re: Rainbow Birthday

I've already been scooped by Jordan, of course, but we celebrated Aubrey's birthday over the weekend and the two of us planned one fun party that was one of the best I have ever helped throw.

We got a group of friends together for a city-wide scavenger hunt. To add to the fun, when we handed everyone the first clue, it instructed them to go downstairs and hop into one of the small fleet of MINI convertibles that we had rented for the occasion.


The weather in San Francisco was perfect for cruising in the MINI with the top down, and we lead everyone on a wild chase around the city.


First every car got a bag check claim ticket to a thrift store in the Mission.


That clue led everyone to the Seward Slides, where there were pieces of cardboard with the clues written on them at the top to slide down on.

The next clue was dangling from a string off the edge of Pier 7.


This led us to the Chinatown Fortune Cookie factory, where each group was handed a box of fortune cookies with the clues hidden inside of the cookies.

The last clue was hidden at the top of the Lyon St stairs, inside of little yellow balloons.


That clue lead everyone to Crissy Field, where we had a table set up with cupcakes and fruit...and several bowls of colored powder as used in traditional Hindu Holi Festival of Colors that we used to ambush the birthday girl. We threw the colors at one another until everyone was painted in a rainbow of chalky dust.






It was a perfectly surprising and colorful ending to the party, and totally worth it even if it is not as glamorous to drive home in your MINI wrapped in a garbage bag so as not to paint the seats fluorescent pink.


Don't tell anyone, but I think I had more fun at this party than my roommate did.

(and thank you paul, jordan and emily, for all the photos)

re: art imitating life imitating art

After London, I chunneled over to France to stay with Kristine in Paris for a few days.

It turns out that there is a lot of art happening over in Europe. I was in the middle of a DaVinci Code sightseeing tour, and part of it led me to this museum that I guess is a pretty big deal.

I went inside and was overwhelmed by all the things to see. Even though the Louvre is massive and houses who knows how many billions of pieces of art, there were a few pieces that seemed to really be grabbing all the attention.

It turns out, this is what the Mona Lisa looks like:

(It is also what the Eiffel Tower and Notre Dame look like - crowded.)

But, I managed to still see my way around a lot of great art while I was there, though I got a little distracted by all the people taking photos in front of some of the pieces. Especially in the sculpture portion of the gallery, a simple 'standing and smiling' photo rarely sufficed. Most people had to somehow try to interact with the art, or imitate it.

Like this woman that is apparently pretending to get inside of the marble tub to take a bath?

Or all these blurry people making themselves look all statue-ish?





I found it almost more fun to watch the people imitating the art than to even look at the art itself.

But it gave me a great idea. I found this excellent photo in my Time Out guidebook:

...so I made it my goal to find that exact spot and take my photo just like the bronzed Parisian man. I was wearing a few more layers than he was, but managed to find the exact spot (minus the fake London Eye in the background. Apparently that was only a temporary exhibit):

Kristine was pretty spot on as well.

I pass the challenge along to you. The next time you find yourself in Paris ... please make it your trip's goal to find this spot and take your photo there as well.

re: The non-drowsy Chaperone

I've been a little absent on the internet in the past month, but that is because Emily and I just went to London for Spring Break, and stayed right in the middle of all the fun in her sister's place in Covent Garden. We did a whole lot of everything that London had to offer, including a lot of the mandatory tourist stuff. Every time we would walk by a Ripley’s Believe It or Not! or a wax museum, I would cringe a little, knowing that there was no surer sign that we were in the heart of something touristy.

I loved this sign that we saw on all the ticket booths. Of course the student featured on the international student discount card is a smiling dude with dreadlocks. He looks like everyone I have ever met in a hostel:

Anyway. One night we were feeling ambitious and decided that we ought to embrace our #1 tourist option and take an overpriced spin on the eyesore that is the London Eye to get a fun bird's eye view of London at night. Everyone sits in these little transparent pods and stares at things while the wheel slowly rotates.

To our delight, in the pod right behind us, there was a couple that had splurged and paid a whopping £299.00 for the romantic Cupid's Capsule, which promises an entire pod to yourself with a bottle of Laurent-Perrier Champagne and a luxury box of Charbonnel et Walker pink champagne truffles. Sounds pretty great, right? Just you and your sweetie, suspended above the stunning skyline of the city in an all-glass capsule, feeding eachother chocolates and champagne? No better to guarantee that your date turn to putty in your hands!

What they don't really emphasize is that your champagne and truffles come along with a butler to pour the bubbly and make sure that you don't get up to any hanky panky in the middle of the ride. So what in theory is romantic, actually turns out to be weirdly awkward, because it is just two people on a date in a tiny glass pod with a butler in the corner wearing a suit and pretending that he can't hear everything you are saying. The poor guy tried to kiss his girlfriend at one point, but she was so obviously uncomfortable that he didn't try it again. I am sure it didn't help that our entire pod had our noses pressed to the glass, watching the awkward scene unfold in delight.

At least the butler can take photos of the two of you ...

As the rest of us stare you down.

This was the happy couple's tourist shot that they try to make you buy at the end of the ride. In one frame it almost looks like the happy couple is alone in the pod. Until the back shot shows a creepy butler lurking.