We got up a bit late this morning, but Chuck took that as a challenge and decided to walk us until we broke. He started out by going on an adventure to a nearby market where he got some fresh fruit and cheese for breakfast and snacks. He then stopped by a local boulangerie to grab some croissants and quiche.

After getting ready we headed out with the intention of doing a Lille highlights walk we had found online. On our way we saw a crowd that had a high percentage of NBA jerseys so we wandered over and realized they were waiting on the USA basketball team to come out to the waiting vans and go to the arena for their game later. Chuck wanted to wait for just a minute to see what was up then that turned into an hour and a half of constantly thinking things were about to happen. We did see Steve Kerr and Grant Hill come out but we eventually decided to continue our tour without seeing the team.

Our tour started at the Porte de Paris and the Beffroi de Lille. The Porte de Paris is a beautiful city gate built for Louis XIV after France conquered Lille. This replaced an older city gate that Becky properly remembered despite Chuck’s skepticism was originally the location of a hospital for the city’s lepers. Next to the Porte is the Hotel de Ville of Lille which has a tall belfry tower that is among the tallest in Europe.

We then walked by the beautiful Pallais des Beaux Artes which was built by Napoleon and is the 2nd largest building for an art museum in France to the Louvre. We didn’t have a ton of time to go to museums so we decided to pass by with just a view of the outside.

Our next stop was the Church of St. Etienne which is a large Jesuit church near the city center. Mass was just letting out and Chuck decided we should barge right in anyway and see the inside. It had a beautiful pulpit but was under some heavy renovation so we couldn’t see it in its best light.

Our next stop was the Place de General de Gaulle which is a large square used often for public gatherings. True to form they had a large fan zone setup for the Olympics. The square is lined by cafes and other beautiful buildings including La Vielle Bourse which was our next stop.

La Vielle Bourse was the old stock exchange building in Lille and is in a beautiful building with a central square. The square is now used every day for a book market selling everything from old to modern books, toys and movie posters and other prints. This was definitely a highlight for both of us but we fought off the urge to buy things that would weigh us down for the rest of the trip.

On the other side of La Vielle Bourse is the Place du Theatre which was bordered by the beautiful Lille Opera House and the equally pretty Chamber of Commerce building. Lille is definitely a city of large and small squares which seem like great gathering places.

Next was a building that is a dichotomy of clashing styles that Chuck says may cause him to back the return of the guillotine for the newer designers. The Notre Dame de la Treille was started in 1854 as a gothic style cathedral but construction was paused in 1947 dure to a lack of funds. It was resumed in 1999 and this is where things turned south. They finished the outside with a smooth marble modern facade which completely clashes with the beautiful interior. The interior is stunning and when you go to the many chapels in the apse of the church they are the stars of the show. Each has beautiful lancet stained glass windows and mosaic tile work on the floors and some walls. The central Sainte Chapelle is one of the most beautiful chapels we had ever seen with its intricate mosaic floor and many stained glass windows. It is a shame that this interior is somewhat marred by the external facade.

Our last stop was along Rue de Monnaie and was a building that was built in 1237 by the Countess Jeanne de Flandre as a hospital. It served as a hopsital until 1939 and is now the Hospice Comtesse Museum.

We headed home for lunch and a well deserved rest after a walk with a long time of standing still waiting on some sportsball players. We got changed for the basketball game and shortly headed out to figure out getting to the Stade de Pierre Mauroy.

Getting to the stadium wasn’t bad though it again had decent walks on both ends of the metro trip. This led to Chuck having a bit of a bad time getting comfortable in the seats in the arena. We were literally on the second to last row in what is essentially a soccer and decathlon arena normally but had been blocked off on one end to accommodate basketball for the Olympics. It was definitely a fun time despite Chuck’s discomfort at times. It was also a bit like watching ants play basketball. The USA ended up winning pulling away after a decently hard fought first half.

We headed home and because of a side quest to find train station lockers that failed Chuck ended up with his highest step day of the trip despite the late start. This bodes well for our plans to do a whirlwind day trip to Bruges, Belgium tomorrow!

Todays Highlights

• Fromage
• Books!
• Beautiful squares
• The interior of the Notre Dame cathedral
• Basketball and a win!
• Not getting pick-pocketed

Tomorrow’s proposed adventures

• Bruges
• Frites and Mayo
• Belgian Beer
• Belgian Chocolate
• Maybe sight seeing
• Women’s Basketball!!
• Not getting pick-pocketed