Blogging Around The World - Lille

Cover Design: Cara Williams Photography: Cara Williams Copyright 2012 by Cara Williams All rights reserved

By Cara Williams

CONTENTS
Chapter 1: Chapter 2: 3 5

Chapter One
Saturday 8th November 2012 Our 7am cab was early. Once we found the driver in the fog, we started our journey to St Pancras International, for our 8.57am train to Lille. One hour and 33 minutes later, we were looking at the huge, weird flower sculpture outside Lille Europe Eurostar station. The weather was miserable. It was cold, gray, foggy and raining. Luckily, the Sejours & Affaire hotel was a 5 minute walk from the station. We couldn't check in until 5pm however, so left our luggage and headed out to get our bearings. Before we headed into town, mum wanted to find a place to sit and eat her home made sarnies (bless), so we found a seat for mum in the large shopping centre adjacent to our hotel, while I drooled over the macaroons in the window of 'Paul'. We started at the Grand Place, which is the main square in Lille. Beautifully preserved historic buildings surround the square, along with a myriad of cafes and pattiseries. I loved the Cloche d'oR building, (left) and the Vielle Bourse (which is the old stock exchange building). Christmas was in the air, as Mistletoe and Wine played on loop over a loudspeaker, while people stopped to look at the huge Christmas tree and decorations, in the main square. The purpose of this trip was to take mum to the Lille Christmas Market (as I had heard that it was one of the biggest and best in Europe). I was imagining Winter Wonderland and much more, so I was surprised when Faye told me we had just passed it.

We decided to revisit the market later and went to see another place of interest in the guide book; the Cathedrale Notre-Dame de la Treille. It is a national monument of France and I thought it was stunning. I especially loved this stain glass window. We then tried to find the Philip Oliver fromagerie, as I really wanted to take some Comte home. The shop was down a gorgeous cobbled side street, but once I saw the price, I realised it would be cheaper to get it from Waitrose. Philip Oliver was around the corner from another Lille highlight; Meert. Meert is one of France's most famous patissiers and the tea house and patisserie on rue Esquermoise is beautiful. It is best known for its waffles, but also sells a range of cakes, breads and savoury snacks. It is a cross between Valerie Patisserie and Harrods. We would have had a cuppa in there but as it was raining, everyone else had the same idea and it was packed, so we ran across the road for a drink in Basilica cafe instead. After a much needed coffee, we went back to the Christmas Market, which consisted of roughly 20 huts, selling random things like plastic figurines, home made toilet roll holders and baby rattles. There were also jewellery stores, food stalls and plenty of places to buy mulled wine. It was interesting, but the complete opposite of what I expected! The main thing was mum managed to find two Christmas presents and was happy with that. we had allocated two hours for the Christmas market visit, but were ready to move on after 20 minutes, so after a quick glance at the Eglise St-Etienne (the grandest church in Lille), it was 5pm and time to check in to the hotel. As we walked back, the festive lights had been switched on and they looked amazing. There was an archway of blue lights over the main road in the city and all the buildings were lit up in festive colours.

Chapter Two
I had paid 228 for the Eurostar and hotel altogether (for 3 of us), which I thought was good value. We had our own apartment, with two bedrooms, a bathroom and small kitchen area. It was no frills, but suited us fine for the night...(except we were on the 12th floor and the windows were not wind proof and there were ridiculously high winds that night. It is very rare that I feel cold, but I was hugging the radiator (at full blast) and was still shivering. The windows were rattling as the weather deteriorated, but we all managed to have a short, unplanned pre-dinner nap anyway. An hour later, we braved the wind and rain again to find a bistro that sold one of the dishes of the region; Carbonnade flamande (small chunks of beef, stewed in beer), waterzo (poultry or fish in a creamy sauce, served with baby vegetables) and potjevleesch (literally small potted meat, a white meat terrine in aspic). The guide book recommended a restaurant in the Rue St Etienne area, called La Compostelle. The food looked nice but it was very expensive, and after checking out a few other menus, we ended up in Flams. It was a weird experience. The waitresses were not used to tourists and didnt speak or understand English. The menu was so confusing and we noticed quickly that rather than a variety of traditional Lille dishes and flavours, everyone seemed to have the same thing. We could not make any sense of the deals on the menus, or what exactly we were ordering. It didnt matter because we all received the same thing; a thin crispy dough (pizza sized), covered with a creamy, seasoned sauce and sprinkled with cheese, sliced onions and bacon. It is served right out of the oven. I felt cheated quite frankly. It turned out that I ordered an 'all you can eat' option, where the waitresses give you unlimited 'Flams' for a set price. I only realised that at the very end. I only managed one, as I didn't really like it, so spent 16e on, well, not a lot. It was only when the waitress gave us the bill that she told us they had English menus!

After dinner, we walked back to Grand Place and had beer in the Leffe Bar. It gave us a chance to people watch. One of the waiters looked and acted like Mr Bean, while we were served by a 'Meatloaf' look-a-like. The weather deteriorated a lot in the evening and the wind picked up and it was bitter. We headed back to the hotel for some warmth. The draft and rattling windows kept us awake most of the night! Sunday 9th November 2012 We checked out at 9.30am and headed to the Wazemmen open air market, to continue my hunt for Comte. It turned out to be quite a long walk, but it was worth it, as we got to see more of the city. The market itself was huge and packed with Sunday morning bargain hunters. There was a wide range of meats, cheeses and fresh fish on offer; plus vegetables, fruit and pastries. There were also various clothes stores, gadget stores and second hand book stores. There were lots of homeless people in the market area however and we didn't feel particularly safe, so decided to go in search of a crepe, which mum had been craving. Although we passed endless creperies yesterday, of course, none of them were open today, so we ended up in a patisserie to have the next best thing; a huge French croissant. This place was good value, as we got an oversized croissant, pain au chocolat and a tea/coffee each for 3e. Next, we headed to the canal area in the North West of Lille. This was a bit disappointing I was imagining Venice, but it was a completely bland and neglected part of town. However, we discovered the best bit of Lille by chance, as we walked down Rue de Gand. We turned a corner and spotted a random, very small upside down house on the grass. It was quite a tourist attraction. I have only just found out that it is part of an art exhibition. 'Fallen from the Sky", is part of the Lille fantastic exhibition by French artist Jean-Franois Fourtou. We walked down an alleyway and entered an area of narrow, cobbled streets, lined with beautiful local bistros and cafes. We stopped at a few to see what was on the menu and saw the Carbonnade and other regional dishes in each place.

Although we had been looking for authentic food the whole trip, it was the creperie that won the day. Mum finally got her crepe and I had a nice afternoon glass of wine. Our last job was to buy a present for dad. We spotted a lovely chocolate shop on our travels and bought dad a box of mixed flavour, freshly made macaroons. I did try one and they were amazing. Sadly, it was then time to head back to the Eurostar station, for our 5.30pm train back to London.