I took a bus to Lille. It's so funny driving through the EU; no border control, no passport checks. You just drive past signs with the country's name; blink and you miss it. It was funny returning to the Netherlands... When we stopped for a break I couldn't tell what country we were in (Flemish is similar to Dutch) so the only way I could tell we were back in the Netherlands was by looking at my cellphone to see if my provider was Dutch.
On my first day in Lille I was still carrying by huge backpack, so we went to a movie and saw Little Miss Sunshine, it was damn funny. I also got to practice my French ordering baguettes and wine, but the damn French made no effort to speak English when I was stuck. And if I said something in French, they would just repeat what I said for no reason; to further stress me out I guess.
The city was having a strange Bollywood festival; strange combination: French city and Bollywood. To celebrate they set up a huge monkey outside the Hospice Museum...
... and elephants along the main street
We were in Lille during Rememberance Day; this is the city hall. The French are very patriotic, which is good but strange considering they lose all the time. The ceremony was dull, and in French.
Lille was voted Europe's culture capital a few years ago, so we went to some of the museums. The major one was the museum of fine arts, seen here reflected in the glass structure accross from it.
Moi et Kelly dans le Palais des Beaux Arts de Lille
We also went to an art museum called La Piscine, because it was located in an swimming pool. The building itself was cooler than the art.
From Lille I took a day trip to Arras. The town's built on a bunch of caves that were used by the British troops during WWI.
A view of Arras from the city hall tower. It looked like an old building but it was actually rebuilt after WWII. It's now equiped with an elevator! The town was destroyed during the war and is now nicknamed "Hollywood" because often only the facades were restored.
French towns have this traditional parade of wicker people, which they then burn. Here are two lucky survivors on display at the city hall.
It was a fun trip, but it was nice to come home. It's cool to say "I'm going home... to a Amsterdam"
