August 2021

Away we go !!

Fully vaccinated, double masked and we are traveling again. OK, maybe not far but certainly more activity than the last 18 months.

We started expanding with longer walks in our area, through the large parks nearby. The walkways typically wind on opposite sides and are flanked by large shade trees and foliage which hides the surrounding streets. The center generally holds large rectangular expanses of grass areas and in those expanses are squares or rectangles of flower beds. One particular nice walk, a bit northwest of the town center to the canal, we found a really pretty bridge that G had been looking for. On the lovely days – the temperatures climbed to the high 70’s but we did experience quite a bit of rain this month as well.

At home, one project we tackled was to scrape a thick layer of paint and veneer off of the second bedroom’s doors which lead to the hall. We think that it had been done at some point in it’s history to turn the room into a waiting room for a business. Without the paint, space opens up tremendously and the sun floods into the hall. We did hang a curtain to pull across for privacy when we have overnight visitors, now that the doors are clear.

Our first real trip was to the town of Le Touquet-Paris-Plage. In an  hour and a half, we disembarked at a small, white painted station, situated in nearby Etaples.  We needed to take a taxi into Le Touquet, as the bus does not run frequently. The first impression during the 10 minute ride, was a lot of greenery as the surrounding areas are filled with woodlands parks, complete with walking and biking trails. A summer resort town, it has a large beach, which was not visible from the hotel we were staying at.

We checked in a bit after 3, got situated and then chose to have dinner at Flavio le Club de la Foret, on the corner. Enjoyed a superb dinner with a great wine and yes, God help me, just for you guys, we shamelessly took a picture of the meal. The next morning we woke up to rain and it rained heartily for both days here. The beach, although extensive, was rather raw in the weather. We did not dawdle there but we did walk through Le Touquet, thoroughly enjoying the architecture, which contain many historically protected buildings. Of course to avoid the rain, we were forced to hide in one of the many bars along our walk. Maybe more than one….It was so very taxing.

The second night we ate at their Michelin-starred restaurant. Nine courses with wine pairings. The portions were small but they certainly added up. I could only make it through 7 of the courses and paid for the overindulgence later – but what a fabulous meal. Not a single misstep. 

The heavy rain prevented us from getting to see either of the markets held in Le Touquet and Etaples. Transport between towns was difficult to accomplish as apparently the taxis are not numerous and booked far in advance. As we noted earlier, the lone bus is not frequent either. This worked against us as we were unable to secure a taxi back to the station and discovered the walk would take over an hour. We were completely taken back when the concierge, unable to find any options for us, took it upon himself to drive us to Etaples! Despite the weather, it was a thoroughly enjoyable jaunt.

Back in Lille, we made our first trip to the dentist located down the street, which our landlord Fabrice had recommended. Her teeth cleaning was not as aggressive as our Oakland dentist but it was far superior to the one dentist we went to when we first arrived – the guy stuck in the 50’s with the spit in the tube set up. She X-rayed our teeth and the X-rays were much easier than in the US. The machine was a large structure that you stood at and rested your chin on a surface as the camera swung from left to right. Quick and painless, it got your entire set of teeth at one go. G also got an appt in October for a tooth mold for a broken molar, for a crown. She speaks excellent English and even offered to speak French with us, if we chose to – a very nice (and rare) offer. My teeth are very happy and I’m assured that I will be able to bite people well into my hundreds.

Concerning our attempts to learn French, we experienced burn-out during the quarantine and put the efforts to rest. With traveling back on our agenda, we decided to put off tackling it until after the first of the year, when with a break in traveling, we will sign up for a class in town. We are not completely without ways to communicate. As some of you know,  my Dad lost his voice during his battle with cancer but he certainly did not lose his ability to communicate. He kept the entire nursing staff in stitches and they loved him. A smirk, rolling his eyes, his gestures – all told an entire story, which was always hilarious. I’ve used his miming skills to my advantage here. I can make the French laugh without uttering a word and frequently do so. We stopped for a beer together on a recent Saturday and when I started to take off my mask as we were served, the mask hooked around my glasses, pulling them off my face. I made an exaggerated face of frustration to the waitress, who laughed in sympathy. Then after righting my glasses, I took the mask in my hand and beat it against the bar top (like – DIE, DIE). She and the other staff all howled with laughter. A small but shared humor at mask frustrations. The point being that much can be said without having to actually speak.

