June 5 - Lille - what did I do again?
OK, apologies to all my die-hard fans out there that have been craving some updates from yours truly and I have not obliged. I laugh that people are still checking this thing when I am sooo clearly not updating!!! Hahahahahaha.
Anyway, just as JK Rowling at times teases you by returning to her real job of writing (not money-grabbing movie-making), here I return with chapter whatever of my trip!
So....what the heck did we do on this day? It was my first day in Lille and Min's first day trying to pack. Of course, we stayed up till 3 am the previous night so we didn't get the "early start" we thought we would. We ate brunch at Esta' Soupe, right opposite Min's building at the Quai du Wault. This whole weekend was very nostalgic for poor Min since it was her last weekend in Lille, and her apartment - which was very cute, by the way. I should have taken pics of the inside but luckily I didn't cuz I was already running out of room on my digi card! Here are pics of "her beautiful Quai du Wault" and the restaurant:
This restaurant was famous for its Belgian food (since Lille is so far north it's right on the Belgian border), and its soup - we each had the peach soup which was really more of a dessert (it was chilled, like peach pudding)....YUM.....
Then Min tried to explain to me how to read the map so I could direct myself to the Musee des Beaux Arts (de Lille), where they had a famous exhibition of Reubens. I'm not a big Reuben fan but I did want to see the city and really, what else did I have to do? :) So I tried to make my way there while Min napped, ran errands and tried to rent us a car so we could go to a party that night!! (More on that later...) Of course, a car was also essential to: 1) do laundry (yikes...smelly) 2) go shopping for all the wine and junk that Min HAD to buy to bring home, and 3) drive to Vimy Ridge the next day. Since this was so key, OF COURSE they had no cars to rent...Min eventually found one at shitty Europcar (HATE EUROPCAR).
Anyway, all that was going on while I blithely lost myself in the city. Literally. No idea where the hell I was going. I think I turned left at one point when I should have turned right. I just followed this big huge clock tower which I thought naturally would take me to the town centre and the musee - except the musee was not near the clock tower - oh well, I saw the town square and it was very cute, but it was a Sat afternoon so very crowded. There were these cool upside down trees in the centre - all part of decorating Lille for "Cultural Capital of Europe" year - but I didn't even notice them until Min pointed them out to me later:
Eventually I retraced my steps back to point B and found my way to point C, the Musee. Stole my way in again as a student (like I would pay ridiculous full fare!), which was a good thing b/c I really didn't like the Reubens. Very dark, very depressing. The rest of the musee was OK, the building itself is quite pretty, but nicer on the inside than out:
Then found my way back to Min's by 6:30 pm, as agreed, to meet Min and get ready for our posh party that night at her friend's. Of course, Min got tied up with her errands so I had lots of time to get ready but we left really late. The cool thing about this party was that it was held in a real, authentic chateau - like the ones we had been visiting in the Loire Valley!!! Her friend's family owned this place and they also hold tourist visits here, and they rent it out for parties - or hold their own parties there! So we drove there, in our CRAPPY RENAULT CLIO (see previous venting blog re: car rentals) - we only got lost a few times even though we were following another of Minora's friends - took us like an hour. It was up this dark windy forest road.
The party was really cool. I didn't know anyone, obviously, and Minora knew about 10 people - that was my first real experience with "bisous" - the French double-kiss greeting. Can I just say, ICK. I barely shake hands with strangers, yet now I'm forced to kiss and be kissed? Never mind that it's just on the cheek, it's still much closer interaction than I want or need. I got used to it by the time we left Paris, but that night was bizarre! I know, I know, when in Rome...but still, respect my privacy!
Anyway, we mixed and mingled, wined and snacked, and except for the fact that it was freezing cold, it was awesome. The chateau really was like a fairy tale setting for the party - we felt like the cool famous rich people who do this stuff and have pictures taken of them all the time. The coolest thing we saw that night was the dancing - apparently, a lot of French people dance "rock" (Min can correct my spelling), which is like a combination of swing & sixties. There's no throwing in the air or anything, but plenty of twirling, spinning and twisting - and it's always done with a partner. Looked like a lot of fun - and we couldn't figure out how they learned it because it's not like there were defined steps or anything, like salsa dancing or ballroom dancing. In that sense it really was like the 60's jitterbug or twist or jive, you just learn it from all the other kids who are doing it. And everyone would do it so enthusiastically and unselfconciously! We saw one couple take up practically an entire room dancing rock, and everyone just stood around and watched them, and they didn't care! We should do that here at our parties. Of course, we don't have the fancy chateau to do it in.
So I finally dragged Min away from that party very very late - considering she had to get up early to finish packing so we could go to Vimy Ridge the next day - but not before I was hit on by someone - at least, I think I was hit on - it's highly suspicious and debatable, not to mention embarrassing - I totally wiped it from my memory until now. And that's all I have to say about that! Next blog!
