20240601 Saturday June 1, 2024; Hanging out in Lille

When we originally booked this trip Ben thought we might try to hit the beaches of Normandy or head into Belgium as an excursion from Lille, being in the north of France and so close to the border with  Belgium, but having spent so much time driving in England and Scotland to see so many nearly identical small villages, and not really having much down time, we opted to be lazy and limit our visit to Lille.  The weather was dark grey skies with intermittent drizzles.  After a leisurely breakfast, we eventually wandered back through Lille, this time not on a mission so much as a saunter through the streets.  

We walked down the Rue de Gand which is lined with restaurants specializing in the regional cuisine, which was just a block from where we dined the first night.  One of these restaurants had been highly recommended by the hotel’s front desk, but at 1pm, the place was packed and reservations were mandatory.  

There were plenty of other restaurants along that street with similar menu offerings, but none were nearly as busy.  We also walked through the Gand Gate and caught a glimpse of the city fortifications that were evident on the model in the basement of the Beaux-Arts Museum.  

We walked through the courtyard of the Musée de L’Hospice Comtesse, which is another building on Lille’s must see listings.  It was founded in 1237, and currently houses a museum recreating a 17th century Flemish convent.  We walked around the garden and courtyard but passed on the actual museum.

We took a second closer look at the facade of the Lille Cathedral and saw the bronze sculptures which were mentioned at the Beau-Arts museum, but which we managed to completely miss on our first day.  

From there we wandered back past the 17th century buildings of the Rang du Beauregard on the Place du Théatre opposite the Vielille Bourse, which exemplify Lilloise Neoclassical Baroque architectural style.  Some of the facades supposedly have cannon balls still embedded from the 1792 Siege of Lille by the Austrians.  

As we headed to the hotel we saw Lille has its very own Apple Store- a very tiny one.  

Ben got drawn into a tiny dumpling shop where we had some Xiao Long Bao with a small salad and bubble tea to pick us up.  The dumplings were probably out of a box but steamed in steamer baskets.  There was barely a trace of soup in these.  Melbourne’s Chinatown has set a very high standard for Xiao Long Bao that is hard to beat.  

We managed to get back to the hotel without getting caught by rains today as we walked about 3.5 miles.  

After relaxation, naps and Duolingo lessons, we headed back into town to look for something to eat.  We had an inclination to try something Italian so Ben found a place on Yelp with 4 star reviews that wasn’t too far.  It was around the corner from the street with all the Flemish restaurants and was quite busy, but the host was able to seat us immediately on a long bench where another group of 4 were seated.  It was apparent this was a very popular place with an upbeat casual atmosphere.  

There was an old Sophia Loren movie being projected on a wall nearby and popular songs from the 80’s playing on the speakers (Love Fool, Boogie Wonderland, ABBA, etc) and a lot of young people.  We were handed menus but they were in French only, so we struggled a bit to figure it out.  There was a small section of appetizers, a large main section, and a small dessert section, but we didn’t see anything that looked like pizza or pasta.  The menu was mostly several variations of something called Burrata.  Ben wasn’t able to get an adequate cell signal inside the restaurant to be able to research it further, but we decided to take the plunge and be surprised.  What we got was not anything at all like pizza.  What we got was a bun sized ball of Burrata, which we have since learned is a popular artisanal cheese product on the East Coast of the US originating in southern Italy made from hand formed mozzarella and cream.  The Burrata has a soft and creamy center with a firmer outer skin with a unique mild and pleasant flavor and texture that is served with pieces of flatbread and complementary flavors.  Janet’s was served with thinly sliced olive loaf and topped with a pistachio tamponade while Ben’s’ was served in a pool of pimento sauce with tomatoes and grilled eggplant.  It was a new memorable culinary experience for us.  The group of 4 spent the entire time drinking cocktails and having fun. It sounded like they were speaking some Germanic dialect, and after our food came out, a pair of young French women sat on the other side of us, so it had quite the international flare to it.  

Ben took a detour on the way back to our room to check out the hotel's gym, which was small, but decently equipped. With all the walking we have been doing, neither of feels the least bit inclined to hop on a treadmill or elliptical machine. 

We’ll get packed back up into our suitcases tonight.  Tomorrow we head back into the train station across the street and take a TGV train into Paris around noon.  We’ll be able to sleep in and have another relaxing morning in Lille.