Day off in Lille -- Day 8

Lille is the 4th largest city in France and the capital city of the northern region of France. Its  main industries are textiles, mail order companies and shipping. It dates back to the eleventh century.It's the birthplace of Charles de Gaulle. We had a guided tour this morning and were free the remainder of the day. For William and me it was a time to do some laundry, check our email and just wander. Here are a few photos from our day. 

This is the gate of the citadel, which is a huge fortress on the center island of the city, erected under Louis XIV when he took possession of the city from Flanders. It is built in the shape of a five-pointed star and has five layers of defensive walls and moats before the enemy could penetrate the fortress. The design of US pentagon was taken from this design plan.  The citadel is now the headquarters for the French rapid response military force, so it is still in use. It is a Unesco heritage site. 

This is the rear facade of the cathedral. The town ran out of money and couldn't complete the original building so walled it off and used a partially completed church while they waited for money and a peaceful time to finish the construction.  They eventually finished, but this was in modern style, unlike the rest of the cathedral. Construction of this part finished in 1999.  The brown portion is really light beige marble only 28 mm. thick.  With  the sun shining through it, it shines and is meant to recall the burning bush in Exodus. 

We had coffee and pastries at Meert, the oldest confection shop in town and a favorite of kings and presidents. (Charles deGaulle for one) The  middle photo shows chocolates, which are thinner and flatter than Belgian chocolates. Our guide told us that Belgians make their chocolates too thick, so that the dense chocolate walls obscure the taste  of the inner filling. Theirs are flat here rather than round. 

Scenes of stalls at the market, which included a covered food market and  a huge flea market which spread throughout several blocks around the covered market area. 

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