With the frequent rain days of this month, I decided to make a Basque cake from an article I read online. It was a kind of shortbread tart, filled with cream and it came out wonderfully. It was very light, custard almost, with a touch of citron flavoring. Later in the afternoon, We took pieces of the tart to the various people we’ve come to know, during our walks and it was enjoyed by all. A good way to keep our hands in our little community. 

Then I accompanied G when he went to his favorite cafe and joined him for a cocktail. We watched a lengthy, animated sidewalk drama between a taxi driver and a knot of police regarding a parking dispute in a taxi-only parking area. Quite worthy of TV drama. Lots of arm waving by the driver, lots of stoic stances on the part of the police. Quite entertaining. Gin and a show – without subtitles but fun anyway.

At an online French second-hand outlet, we found a dining table and a hanging hall coat rack, both of which were very reasonably priced. The dining table is a drop leaf and replaces a very small inadequate one we currently have. We haven’t received it yet. The coat rack is perfect – the right age – 1930’s, same wood and a beveled mirror – matching the beveled mirrors in the living room. Not only is it a perfect fit but it has a hat rack shelf. And we have hats. The coat rack it replaces was a very modern, metallic type that I hated as soon as I walked in the door. I think it was an IKEA mod 60’s style and all kinds of wrong for this thoroughly art deco, dark wood apt. I even paused at first view to ask the leasing agent if I could remove it. It did however serve it’s function but we won’t miss it. Fabulous handy guy Giovanni came and hung it up for us in under five minutes. In ten minutes, it was adorned with our hats, an umbrella and of course…masks. And Giovanni went home with our homemade cornbread, which his family loves.

On one of the sunny days, we walked to Clubtrotters, for lunch. It was a place we’d admired with a big square patio set back from the sidewalk and in front of a warehouse building. The restaurant has three kitchens; French, Thai and Japanese. With weather in mid 70’s, we enjoyed a light lunch in the lovely afternoon. Then we hopped onto a bus to Wambrechies. It was our second try to get to Emmaus, a second hand place which we’d heard about. It had a big kitchen section, clothing section and a lot of furniture. We even saw the dining room table we had just ordered online, at fraction of the cost. But then it would have been impossible to get it home on the bus and find someone to lug it up to our apartment.

Our last trip of the month was a 20 min train to Arras. You might remember in our blog, about two years ago, a discussion concerning an encounter with Arras. On our very first visit to Lille, we endured a disastrous train trip returning to Paris and layover there. We got off the train in Arras to wait for the train we actually needed with an hour wait time. We walked south, which is a working neighborhood with no frills, tired, grumpy and hungry. The whole trip left a bad taste in our mouth and we were amazed later to read that Arras held a great Christmas Market, which we couldn’t imagine. So this time we got off on the north side of the station (with GPS informing us) to walk 10 minutes to the main town plaza. It was beautiful. Wonderful buildings circling the square, anchored by a huge gothic town hall and belfry, a UNESCO site, built between 1463 and 1554. It was clear that it was a tourist area, as the shops were expensive and clearly catered to tourists. We sat at an outside cafe, one of many ringing the square and had a light lunch, sharing a salad and cheese/ meat plate with frites and baguette. The weather was perfect and we were next to a group of locals who laughed, talked – one even burst into song at a point – and they were greeted by passing town folk as well. Fun to listen to the French patter. As we left, the cafes all along the inside edges of the square were setting up more tables and when we asked, someone explained there was a light show against the large buildings walls after dark on Fridays. We walked along the shops before returning to the train station and got home about 5ish. 

What a different view altogether of Arras. How mistaken we were on the first impression of Arras and I’ve had to go back to correct that entry of July 2018. Now we know where they hold the Christmas Market and it is sure to be utterly charming. It has the same Flemish architecture that Lille has, making sense as both are close to the Belgium border.

We have the possibility of a few friends coming to stay with us and it inspired us to work on developing walking tours, like small tourist outfits do here. In starting to work on the tours, we consult two books we have on Lille and the internet. So far on the lesser known buildings, it’s not yet possible to find more information. But we can fill in those gaps when we are able to. I surmised that we will know Lille much more thoroughly by the end of our project. There are so many details that we are unearthing, which are fascinating. We have always, both, been interested in the history of buildings. We are drawn to old buildings – even as children, before we knew each other. It was a happily discovered shared love when we met. The walking tours we are hoping to develop are for self guided walks. No listening to us, needing us and they can choose to skip or cut out whatever they feel like as they walk Lille. We recognize that even as visitors, it’s nice to walk around without your hosts.

Oh, and for the first time since the pandemic, we are enjoying the University bands that have begun playing again on the Opera House steps, on Sundays.