A little Lille, France

Alexander Calder sculpture outside Museum of Modern Art

So you've visited Paris; you've mastered a few French words; and, you think that you're ready for a real French adventure away from the tourist crowds? Then, you're in luck. You only need to travel about an hour outside of Paris to get away from the international crowds and helpful English speakers. Your adventure starts in Lille, France.

Delicious mussels marinier with house wine

My adventure in Lille started with a long, convoluted walk around a Lille park in order to find some late lunch. When we finally arrived at a restaurant (with people dining inside), through signs and halting French, we were told that dinner was over. "Cafe?" We walked on for better luck but eventually had to turn around to go back to a main road. We passed the restaurant again, attempted another question session with a different employee and learned that the restaurant doesn't serve food from 2 pm until 6 pm. We settled for coffee to fortify ourselves until we could find something more substantial. We continued our walk and arrived in a residential neighborhood. Two women were outside painting their shutters. We stopped and asked about a restaurant or super market and were met with blank stares. Finally, though, they understood we were looking for food and pointed us up the road. After a few hundred meters more, we came upon the most welcoming of all sights, a super market! From here, the day got better. We brought our food treasures to the sculpture garden just outside an art museum and picnicked in front of an Alexander Calder sculpture. After a long walk home, our evening became even better when our French speaker was home from work and could translate for dinner. Mussels and house wine hit the spot!

Plat du jour at L'Avenue, near the Lille Zoo

Day two in Lille, we braved the metro in order to visit a small, free zoo. But, by the time we finally made it there (~12:30 pm), I was already starving and didn't want to risk the previous day's lunch finding escapade. I stopped at the next cafe we walked past, sat down and asked for a menu. The server brought out their chalkboard with the "plat du jour" -- two salads, two entrees and two desserts. When your options are duck or fish, there's not much time needed for decision making. I choose the duck and enjoyed the lunch splurge (14 Euros).

Red panda at the Lille Zoo

After a satisfying lunch, I was ready to deal with groups of screaming kids in the small, free zoo. The enclosures were small for the birds, monkeys, rhinos and other animals. It was short walk through the zoo. Then, it was time for a crepe snack break.

Lille Cathedral

Afterwards, we wandered around old Lille. The cathedral in Lille is named "Notre Dame de la Treille". Begun in 1854, the latest renovations were completed in 2009. There is a jarring contrast between the modern and gothic portions of the cathedral. However, it is free to walk through; and, the mosaics and stained glass in the older portion are quite beautiful.

Caramel apple crepe with vanilla ice cream

Our day ended with another dinner eating, guess what? Crepes! We had both savory and sweet crepes tonight; and, we washed them all down with some delicious cider from the Breton region of France. It was a perfect way to end my stay in Lille!

Paris

Man-made beaches along the Seine in the summer

We spent three glorious days in Paris! However, it wasn't enough to enjoy this beautiful, historical city. However, being blessed with blue skies and sunshine everyday made the waits in the long lines not quite so terrible. Of course we had to visit during high season! But, I hope to return again during low season when there are fewer people.

My top five recommendations for Paris:

Assyrian sculptures at the Louvre

1. Visit the Louvre. Originally the fortress wall around the city of Paris in the 12th century, then a royal palace before becoming one of the world's largest museums. The Louvre is one of the must see items in Paris. If you don't plan (like I didn't), be prepared to wait over an hour to enter. Wiser visitors will buy advance tickets online.  I spent 5.5 hours in the museum with a 30 minute break to eat lunch on the terrace cafe. And, I didn't come close to seeing everything. The biggest crowds are in front of the famous pieces, such as the Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci and the Greek sculpture Venus de Milo. If you'd like to escape the crowds, there are several less visited but still impressive exhibits. I enjoyed walking through the area about Coptic Egyptians, which included artifacts from an excavation in Egypt. There was also a room of Rembrandts, which is not listed on the Louvre's visitor map. I didn't even make it to the Pharoanic Egyptian exhibit. However, I did get to see an amazing collection of Assyrian artifacts before I left. There were multiples room-high winged guardians.

Eiffel Tower from river cruise

2. Take a night time Seine river cruise. For only 10 Euro, we boarded a cruise along the Seine just before 10 pm. Based on reviews, we had decided to wait until after dark to enjoy the sights. We were not disappointed. All along the river, the buildings and monuments were lit up. We cruised all the way to the lit Eiffel Tower before returning to dock. The guide gave the tour in both French and English. She provide a bit of history lesson on the different monuments lining the Seine. Well worth it! http://www.vedettesdupontneuf.com/home/

Crepe maker

3. Eat a crepe. Whether it be Nutella, fruit jam or simply butter and sugar, I enjoyed all sorts of sweet crepes in Paris. We usually purchased them from small stands without no or limited seating. However, you can also order them at sit down restaurants. There are also a variety of savory crepes. These places are open late! We passed by one place at 1 am after salsa dancing. It was the best crepe that I've ever had, simply with butter and sugar.

Notre Dame

4. Walk around and inside Notre Dame. On our ride from the airport to our hotel, we saw Notre Dame towering while we crossed the Seine. We visited it the next museum. However, the line was over an hour long. On the advice of a docent at the Louvre, I passed by Notre Dame again around 6 pm during Mass. The line was shorter and quicker (only about 15 minutes). After walking through this amazing cathedral that took 200 years to build, I exited to saunter around the exterior. This amazing gothic edifice is still impressive today. Flying buttresses reach down like legs, supporting the interior arches. They are adorned by a variety of gargoyles. The rose window between the two front towers set the standard for rose windows. Plus, in the plaza outside of Notre Dame, there are often street artists. I watched a man dressed as a mime roller skate around cones to his stereo and a crowd of onlookers.

View from Sacre Coeur

5. Climb the dome of Sacre Coeur. For beautiful views of Paris, pay the 6 Euros to climb up the dome of Sacre Coeur. We could see the Eiffel Tower and the Arc de Triomphe from the top of this dome. The line was short (apprx 15 minutes); and, there's always time afterward to walk inside the church (20-30 minute wait but free).

Edgar Degas's tomb

Those are just the top five. There were so many other things that we did that made Paris a great city: hunting for long forgotten Roman amphitheaters, salsa dancing, watching the end of the Tour de France, eating "dejeuner" (breakfast) at little street cafes, finding famous people in the cemetary, eating escargot, seeing the Moulin Rouge, visiting the Orsay Museum, listening to street performers, watching a bit of Shakespeare and eating gelato. Hopefully, I'll get to go back soon!

Hotel: found Hotel Tiquetonne in a Lonely Planet guidebook. Located in the heart of Paris, it is older but clean. Plus, the prices were very reasonable! Just make sure that you know a bit of French for check-in and check-out. https://www.hoteltiquetonne.fr/en/