WE HAVE ARRIVED!!!
We got in yesterday and everything went pretty smooth. The only problem we had was trying to figure out how to buy a TGV ticket to get from the airport to Lille. We asked about 3-4 people, and got a couple different answers. Finally we asked the information desk in English (the other attempts were made in French and that didn't work out so well) and we were able to find it. Apparently we needed to take the airport shuttle to Terminal 2. All the French answers just said goto Terminal 2 and there wasnt really any indication anywhere that we needed to take a shuttle. The long flight from Chicago to Dublin went by pretty quick and they had movies and tv shows and things in each individual seat to help pass the time. The only problem was they left the cabin lights on for the entire flight so I wasn't able to sleep. Kathryn brought a sleep-mask so she passed out easy (also we were in the middle row and the plane wasn't full so we had the whole row to our selves. After we finally bought our train tickets we called Fiona who is the English lady that is letting us stay with her. She is very very nice, as is the rest of her family (she has 5 kids, all but 2 of them are grown up so we only met her youngest son(16) and daughter(19))
She picked us up from the train and took us back to the house which was only a short drive from the center of Lille. The place is amazing, it looks like a 19th century stone home, and we have our own room relatively separate from the rest of the house. Last night we were really tired, but I dragged Kathryn out for a little walk around the neighborhood which is actually named Wasquehal. It does not resemble the 1066 old time France I expected. It's more of a suburb, and aside from the houses there is a huge shopping mall and some restaurants, but it more resembles Skokie or Downers Grove more than what you picture France. Luckily the tram is only about a 2 block walk from the house (it is a little confusing when you get into downtown Lille because there is a tram, metro and TGV/SNCF, and they are all in the same place so it's important to read all the signs.)
Last night we went to a restaurant called Amarine which was just a short walk down the street, for a quick bite to eat. Kathryn wasn't hungry so I talked her into getting a soupe de poisson so I could try it, and I got the moulles-frites in a garlic cream sauce. The mussels were amazing and the sauce was typical french, tons of butter and cream. The soupe was pretty forgettable. (or memorable if only to avoid it next time.) After dinner we walked back to the house and went to sleep. Even though it was only 9pm here we had been up for over 24hours so we crashed hard. Both of us were pretty wide awake at 6am but with the help of a Tylonol PM we got back to sleep, and it worked because the next time we woke up it was 2pm.
Today was so much fun. After finally getting up and ready to go we walked to the tram and took it to the Centre Ville de Lille. It only took about 15-20min to get to the main train station Lille/Flandres. First we just walked around to check out some of the different squares, and shops and buildings. Lille itself IS what you would picture a city established in 1066, with huge decorated facades on the buildings, and grand squares that are all connected by large walk-ways with very little room for cars. After a little bit of wandering we found the main square which is the Grand Place; it was very beautiful and, of course, had a student protest going on. The demonstration wasn't huge, but the students were all wearing their bathing suites ( French bananna hammoks/tight boy-shorts) and had their faces painted blue so they looked like smurfs. We couldn't tell what they were protesting but at one point all the guys got up on this statue in the middle of the square, and turned around and mooned everyone watching. It was very odd.
Next we found a little cafe and got an espresso and just sat and people watched for a while. Next we wandered some more and I got a croissant which was delicious and we went and ate it in this big square that we later realized was right in front of the Musee des Beaux Arts. It was already kind of late so we decided to save that for another date but at least we know where it is now. Then we tried to find our way back to the train station, and on the way stopped at a little Tunisian restaurant and got a Kabab which again was delicious. The place was around the corner from the train stations but we ended up circling the block twice then got lost in a big mall before we finally found our tram home. So now we're just back in our room relaxing and Joe (Fiona's son) is cooking up some dinner. It is really beautiful in the city and we both decided that even though it is so great living here with this amazing family we want the experience of living downtown so we can go get a cafe and croissant in the morning, and just hang out in the squares whenever we want. So we will probably be here for a month or so while we try and find our own place. So that was our first full day here.
Tomorrow we plan on trying to find the Bettinay apartment place Kathryn had contacted before and see if we can get on a waiting list or something to secure a room. Also we were thinking of trying to set up a bank account and finding our schools to take a little tour or at least find the quickest/easiest route to get there.
