Tuesday, August 16, 2011

August 17, 2011 -- Last day in Lille, France

This is my last partial day in Lille. This afternoon I take the train to Brussels, where I have booked a room to stay in the Flemish hostel. There seem to be two of everything in Belgium: one of the French-speaking Walloons and one for the Dutch-speaking Flemish.

Yesterday was another nice day in Lille by the standards of this lousy European summer, meaning it didn't rain (OK, there was a light sprinkle) and it was warm enough in the afternoon to be outside without a jacket or sweater.

I had three roommates last night. One is an Iranian who is working on a master's degree in Finland. He is studying in English, of course, and speaks no Finish or Swedish. A second roommate is French, with whom I spoke only briefly, and I don't know where the third one is from. He was asleep when I went into the room yesterday afternoon, he went out late with the Frenchman, and the two came in at 1 a.m. When I awoke this morning at 6:30, he was gone.

By the way, this youth hostel has a cat who thinks that she owns the place. She is looking at me accusingly at the moment, because I sat down near her and disturbed her sleep.

I took no pictures yesterday, and I didn't visit any exciting tourist spots, so there is nothing more to write about. - Jack Quinn

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