France: Stopover in Amiens

On our way from Lille to Normandy, we checked off the UNESCO Amiens Cathedral. We only had time for a stopover of a few hours. The Holiday Inn nextdoor to the station stores bags for 6 euros a piece, steep - I later realized from nannybag, that's the standard rate nowadays - but super convenient. We did the tourist-office-provided DIY walking tour in the rain. And noted that the Sunday antiques flea market seemed to be having very brisk business despite the rain.

I now realized that Amiens Cathedral has been on the UNESCO list since 1981 because 1) It was spared from two world wars and other calamities and most of the building is still from the 13th century 2) Construction was completed in a remarkably short time (less than100 years) in the 13th century, so the design was pure, no hodgepodge remodeling.

In addition to its famous Cathedral, Amiens has lots of canals and bridges lined with buildings: houses, old factories and mills, tourist cafes, and more.










Jules Verne was born in Amiens and this university bears his name.


Amiens Cathedral (Basilique Cathédrale Notre-Dame d'Amiens).






The cathedral had some elaborate wooden choir screens from the 1500's . One tells the story of John the Baptist in graphic detail. The purported head of John the Baptist is kept in the Treasury.


Another choir screen tells the story of St Fermin, also in graphic detail.


Saint Sebastian high above the altar.


There is a labyrinth on the floor that pilgrims follow on their knees on certain days.


Final photo of the cathedral as we leave dreary Amiens in the rain to catch the train to Rouen.


So long Amiens!

Lille: Day Trip to Arras

Arras only got on our radar when we were trip planning. Since the train fare was only 2 euros (pp/ow), we thought we'd have a look. Arras has two big squares with mostly Flemish houses (one of the squares appeared in Costa-Gavras' very Kafkaesque film The Confession), a handful of art deco buildings, a Vauban fort, and a free fine arts museum. Our 8 euros were well invested.

Arriving in Arras on the train, one first thing one sees is a very cool Art Deco War Memorial Statue.




Some shots of Heroes Square and its Belfry.




Giant Letters in Grand Square (featured in The Confession).


A traditional Flemish townhouse with a bit of a flair.


The Chinese Labor Corps of WWI was previously unknown to us; but we were pleased to see this marker honoring their service.


A few photos from the Musée Des Beaux-Arts, a former abbey. The one just below is just one of many paintings of Arras and surrounds by artist Charles Desvaary.












Arras was almost completely destroyed during WW1. While most of the buildings were reconstructed exactly as they had been before the war, some were rebuilt in Art Deco style which was popular in 1920's and 1930's. There is also a super cool Art Deco water tower.










The old citadel is a short walk west of city center. Always nice to see a Vauban-designed fortification. Goats roam the grassy areas around the moat and "mow" the grass. And there is a monument to the 218 WWII Resistanace patriots executed here.










Ourselfies under the Cathedral dome.


Myself and the Arras Gigantes which live at the Town Hal under the Belfry.


Walking back to the station to catch our train home to Lille.

First stop in France: Lille

While Lille had been on our radar for a while, from fellow travellers and from the film Welcome to the Sticks, it only became a destination because it was the first stop for our Flixbus from London. We originally chose the bus to save money, it turned out to be real-life lessons about borders in more than one way.

• I had half expected our cheap bus to go on the ferry, but it went in the tunnel, which I had an idea from the series The Tunnel. What I had not realized was that every single vehicle got loaded onto trains in batches, exactly as in the case of a boat ferry. If the Channel was not a border between countries, there would have been a regular tunnel, or even a bridge a long time ago.
• It turned out that one of the young women on our bus was from Syria. She didn't have the right papers to enter the EU. Free movement of people is a frequent topic in our book group readings. In this case, the whole bus suffered a delay because the bus had to take her back to a bus stop in UK territory, so she could get back to London. John, while frustrated by the delay, commented - you couldn't pay for such a real-life experience.

Lille center is very handsome, Flemish, lively, with lots of young people. We were there on the last weekend of their summer cultural program "Utopia" to honor the relationship between man and nature, the environment and the climate issue. It was refreshing to see ideas such as climate justice on poster boards and solar energy as installation art.

Our Flixbus departed from Victoria Coach Station, an amazing art deco / modernist building. I was very happy to pull out my phone and capture it in a photo.


The bus left an hour late, and then took a scenic route through London, crossing the Thames at least twice, before getting on an expressway.




Welcome to the Euro Tunnel.


We completed French/EU border formalities before entering the tunnel.


I took this photo after the bus was loaded onto the train, but before the train started moving.


I ventured out of the bus to use the train's toilet. This is the "air lock" between train cars.


Lille was pretty lively the Thursday night we arrived.


Saturday was more lively; folks enjoying a beautiful Fall day. This is La Vieille Bourse (The Old Stock Exchange). The courtyard is a book seller's market.






The Cathedral.


The old citadel in Lille is still used by the military, but the outer areas - like the moat - are parks and running trails and a zoo.






The belfry of the striking Art Deco Hôtel de Ville de Lille.


There are several Art Nouveau buildings around town. This one was our favorite.




Palais des Beaux Arts de Lille.


Several fun runs and good weather bring in the crowds on Saturday evening. Being GMT+1, plus DST, the sun did not set until 7:30 pm.






A Utopia public art installation along the avenue to/from the train station.


At night the buildings on the main square were lit up in blue and yellow in support of Ukraine.










A Utopia art exhibit at the former Saint Sauveur Train Station.