I love traveling. I know -- that's quite obvious. Sometimes I enjoy traveling for long periods of time and other times a little getaway is all I need.
Well last week, I decided to take a little, one-night getaway to explore a new city. I went to Lille. Lille is in the very north of France, near Belgium. It has a bit of Flemish influence, which can be seen in Vieux Lille, the oldest part of town.
Upon arrival after my train delay, my boyfriend and I checked into our AirBnb apartment (very convenient to the train station) and went out to explore. Rather than set specific destinations our first day, we decided to simply walk. I think that exploring a place on foot without an idea of what a place is supposed to be is great. We walked ourselves in circles a few times - the city is NOT in a grid pattern. We discovered a cathedral. We found a grassy area surrounded by various architectural styles. We sat for tea. We headed towards the citadel, only to turn around at the entrance since it was closed and actually used by the military. We strolled through a park as the sun set. Really, we just enjoyed being together.
After a while, we decided it was time to eat. We ended up at an Italian inspired restaurant and I chose a delicious spinach and ricotta ravioli with a creamy veggie and pumpkin sauce. It was great!
Deciding the night wasn't quite over, we headed to the movies before finally calling it a night.
The next morning, we started by going to the art museum (Palais des Beaux Arts). It was huge (actually the second largest art museum in France outside of Paris). Our tickets came with audio guides so we played the part and walked around the museum with our headphones, learning about some interesting pieces. My favorites were the statues and the Impressionist paintings.
By afternoon, the rain had arrived. My little umbrella couldn't hold up to it, so we ended up jumping from one place to the next for lunch, tea, and shopping. I also tried a delicious little treat (too bad I forgot to take a picture) that was a fluffy poof with whipped cream and hardened meringue inside covered by chocolate outside. I would definitely have that again!
We spent our last hour at a large shopping mall where we were protected from the rain. We got into a little mischief at the Lego store and I made a mini-me. It may not have been a very "Lille" afternoon, but at least we enjoyed ourselves! It was a perfect little vacation.
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