My alarm ringing at 7:30 on a Sunday. First, open the left eye. Then, first thought: I have an hour to get ready before today's Whereez activity. Why did my colleagues choose a Sunday for this activity...? I'm not very convinced, but that's democracy. And at the same time, I can't help but wonder: what have they prepared this time...? I was intrigued, but also excited because I knew that it would not be a day like any other.
three minutes walk from the Cadet metro station, Rue la Fayette, there is a park. In the middle of this park, the meeting point. Of course, of the 15 participants, only one was missing: me. Holy Bryan...! The guide explains the rules of the treasure hunt, gives us a map with written instructions, riddles to solve and a map to guide us.
"A reward is waiting for the winning team" she says. And off we go!
We walk through the streets of the ninth arrondissement. The weather is fine, the city is almost empty, asleep. Paris is ours! The Passage Verdeau stretches out like a road to the Belle Epoque, with its symmetrical tiled floor, its large glass windows and its imposing ceilings.
It is not easy to solve the first riddle:
"So, what are we looking for? "Hamed asks the rest of the group. I read, puzzled:
We split up to get a better idea of the place. Some people look down, others stick their heads in the glass... I inspect the doors of all the shops to find a hint of a handle facing upwards. What an idea...!
"I have...! i've got...", I hear from the left side of the passage. Between the rhombuses and the perfect frames of the tiles that adorned the corridor, an imperfection; inside, a flat handle drawn.
Suddenly we find ourselves in the Rue de Nouveau, as if our time in the Passage Verdeau had been a pause between two eras. I spot Charlène, 200m ahead of us with her group. "They're going fast... come on, let's hurry", I motivate the others.
The streets of Paris have a way of distracting us for no obvious reason. Through the treasure hunt, I find myself, almost unintentionally, questioning everything around me. I look around me and the others too, seem to be a little elsewhere, in their own game. They laugh, they talk, but mostly they observe. During the week, between home and work, we don't have enough time to contemplate the secrets of a city as magical as Paris.
We walk along the Palais Brongniart towards the Galerie Vivienne. The final point, the Palais Royal, was just after this last passage. This time, the riddle is hidden among the hundreds of shelves covered with books. The first team is there, gathered to analyse them one by one. We do the same! After five minutes of fruitless searching, the third team joins us.
"That's hot!" someone says, laughing. "Stop the spies! "we burst out laughing.
"That's it! ". We have found the clue. We move on to the Palais Royal Gardens, reading the last clue together to find the final solution to this fun and challenging activity... Whatever the prize, we had all already had a great stroll through the captivating covered passages of Paris.
Tomorrow, we'll meet at the coffee machine for a debriefing like no other!