À Bientot,
Jor
We got in yesterday and everything went pretty smooth. The only problem we had was trying to figure out how to buy a TGV ticket to get from the airport to Lille. We asked about 3-4 people, and got a couple different answers. Finally we asked the information desk in English (the other attempts were made in French and that didn't work out so well) and we were able to find it. Apparently we needed to take the airport shuttle to Terminal 2. All the French answers just said goto Terminal 2 and there wasnt really any indication anywhere that we needed to take a shuttle. The long flight from Chicago to Dublin went by pretty quick and they had movies and tv shows and things in each individual seat to help pass the time. The only problem was they left the cabin lights on for the entire flight so I wasn't able to sleep. Kathryn brought a sleep-mask so she passed out easy (also we were in the middle row and the plane wasn't full so we had the whole row to our selves. After we finally bought our train tickets we called Fiona who is the English lady that is letting us stay with her. She is very very nice, as is the rest of her family (she has 5 kids, all but 2 of them are grown up so we only met her youngest son(16) and daughter(19))
She picked us up from the train and took us back to the house which was only a short drive from the center of Lille. The place is amazing, it looks like a 19th century stone home, and we have our own room relatively separate from the rest of the house. Last night we were really tired, but I dragged Kathryn out for a little walk around the neighborhood which is actually named Wasquehal. It does not resemble the 1066 old time France I expected. It's more of a suburb, and aside from the houses there is a huge shopping mall and some restaurants, but it more resembles Skokie or Downers Grove more than what you picture France. Luckily the tram is only about a 2 block walk from the house (it is a little confusing when you get into downtown Lille because there is a tram, metro and TGV/SNCF, and they are all in the same place so it's important to read all the signs.)
Last night we went to a restaurant called Amarine which was just a short walk down the street, for a quick bite to eat. Kathryn wasn't hungry so I talked her into getting a soupe de poisson so I could try it, and I got the moulles-frites in a garlic cream sauce. The mussels were amazing and the sauce was typical french, tons of butter and cream. The soupe was pretty forgettable. (or memorable if only to avoid it next time.) After dinner we walked back to the house and went to sleep. Even though it was only 9pm here we had been up for over 24hours so we crashed hard. Both of us were pretty wide awake at 6am but with the help of a Tylonol PM we got back to sleep, and it worked because the next time we woke up it was 2pm.
Today was so much fun. After finally getting up and ready to go we walked to the tram and took it to the Centre Ville de Lille. It only took about 15-20min to get to the main train station Lille/Flandres. First we just walked around to check out some of the different squares, and shops and buildings. Lille itself IS what you would picture a city established in 1066, with huge decorated facades on the buildings, and grand squares that are all connected by large walk-ways with very little room for cars. After a little bit of wandering we found the main square which is the Grand Place; it was very beautiful and, of course, had a student protest going on. The demonstration wasn't huge, but the students were all wearing their bathing suites ( French bananna hammoks/tight boy-shorts) and had their faces painted blue so they looked like smurfs. We couldn't tell what they were protesting but at one point all the guys got up on this statue in the middle of the square, and turned around and mooned everyone watching. It was very odd.
Next we found a little cafe and got an espresso and just sat and people watched for a while. Next we wandered some more and I got a croissant which was delicious and we went and ate it in this big square that we later realized was right in front of the Musee des Beaux Arts. It was already kind of late so we decided to save that for another date but at least we know where it is now. Then we tried to find our way back to the train station, and on the way stopped at a little Tunisian restaurant and got a Kabab which again was delicious. The place was around the corner from the train stations but we ended up circling the block twice then got lost in a big mall before we finally found our tram home. So now we're just back in our room relaxing and Joe (Fiona's son) is cooking up some dinner. It is really beautiful in the city and we both decided that even though it is so great living here with this amazing family we want the experience of living downtown so we can go get a cafe and croissant in the morning, and just hang out in the squares whenever we want. So we will probably be here for a month or so while we try and find our own place. So that was our first full day here.
Tomorrow we plan on trying to find the Bettinay apartment place Kathryn had contacted before and see if we can get on a waiting list or something to secure a room. Also we were thinking of trying to set up a bank account and finding our schools to take a little tour or at least find the quickest/easiest route to get there.
À Bientot,
Jor
Hello Jordan and Kathryn,
ReplyDeleteWhat a nice surprise (and great idea) to see your blog, and to communicate w/all of us. Your first day sounds like it was very adventurous and exciting. How wonderful for the 2 of you. Also sounds like you're going around in circles a bit, which is typical, in order to find your way around! Wishing you both the best!
xo xo
Aunt Lu & David
Jor,
ReplyDeleteYou already have more comments your first day than I had in my first week.
Dad
Wow Jor sounds amazing already! I'm so jealous! Living with a british family?! That was so fun this summer, does she offer you tea all the time? Get ready for some wild dinners. I miss you and i can't wait to hear about the first day of school! Be a cool teacher, remember when you were in french class. be like betsy. hah talk to you soon
ReplyDelete-Lil Sis
Well Mari, you hit it on the head with the wierd meals...they've only cooked for us one time (it was her son) and it probably will be the last time we let that happen. On the menu was Lasagna, but not the good kind like a. lu and a. arlene make...this one had hard noodles, uncooked carrots, corn, and the coup de gras tuna fish smothered in canned tomatoes and burnt cheese, mmmmm! hungry yet? miss you too, and Ill have another post up tomorrow (hopefully)
ReplyDelete