We found Lille to be a lovely city with a plethora of cafes/restaurants, boutique shops and few tourists. There are quite a few beggars on the streets here as well. They seem to be punks with lots of bored dogs that look ill-treated. That side of things is a little sad. There are also a lot of Museums, Parks and again beautiful architecture. One of the museums we visited was the Musée des Beaux-Arts (the second largest fine arts museum in France after the Louvre). We were even lucky enough to see an exhibition by Italian artist Paolo Finoglio. It is the first time that 10 of his monumental paintings have been outside of Italy. The Museum housed a lot of artwork but my favourites were: a room full of Rubens' paintings, a few Rodin sculptures, a room full of map reliefs and another room full of Delacroix andRomanticism paintings.
We have got to experience some luxuries as well in Lille - some things like having a hot bath and a sauna thanks to our swanky hotel on Rue de la Paris opposite the Opera House. And of course, you can't go to France without gorging yourself on fresh-made baguettes - we were delighted to find a Paul's across the road from where we are staying.
Our trip to Lille has also allowed us to explore Lille's parklands. Our first day we walked around the city admiring the architecture and the beach volleyball event that was right outside the Museum of Fine Arts; and yesterday we explored Citadelle Parklands and free Zoo. Yes, that's right, a free day out, it was lovely. Pity the weather wasn't better (ie. full of sun).
Our first night here we found a pub called the "Australian Pub", it was just like a faux Irish pub though it had Fosters on tap. Don't worry we didn't touch it, we opted for another tasty beverage from Belgium. It had great music - but unfortunately there was no Danni Minogue, Ian Moss, Darryl Braithwaite nor Savage Garden.
Tomorrow, we head to Bordeaux for some great company, wine and cheese.
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