Anyway, just as JK Rowling at times teases you by returning to her real job of writing (not money-grabbing movie-making), here I return with chapter whatever of my trip!
So....what the heck did we do on this day? It was my first day in Lille and Min's first day trying to pack. Of course, we stayed up till 3 am the previous night so we didn't get the "early start" we thought we would. We ate brunch at Esta' Soupe, right opposite Min's building at the Quai du Wault. This whole weekend was very nostalgic for poor Min since it was her last weekend in Lille, and her apartment - which was very cute, by the way. I should have taken pics of the inside but luckily I didn't cuz I was already running out of room on my digi card! Here are pics of "her beautiful Quai du Wault" and the restaurant:
This restaurant was famous for its Belgian food (since Lille is so far north it's right on the Belgian border), and its soup - we each had the peach soup which was really more of a dessert (it was chilled, like peach pudding)....YUM.....
Then Min tried to explain to me how to read the map so I could direct myself to the Musee des Beaux Arts (de Lille), where they had a famous exhibition of Reubens. I'm not a big Reuben fan but I did want to see the city and really, what else did I have to do? :) So I tried to make my way there while Min napped, ran errands and tried to rent us a car so we could go to a party that night!! (More on that later...) Of course, a car was also essential to: 1) do laundry (yikes...smelly) 2) go shopping for all the wine and junk that Min HAD to buy to bring home, and 3) drive to Vimy Ridge the next day. Since this was so key, OF COURSE they had no cars to rent...Min eventually found one at shitty Europcar (HATE EUROPCAR).
Anyway, all that was going on while I blithely lost myself in the city. Literally. No idea where the hell I was going. I think I turned left at one point when I should have turned right. I just followed this big huge clock tower which I thought naturally would take me to the town centre and the musee - except the musee was not near the clock tower - oh well, I saw the town square and it was very cute, but it was a Sat afternoon so very crowded. There were these cool upside down trees in the centre - all part of decorating Lille for "Cultural Capital of Europe" year - but I didn't even notice them until Min pointed them out to me later:
Eventually I retraced my steps back to point B and found my way to point C, the Musee. Stole my way in again as a student (like I would pay ridiculous full fare!), which was a good thing b/c I really didn't like the Reubens. Very dark, very depressing. The rest of the musee was OK, the building itself is quite pretty, but nicer on the inside than out:
Then found my way back to Min's by 6:30 pm, as agreed, to meet Min and get ready for our posh party that night at her friend's. Of course, Min got tied up with her errands so I had lots of time to get ready but we left really late. The cool thing about this party was that it was held in a real, authentic chateau - like the ones we had been visiting in the Loire Valley!!! Her friend's family owned this place and they also hold tourist visits here, and they rent it out for parties - or hold their own parties there! So we drove there, in our CRAPPY RENAULT CLIO (see previous venting blog re: car rentals) - we only got lost a few times even though we were following another of Minora's friends - took us like an hour. It was up this dark windy forest road.
The party was really cool. I didn't know anyone, obviously, and Minora knew about 10 people - that was my first real experience with "bisous" - the French double-kiss greeting. Can I just say, ICK. I barely shake hands with strangers, yet now I'm forced to kiss and be kissed? Never mind that it's just on the cheek, it's still much closer interaction than I want or need. I got used to it by the time we left Paris, but that night was bizarre! I know, I know, when in Rome...but still, respect my privacy!
Anyway, we mixed and mingled, wined and snacked, and except for the fact that it was freezing cold, it was awesome. The chateau really was like a fairy tale setting for the party - we felt like the cool famous rich people who do this stuff and have pictures taken of them all the time. The coolest thing we saw that night was the dancing - apparently, a lot of French people dance "rock" (Min can correct my spelling), which is like a combination of swing & sixties. There's no throwing in the air or anything, but plenty of twirling, spinning and twisting - and it's always done with a partner. Looked like a lot of fun - and we couldn't figure out how they learned it because it's not like there were defined steps or anything, like salsa dancing or ballroom dancing. In that sense it really was like the 60's jitterbug or twist or jive, you just learn it from all the other kids who are doing it. And everyone would do it so enthusiastically and unselfconciously! We saw one couple take up practically an entire room dancing rock, and everyone just stood around and watched them, and they didn't care! We should do that here at our parties. Of course, we don't have the fancy chateau to do it in.
So I finally dragged Min away from that party very very late - considering she had to get up early to finish packing so we could go to Vimy Ridge the next day - but not before I was hit on by someone - at least, I think I was hit on - it's highly suspicious and debatable, not to mention embarrassing - I totally wiped it from my memory until now. And that's all I have to say about that! Next blog!
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