Lille

My first trip to France came in the form of Lille, in then northern part of the country. Merely an hour from Gent. A lovely fall day. Full of cliche decisions such as croissant sampling and crepe eating. Though only 1 hour away, a remarkable difference appeared between Gent, mainly in the form of bigger roads, more cars and motorcycles, and more congestion. Still, however, like Gent, full of upscale outdoor shopping streets, plazas, and fine restaurants and coffee shops. Sans canals and good beer.



Ah, a Frenchman painting. Yup, a Frenchman painting.

Map Check:

Fall is here:





I strongly recommend bringing your own French person along to France. It helps. With Helene:


The best source of cheap coffee when you don't want to pay 3 euros for a cup. And you can get le double cheese while your ate it. (zing!)

Being cliche again and sampling some upscale French crepes:

A Secular Catholic Church

France is a secular state. Here is a Catholic church we went to in Lille. At first thought, it seemed like a typical old Western European Catholic church. Then, a few things were encountered that I have not seen before in churches. Though, not necessarily in bad ways:

Guy Sleeping on floor:

Children's play area in church:

Not so typical Catholic art, let alone for a church:

Looks like a typical European church at first glance:

Large art exhibition in the church seemingly not so religious oriented: