Category Archives: Lille December 2012

By the evening of day two I’m pretty confident of my bearings in Lille, so I take another stroll around the main square and then back towards Rue Messana to see if there’s any more cabaret on at Le Sherwood. Sadly, I’m disappointed. Nothing gets going in Lille until late evening, and at about 6.30pmContinue reading “You’re English – rescue me!”

Lille looks a lot better in the morning sunshine. It’s cold and dry, so a good day to get exploring some more. Although come to think of it, it didn’t look too bad last night either. I cross town to Wazemmes, one of the most multi cultural parts of Lille, and home to a realContinue reading “Taking The Piscine”

Normally when I arrive in a new city I’m pretty quick in getting my bearings, and Lille is no exception. Although its streets twist and turn it’s essentially a compact place, and no sooner have I walked out of the hotel I’m in the Place du Theatre, and next to it the Grand Place. YeContinue reading “A Load of Crepe”

With great engineering projects come great big tunnels, and as the train races through Kent my ears are constantly popping as we enter and exit. I’m grateful for my old companion, the extra strong mint. The rest of the journey is pretty uneventful and my arrival in Lille is accompanied by a heavy hail shower.Continue reading “Il Pleut. Et petit.”

Security at St Pancras is pretty tight, considering that it’s just a train journey. Airline style scanners check people’s bags, but as far as free travel throughout the EU is concerned, the French customs man at the passport booth gives me a stereotypical shrug. Compared with the rest of the station’s grandiose, the Eurostar waitingContinue reading “Bon Voyage”

Let’s face it, most people of my age didn’t do O Level French or German at school because they actually enjoyed it. Not where I come from anyway. The primary purpose of “learning” a language at school was to get a cheap holiday abroad via that essential rite of passage – the Foreign Exchange Trip.Continue reading “The Lille Good Factor”