Vieux Lille

One afternoon in my first two weeks I was in the downtown shopping district with two friends. In a music shop I asked the salesman if they sold transformers. (It seemed like a reasonable question with all the aps and cables around, and besides I was quite desperate at this point.) He said no, but his friend’s shop sold them. And then he whisked me out the door and around the corner to that friend’s electronic shop. I got my transformer, but back at the music shop my friends had left (in search of me, as it turned out).

Feeling neither hurt nor disoriented to be left alone in a foreign city, I set out on my own explorations. The first place I stumbled upon, and which may have to be the subject of a future blog because it is presently my favorite place in Lille, was the book market inside the historic bank building.
Then, confidently “following after my nose,” I accidentally wandered into Old Lille, yet another district.



So far, my favorite. Vieux Lille has narrow, cobbled roads and delightful alleyways. As in most of Lille, the Christmas lights stay up year round, and I can imagine them lit up at Christmas, with everything decorated. It is going to be beautiful. The main “road” is lined with classy, but very expensive shops. At least they do not disfigure the old architecture. Following my new motto, “As long as I can find out where I am, I’m not actually lost,” I wandered at random, and covered quite a bit of ground. Much to my present advantage. I found that there is no metro stop (my number one plan for finding out where I was).



In the spirit of spontaneity I went down a sunny alleyway, and found the artists.



Jewelry makers have their wares spread out on tables. (How much would you pay for a bracelet made out of a fork?) American music blaring out of open windows, and you can see the artist painting right in his chaotic studio. Paintings for sale leaning right against the wall in the alleyway. And a charming looking restaurant.

If you go down a branching alleyway, you will find yourself at the Cathedral.



Most of it is old and gothic and be-gargoyled. For reasons that are unknown to me, however, it had a modern front. My timing that day was impeccable, and I stepped into the Cathedral to the sound of live organ music. It was incredible. An accurate description of the inside of the Cathedral would be both wordy and impossible, so I will skip that part.



Sunday I was in Vieux Lille again, and down a street from the Cathedral I ran into friends sitting in a cozy-looking café. I noted the address. My plan is to fill in my map with the good spots I might not find in a travel book.
That first day I headed down a street further to the left. I found the Park of the Citadel, which will also have to be the subject of a future post. Unfortunately there is a big fair taking up part of the park. Since I hate fairs, I only walked once around in the hope of finding Rosie and Dustin, and then turned around and went back the way I came.

I’m still not sure when, where or how I gained my sense of direction, but at no point would I say I was truly “lost.” I always had a general direction of the direction from which I came. And, there are always signs pointing toward the city center, and thus the main train station, the metro, and ultimately home.