Lille is only 47 miles from Bruges, but we decided to drive West to the coast, to Dunkirk on the way, a dogleg route. This was a happy choice and we had lunch at a well-regarded fish market on the harbor, La Halle. Oysters, giant prawns, smoked fish and a delightful bottle of Chablis. All of this splendid seafood served next to the shop counters and while the market floors were being hosed down. A charming and refreshing approach to dining. No sign of tourists and Heidi again charmed our hosts with her facility with the “mother tongue”.
After lunch we decided to walk to the Yacht Club de la Mer du Nord looking to make some common ground with fellow sailors. We entered the club just as it was closing for the midday break and had a quick glass of wine, just to be congenial. We hoped for a hat with a spiffy logo, but no luck.
Back on our path to Lille and an entrance to the city center with good underground parking close by our hotel, Boa. Boa is a modern boutique hotel with excellent amenities and an interesting change from the restored antique lodgings we had enjoyed to date.
Lille center echoes the Beaux Arts style of Paris and so is a lovely welcoming embrace from this city of over 1 million people and 100,000 students. We again saw few tourists and that conclusion is from a walking survey of the central city as far out as 3 miles. Our morning coffee and bread was obtained from boulangerie Paul. Paul is a very well-done chain with outlets as far away as Washington D.C.
Our other dining experiences were average, although I ignorantly ordered Andouilette, a sausage made from the large intestine of a pig. It was served as the stuffing to a crepe and an awful odor pervaded the restaurant when the dish was brought out, so much so we both lost our appetites. This was a quaint neighborhood modestly priced student hangout and I suspect the sausage was in an advanced stage of spoilage. This experience was more amusing than horrifying because the dish was replaced with something more conventional and of course the house wine aided our recovery.
Departing Lille was a breeze and we dropped the leased car at Charles de Gaulle without incident, a great relief to me to shed the driving duties, and took the train into Paris.
