The home of cricket

After saying bye to Paris (the ladies were emotional, I was happy to move on.. except for the Louvre I was not going to come back for anything.. well maybe the Laduree macaroons and that was it), we got up reluctantly on Day 11 to drag our suitcases along Parisian pavements for 30+ minutes to go to the Gare Du Nord station. 

There was a long line to clear immigration at a train station so we could board the Eurostar to London. We made it two mintues before the train took off. It was a pleasant ride and given we were hungry, we ate some of the desi snacks that had been in our bags all along for breakfast. 

The previous post on this series is here...

The train stopped at Kings Cross station, one place we wanted to visit. We didnt realize we will be visiting that station that many times as our hotel was right across from the station. 

We were told that the earliest we get our room is 2PM. That was a challenge because we were booked on a tour of the Lords cricket ground from 2-3:30PM not to mention plans after that. 

So we left our luggage next to the front desk and tried to find something to eat. It so happens that in England, the most common restaurant is Indian food. A word of warning.. the Indian food joints serve a version of Indian food that is not exactly Indian. Some restaurants serve you food that is frozen in pre-independent India times.. things that bring back vague memories of when your great grandma used to cook at family functions when you were 4-5 years old. Others make you question "what exactly is the Indian part here other than the color of the food and the Paneer in it?". Then again, there are some that hit the right notes and make you eat way more than you normally would..

Our first search (stepping down from hotel entrance) showed 3 Indian places just looking across. We found none of them opened before Noon. So we wandered around for some time, got the kids food at a 5 guys burger joint and went to a Tandoori place for the adults. Then it was time to hit the Lords ground.

I have more family portraits with smiling faces at this one location than any other place in the entire trip. Must have been the perfect English weather which happens so rarely..

Also please note that usually I am allowed to post one family portrait per post based on censor restrictions.. but in this post there are 4. If you note carefully, my hair actually is going through what the grass surface goes through during the first 4 days of a Test match at Lords..in just under 90 minutes... 

This was a much anticipated event for me on the trip. The kids were also looking forward to it, given all the IPL watching in recent times and the test cricket they catch glimpses of on weekend mornings with me.

They don't play but they know the game. San was also excited to see Lords although she wanted to see a game there. Unfortunately the game with India was just a few days away and we were leaving Europe that morning. The tour was actually great. The guide was great, giving us a fun fact filled description with enough jokes to keep us laughing throughout. 

Two slide shows of what we saw..

I did not know that the Lords board for hundreds does not have the names of Sachin or Lara but has Agarkar in it...also did not know that Stuart Broad is the only guy who has hit a 100 at Lords, taken 5 wickets in an innings and 10 wickets in a match at Lords. Always had mixed feelings about Broad because he didnt walk once after he knowingly hit a ball and was caught, but he is a damn good all rounder. Let's just say I did find some new respect for him after this tour. 

We walked the entire perimeter of the ground and went into the press box as well as the players rooms, and the pavillions. It was an experience that will be cherished for a long time.

Panos of Lords ground..

After this we got back to the Kings cross area and put our luggage in our room. It was actually as small as the room in Paris with only one bed. We had to change rooms in the morning or later that night. The next stop was south Wimbledon to meet San's childhood friend. 

We took the train again and visited her friend. We all had a great time at her friends place and after dinner we all sat down to watch the second semi final of the World cup. We had booked tickets for this trip almost 8 months in advance and if you had told me then that we would actually end up in Paris on the night of the France semifinal and in London the night of the England semifinal, I would not have bet on it. 

England lost the game and given the English history of reacting to loses in big matches, our friends told us to put up a sad face and stay quiet on the underground. It was a long ride from South Wimbledon to Kings Cross and there were a lot of drunk folks on the train, but they were trying to sing songs that still supported the English after the loss. 

Our family looked as though we just came from a funeral, maybe we over did the sadness part.. but all said and done we made it back to the hotel. Folks were all red eyed and crying as we watched a contrast to the previous night.. 

Day 11 was done. . it was a tale of two cities.. in a much different context!