Paris

We left London on the 11th September for Paris. The Eurostar train was very comfortable and though we were travelling right under the English Channel, it was hardly discernible. It took just about 2 hours to reach Paris.

Paris welcomed us with a rude jolt...

We were about to take the underground to Jojo's house (Joan’s husband who is currently posted in Paris) from Nord station and were waiting on the platform for the train. We both had our hands full, burdened as we were with three suitcases and one rucksack. As the train arrived and the doors opened, I suddenly found myself being surrounded and pushed inside by a group of young girls milling around me. Luckily I remembered Unni's and Ankita's description of a somewhat similar situation in Madrid, and became instantly alert. I told Simmy (in Malayalam) to be careful and even as I was saying so, felt myself being relieved of my wallet from the trouser pocket. It was obvious that the girl standing right next to me was the culprit. I dropped the suitcases in both arms and grabbed the girl by the middle, shouting, "You thief, you have robbed my purse, you have robbed my purse."   The girl kept saying something in French and I could sense that she was trying to pass on the wallet to her accomplices, a feat she found somewhat difficult because I just would not let go of her! In the melee that followed, either she lost her nerve, or decided that she had had enough. The wallet fell to the floor and I lunged at it, and retrieved it with relief. I quickly examined the contents and found that everything  was intact-- the money, my credit cards, PAN card, etc.

The strange thing was that through all this commotion, the general public behaved as if nothing had happened. Their apathy was baffling and we were both so shaken by the event that we quite forgot about the cunning girls.  And sure enough, at the next station, they quickly slipped out and disappeared. In retrospect, I feel that we should have given them at least a couple of tight slaps!

Anyway, all is well that ends well. I am sure that God protected us that day, and the prayers of the many who wish us well, did not go in vain.

Though considerably upset, we continued our journey and soon reached Jojo's apartment. He was waiting for us and welcomed us warmly. Jojo lives in a prime locality, within 200 metres of the Arc de Triomphe which can be clearly seen from his balcony. And in the distance, another prominent landmark of Paris, the Eiffel Tower, can also be seen!

Jojo's balcony in Paris with the Arc de Triomphe in the background

While in Paris, we visited the Louvre Museum, the Hotel de Invalides, Tuileries Gardens, the Arc de Triomphe, Notre Dame Cathedral and Sacre Coeur, and walked down the majestic Champs Elysees. And of course the Eiffel Tower (with a glass of champagne at the top!) and a boat cruise on the Seine. We also visited Victor Hugo’s house-cum-museum. We didn’t miss Montmartre either, though ruefully, I had to stay away from Moulin Rouge (it was far too expensive). We also spent a day at Versailles.

At the Arc de Triomphe

On Champs Elysees

The Eiffel Tower from a boat on the Seine

Some champagne atop the Eiffel Tower 

At Victor Hugo's house

Towards the end of our stay in Paris, we also met our niece Nithya, who studies in Paris. Nithya spent half a day with us, and it was wonderful seeing her in far-away Paris!

 

Simmy with Nithya and Mathen 

Our European holiday-London, Balmullo and Cambridge

At long last I have been able to accomplish something I had always wanted to do—go on a Grand Tour of Europe and see all the places I had only dreamt of!  My dream came true in September –October 2013 when, with financial help from Unni and Ankita, Simmy and I set off from Mumbai on the 1^st September.

The British Airways flight from Mumbai to London was quite comfortable but uneventful and we landed at Heathrow at 7.30 in the morning. Joan (my niece) and her son Mathen were at the airport to receive us and soon whisked us off to their home in Richmond, to the exclusive suburb of Kew Garden where they live. They have a sprawling place replete with gardens and front-yard and we were very comfortable during our stay of ten days there. Joan and her brood (sons Alex, Mathen and Seby, and daughter MaryAnne) took great care of us and we lacked nothing. Every morning, after a sumptuous breakfast, Joan would send us off, with an equally impressive packed lunch, and we would get back only late in the evening, after taking in the sights of London.

London was wonderful and we did all the usual things. Visited the Tower of London, saw the Changing of the Guards at Buckingham Palace, walked up and down Tower Bridge, visited Harrod’s, (but took care not to buy anything there!), went to Trafalgar Square, Piccadilly Circus, St. James’ Park, Westminster Abbey, No. 10 Downing Street, saw Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament, ate (and drank) in pubs, went boating up the Thames and even saw the longest-running play in history, Agatha Christie’s ‘The Mousetrap”. While the grand buildings and the sheer historicity of London was overwhelming, what impressed me even more was the charm and politeness of the ordinary Londoner. Everyone was so courteous, so friendly and so helpful. Whether it was the London Bobby, the railway clerk, or the man-in-the-street, Londoners are absolutely charming.

While we were in London, we also took a couple of days off, to visit some old friends in Scotland and Cambridge respectively. First we traveled up to Balmullo, a little village in Fife, near St. Andrew’s in Scotland, to visit the Rev. Daniel O’Connor and his wife, Juliet. Dan was the chaplain in St. Stephen’s College in my time and it was wonderful meeting him and Juliet at their charming country cottage. We had High Tea in their delightful Conservatory, where for the first time I got to eat scones! The O 'Connors also presented us with a beautiful quaich, the Scottish Cup of Friendship, after extracting a promise from us that it would be passed around and put to good use at the next meeting of the Old College Gang.

Balmullo itself is an absolutely beautiful place and we had dinner at a local pub, after Dan took us around St. Andrew’s University, (where Prince William met and proposed to Kate). The university is situated in wild and wind-swept countryside and the whole place reminded me of Macbeth, Birnum Wood and Dunsinane!      

After returning from Scotland, we visited David Gosling at his hide-out in Cambridge. David is another old friend, who also taught at St.Stephen’s and is now back in Cambridge after a three-year stint in Peshawar where he was the Principal of a college. Thanks to him, we could go right inside the hallowed precincts of Cambridge and the many famous colleges there. We spent the night at his place, after a rather incongruous Kerala dinner (appams, pappadoms, coconut fish curry, et al) at a south Indian restaurant run by a man from Calicut!  David is very fond of south Indian food. “Do you think they will serve pappadoms here?” he asked, rather plaintively, as soon as we entered the place. And he was not disappointed.

Trafalgar Square

At the Tower of London

Simmy near the Tower Bridge

Simmy on Tower Bridge

Simmy outside Buckingham Palace

With the O' Connors at a pub in Balmullo 

Joan, Mary Ann and Sebin with us

With David Gosling in Cambridge

 

Joan's house in Kew Garden, London