We kicked off the decathlon last night in a park next to the Picasso Museum. We bought our cheap ping pong paddles the day before and trekked over to the park after work last night. In Paris, many of the parks have outdoor ping pong tables - Pingles recommended this park because the tables were close to a wall, which reduced wind effect. Colin, my decathlon competitor, and I warmed up for a bit - I don't think either of us knew what to expect out of the other. After a few volleys I knew I had him - he didn't have the goods. Below is a shot of a different colleague of mine at the table we used.
The tables are made from a cement mix that has small stones and the nets are metal. So, the bounces you get are crazy at times. Nevertheless, it was a relatively windless day and none of the off bounces were at strategic points in the games. We played best of 5 games to 11. I won all 5. I spiked on him every chance I got but I didn't gloat or talk any shit. I was a complete gentleman.
Afterwards, some other colleagues played some friendly games. On the left is Wayne and on the right is Ian, two of my colleagues from London. All of us retired to a nearby bar for the after-party. It was a lot of fun. Next up: a game of boules in Place des Vosges in September.
2 comments:
Oh goody. A point for our side.
@Sal - of course!! You know I'm not gonna let some Brit wanker beat the kid!
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