Ruth's first cricket game & my new haircut...hilarity ensues

When we had walked by the Lord's Cricket Grounds yesterday on our way to the zoo and saw that there would be a game tomorrow (Saturday), we half jokingly said we should go. Naturally, at 9:30am Saturday (today) we were on our way to our first cricket game, Oxford vs Cambridge (we finally realised that college sports in Europe is no where near as hype as it is in the States)! Our excitement was put on hold as we approached the stadium and found that everyone entering  was dressed in their finest clothes (dresses, shirt & ties, etc.). Luckily, the British ticket salesman was understanding of us as American tourists and sold us the tickets, reminding us that we were allowed only 2 cases of beer or 3 bottles of wine upon entry into the stadium (I could get used to this sport!). Anyways, we entered the stadium and, feeling somewhat lost, asked one of the smartly dressed attendants where we were entitled to sit with our tickets. As has been the case throughout the trip, Paul was incredibly warm and offered us recommendations on where to sit along with a full blown explanation of how cricket is played. Unfortunately, none of his explanation sunk in too much for Ruth or I. Most of the game was spent laughing at the actions of the players and the peculiar way in which the game was played. By far the best instance of this from our 3 hours at the stadium was when Ruth thought that one of the players, a large indian guy with Oakley shades and popped collar, was actually the security guard for the field since he was standing by the bleachers. Justifiably, she was quite dumbfounded when her "security guard" trotted onto the middle of the field to bowl to the next batsman. We were also quite entertained by the actions of the fans, who all seemed to be dressed in their "fratty-est" attire for the occasion...thus, we decided that cricket was the "fratty-est" sport we had ever seen. As the wind picked up and the jokes stopped coming as frequently, Ruth and I made our way to the exit in search of some lunch.

We found a nice little place for sandwiches and pancakes right by the tube station before departing to Westminster. Upon arrival there, we walked around and took some pictures of the abbey and the House of Parliament. After walking around in the crowds of tourists, we escaped to some side streets where I got a haircut from a cute Australian girl and Ruth bought/wrote a thank you card for our hostess in London, Crystal. For those of you who get your haircut in foreign countries (usually a bad idea as I have found numerous times), they will charge you more for using scissors than just the clippers but not for putting disgusting product in your hair! I learned this the hard way. Needless to say, I walked away after having a nice but unintelligent conversation with the Australian barber (who had a boyfriend of course), 15 pounds (or $30) lighter, and with a ridiculous greasy European faut-hawk. We took the tube back to the flat and hung out for awhile on Skype with friends and family before I decided to get in my long run.

This may have been my best run in Europe thus far as I did 13-14 solid miles with some great strength work mixed in. I started my run by conquering Primrose Hill twice despite the strong wind in my face. I then moved on to do two full outer loops of Regents Park. I concluded at 10 miles with 400m, 800m, 400m on a dirt track in the park at 73, 2:40, 76. This was a really good workout for me since I had not done much distance, speed, or hill work the past two weeks although I had be running consistently.

I was warmly greeted back at the flat with a homemade pasta dinner courtesy of Ruth and Crystal. Over dinner, Ruth enjoyed sharing with us tweets about weird (probably false) facts, which of course Crystal and I criticised relentlessly. In return I shared Jim Gaffigan stand-up with both of them courtesy of Netflix instant play. We spent the rest of the night laughing at his McDonalds, Disney, Subway, Domino's, and parenthood jokes..."I'm lovin' it!"