Back from Lille!

[dawn_felagund]

About six months ago, Bobby and I decided we wanted to visit my sister and sister-in-law in England for the holidays. We haven't been able to make that happen in the eight-or-so years that Sharon has been here. So Tuesday night, we made the onerous overnight flight to London, then the short flight north to Newcastle. (Including a layover in

Comments

[klose]

Lovely! Such great photos. France in the winter looks and sounds amazing. And I imagine the weather is still manageable, and not blisteringly cold like it is further into the continent?

I do love European christmas markets -- mulled wine, all the pastries, om-nom.

I love Paul. They've got branches in the UK, and also in Singapore, and it's such a chill, cozy place to get good French bakery items.

Did you find language to be a barrier, or did any of your group speak French? My pal and I had that issue when we wanted to order some local French cuisine (in Paris), but that may also be because we somehow always ended up in the heavily non-touristy areas.

[dawn_felagund]

And I imagine the weather is still manageable, and not blisteringly cold like it is further into the continent?

It was very comfortable to Bobby and me, who had come from temperatures dipping to 15F/-10C in the evenings at home. We had some rain that last night, but otherwise, it was clear and pleasant. Our first day there--as the blue skies in the pictures attest!--was particularly sunny and nice. It was cold enough for a coat, but I was never actually cold (aside from on the Ferris wheel a couple of times ...)

I love Paul. They've got branches in the UK, and also in Singapore

Oh! Maybe I can hold out hope that they'll make it over to the U.S.? (Probably not. They couldn't compete with Krispy Kreme and the other atrocities that pass as pastries back home.)

Did you find language to be a barrier, or did any of your group speak French?Bobby speaks a little French, but not much. The rest of us don't speak any! (I intended to learn a little but got snowed under with schoolwork and so decided to rely on him.) We didn't encounter many

[klose]

(Probably not. They couldn't compete with Krispy Kreme and the other atrocities that pass as pastries back home.)
Hah! Funnily enough, Krispy Kreme just recently, came to Singapore to everyone's excitement (people had been waiting years).

everyone was very accommodating, and aside from the dozen pain au chocolate, we had no blunders.
That's really great! We encountered a lot impatient folk while we were in Paris, so we never dared go to proper bistros (not least because we couldn't read the menu entirely, lol) -- but I think it's better in the touristy areas.

And hey, there can never be too many pain au chocolat, especially if they've been perfectly made with love. :P

Glad you had a great time, and I hope you have a good Christmas & New Year! :)

[dawn_felagund]

Merci! :D

[keiliss]

Sudden uncontrollable urge to be in Europe.... Lovely taste of Lille. I really like the side entrance to the cathedral and all the carvings.

[dawn_felagund]

Me too! The side entrance was far superior, imo, to the front, which was designed, I believe, in the '70s.

[keiliss]

Ewww. This is so disappointing. There's no resemblance.

[samtyr]

This was lovely! -- I adored the pictures Thank you so much for sharing it.

[dawn_felagund]

Thank you--and you're welcome! :) I love having these trip posts to go back to and remember where we've been and what we've seen. :)

[just_jenni]

Beautiful pics! I love Europe and its architecture and infrastructure. Oddly enough, I have never been to France except for a couple of brief stopovers at De Gaulle Airport in Paris, but it is one of the places I'd dearly love to visit, especially some of the smaller cities. When I was in Bilbao, Spain, I could have taken the train into the Basque areas of southern France but alas, I didn't have enough time to do so. After seeing your fantastic photos and reading your anecdotes about your trip I've made it a priority to visit France in the near future. :)

[dawn_felagund]

I definitely recommend Lille. It was small enough to get most everything done in a couple of days, and the people were very nice. (A complaint I hear often about France, that the people are rude. Not the case in our experience with Lille! :) Paris is definitely on our list since it's one of those places (like London) that one feels obligated to at least see, but I'd honestly be very surprised if I liked it more than Lille.

Also--before I forget!--I got your card shortly before leaving. Thank you so much. I promise I will be in a place soon to return the favor. *hugs*