours  without a prior reservation.  Marina, who writes for several magazines in France, pulled her journalist strings and we found ourselves at Pommery face to face with the marketing director.  

  Our challenge involved asking about the name Champagne, and it’s use outside of France.  It seems that France and the U.S.are involved in verrrry delicate negotiations over the name and it’s use and we were told in no uncertain terms that no one there would answer our question at this time.  Mumm was the word.  But that’s another Champagne….

  Although our question went unanswered, the buildings were lovely, the history of the company fascinating and the champagne they served us delicious.  

   When it was time to head back, a taxi was called for us, which arrived with 6 Euros already on the meter.  No, no, no said Marina.  Yes, yes, yes said the Taxi Driver.  Since we refused to take his taxi, he told Marina he would call all the other taxis in town and tell them not to pick up the three women at Pommery.  He then proceeded to do so.  

  So there we were.  In true Marina fashion, she stepped into the street and stuck her thumb out.  A  young woman took pity on us and deposited us at the train station, even though it was completely out of her way.  

  Back in Paris, we started planning for our challenge that night, which involved a Laotian restaurant . Surely there would be one on every corner.  As it turned out, not exactly the case.  But our persistence paid off and not only did we complete our challenge but had the best dinner of the trip. 

Alex and I wrapped up the competitive part of our the trip yesterday with a leisurely breakfast with Team Stimulus Package.  Then a visit to the Arc de Triomphe and about 700 steps round trip to the top.  CTN’s Skip HairGel did a traffic report from the top of Paris’ busiest intersection.

Continuing our Frite theme we grabbed lunch on the way to our next stop at a great little Boulangerie.  We also had a chance to watch the crazy way Parisians drive through intersections.  It was also great to see so many Smart Cars as there haven’t been many in the other cities.  We even saw a Smart For Four which is no longer in production.

Then a visit to the museum of Counterfeiting.   An amazing array of things that have been copied.  Most surprising, water pumps and pasta!  Most disturbing, condoms and pregnancy tests!  And we thought counterfitting was just for luxury goods and money!

Next stop was the Paris Science Museum.  It is housed in an amazing area and thought the Science Museum is well done with lots of interactive exhibits, our favorite part were all the parks and architecture behind the museum.  There are some incredible playgrounds here, which we hope Alex’s cousins Matthew and Ali enjoyed when they were in France two years ago.  There is a giant bicycle buried underground with just the top parts sticking out.

We also enjoyed touring the Argonaut which is a 40 person submarine that is now on permanent display.  While I like to read about submarines, this is the first one of any consequence that I have been inside.

We then headed to a cheese restaurant my brother John recommended called Les Montagnards.  Family run place with the proprietor greeting all the patrons warmly.  We felt welcome and while we were the first there at 7:45, the place quickly filled up.  They have the machinery from a gondola station in the cieling which makes for a unique restaurant.  They specialize in foods from Savoie.  We had some terrific cheeses including a great Comte and a delicious creamy Reblochon.  We had a small sample of Raclette and then a Savoie Cheese Fondue.  Very tasty and a different mix of cheeses, including Abondance which is now being distributed in the US by Trader Joe’s.   Since Chocolate Fondue was available, we didn’t see any reason to say no!  We enjoyed some terrific inexpensive wine that paired well with the Fondue and also sampled some liquer from Savoie!

Team Goldtroni really savored our day in Paris and we are looking forward to winding down on our Trip on Saturday with more cheese, chocolate and sights.  We’ll finish with a final drink tonight with the other Competitouristas at 11 tonight!

Hello all! Thank you for your support, W & T, S & P, Frank and whoever else checked in on us. We (Ally and Bob) had a lot of fun, made new friends and got SMOKED in the competition! The first three days were grueling hitting Frankford, Kolblenz, and Amsterdam. We really enjoyed the last three days (in Brussels, Brugge and Paris) after the “game moderator”, Steve, ended the original competition early to start a new game with different rules which made it a lot more fun!

Would we do it again? Yes … with the revised format the chances are more likely that we would do this trip rather than something else. The motivation for us is not to win the first place prize (although that would be just fine!); rather, the reward is the whole experience of the trip (its the journey not the destination). We have really enjoyed meeting our fellow competitours with whom we share a trait in common: a craving to experience new adventure. In particular, we have made new friends with one team with whom we have a whole lot in common and hope to have a lasting friendship. In the very least we have made new friends with all of the competitours who are an exceptional group of people and with whom we hope to intersect again in our travels.

To our friends in Dallas: we return late Sunday night. We will be at the lake house in the hot tub!

Team 5 is living large at the Madurodam, and not only because they take have taken the lead in Day 3. See what I mean here:

Team 9 found an important plant used for medicinal purposes at the flower market:

And to “rap” up the last of today’s challenge highlights, check out this video from Team 3 at the House of Bols: