A day in Lille

It was cold and rainy, and it was no Nantes or Biarritz, but I had a lovely day in Lille.

I would have liked to absorb more of the Flemish architecture but, huddled under an umbrella, it was too challenging. So I took just a few to capture the rich, ornate and distinct look of this once-Belgian city.


I did love the crooked, cobblestone streets in Vieux Lille and the cute boutiques and cafes there.


Sometimes it felt strangely like Great Britain. Except the patisseries were undeniably, irresistibly French.


(Oh yeah)


Mostly I just walked around and explored, but I did get to the Palais des Beaux-Arts, said to be France’s greatest art treasure after the Louvre and the d’Orsay. I think that’s a bit of a stretch (well, art is subjective) but I always love visiting new museums.


This sad little bench in one of the grand salons cracked me up. The scale was just so silly.

But this sculpture evoked totally different feelings: discomfort, angst and awe. I’ve never seen a sculpture like that.

I snapped a couple more photos of some of the more peculiar facades before jumping on the train...

...that, in just an hour, brought me back to a fire, in my treehouse, in… Paris.