Tim and Joycie - UK and beyond travel blog

JP doing what she does best

The sunset from Priscillia's apartment

I really love sunsets

It took Joycie ages to get this picture right

A war memorial

Another tough one for the camera

I can't read French...

One of the main tourist strips

I'm not sure but I think this is a theatre

This one is definitely a theatre

The gorgeous main square in Lille

Patriotic me wearing my Scottish shirt in France (even though I'm not...

I really wanted the pic with the tower behind us...

La Voix Du Nord

The square (actually the whole town) had a really lovely buzz to...

The fountain and statue on the other side of the square

Even the water looked clean!

I think the inside of this would have been really nice as...

It was nice of them to name a Hotel after Australia's greatest...

Beautiful building and the lighting colour kept changing

Both are gorgeous!

The moon looks like a street lamp

Sorry to have so many pics of this, I just liked the...

They had these funky glass basements with advertising in them

Sexy stuff, sadly I couldn't afford even a slice

Joycie just about to do the thing I do best

There were so many restaurants to choose from, eventually we picked this...

Not sure what this was but it looked pretty cool

Push the button

Joycie tried for 30 mins to get this, then I took over

We're very amatuer photograghers so this was particularly hard to get

Very funky waterfall

This water wasn't quite as clean

Typical old building in the main part of the city

With Priscillia on her red couch

So many of the buildings were just so pretty

There was nothing I didn't like about Lille

That building again, by day

The 'Opera de Lille' - Elegant and Grand

The 'Nouvelle Bourse' and its belfry

Hot and tired

Riding through the streets of Lille to a party

Thankfully I managed to take this pic without crashing into a parked...

Priscillia's cat Thomas who plays fetch like a dog

Mmmm chicken...

My what big eyes you both have

This gorgeous church that seemed very out of the way

Posers

Is there a lift to the top?

More posers

A big square where they were holding a rollerblading competition

All Red - absolutely delicious strawberries, we ate a whole punnet on...

Food at the Wazemmes market

I've actually discovered that there are much nicer olives than the disgusting...

In a funky restaurant where you pick the ingredients and then ask...

This job is a health hazard

No I didn't work out how to ride in reverse

and No I didn't work out how to tame this lil monster

Time for a rest

How cool am I on my rented green bike??

Not a bad effort for a self portrait I thought

Is that a girl in the distance? does she have icecream?

Not sweet enough already...

Gimme!

I've got what I want, now you can leave...

I don't know how I put up with two cheeky girls...

Does every city have a statue with a man on a horse?

If you haven't guessed by now, we loved this building

Sweet

This woman just cant keep her hands off me!!

Don't knock the bike

Always good to take pics when someone is eating...


Finally we had the opportunity to travel in a more efficient, enjoyable and environmentally friendly way with our first trip on the Eurostar and boy did we enjoy it. It only takes 20 minutes to get there from our house plus you only need to arrive about 30 minutes before it leaves so all in all you save at least 2 - 3 hours on a trip before you've even left the UK and the same applies when you get back. Overall the journey is quick, smooth and there's no underlying feeling of being treated like cattle - definitely the way to go where possible in the future.

We'd arranged to stay with Priscillia for the weekend in Lille and she was kind enough to meet us when we got off the train. Knowing we hadn't made specific plans for the weekend straight away she suggested we hire a couple of bikes as that was the best way to get around. Lille is a beautiful city with some really lovely buildings, added to that it is also very flat and the roads were not congested with cars which made riding such an enjoyable experience.

Priscillia is a lovely, free-spirited girl who quit her job and cancelled all study for the year, so that she can enjoy life, make impulsive decisions and think about what she wants to get out of life. I've often met people who have talked about making such a change in their life but Priscillia is the first I've met that has actually pulled it off and she certainly seemed to be enjoying it - makes me so jealous.

Lille was a tale of two contrasts, in a way it fits the typical French stereotype perfectly: food, alcohol, enjoy life, everything is beautiful (buildings, people, fashion etc) on the other hand it dispells the stereotype: that the French are rude and unhelpful - as everyone we met was nice, friendly and more than happy to assist. Definitely one of my favourite destinations so far, there was nothing not to like and I can't wait to get back there for another relaxing and enjoyable weekend and to catch up with that little breath of fresh air Priscillia.

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