Just wanted to add some notes about the second part of the day yesterday, since it was such a full day.
After we had checked into the hostel, we left our bikes and luggage and went back to La Place de la Republic to visit the Palace des Beaux-Arts. There were some areas we could not access and some that were of less interest to us, but there were works by Flemish masters and some interesting works by Rodin, including small copies of his famous piece “Les Bourgeois de Calais” (The Burghers of Calais), as well as works by his lover Camille Claudel, and even a Turner and Constable thrown in. With all the works by Dutch masters, we felt like we were back at Kenwood! At one point we commented that we have to ration our art museum visits so we still want to check out the cool stuff available when we get to Rome, Florence, and Paris in the fall. We did enjoy seeing some modern works by Picasso, Leger, and Chagall.
Although photography was permitted in parts of of the museum, we didn’t take many pictures, though I think we both felt the building was the star of the show. Angie did take this cool shot.

The other highlight of the day yesterday (after our lovely respite in the cafe) was a lovely evening spent with my former colleague and friend Yannick Place. He picked us up at the hostel and walked us through some of the areas we’d been to earlier in the day, but giving us a new perspective on them, answering many of our touristy questions along the way. Sometimes (well, often) you can learn so much more about a place by getting the perspective of a local. Thanks for your patience with us Yannick!
He also took us to one of his regular restaurants for a spectacular dinner. The name of the restaurant was the Lille Opera Brasserie, and is not far from where Yannick lives. It was superb and tons of fun. I’d recommend it to anyone visiting Lille. Of course, you may not be lucky enough to enjoy the great company Angie and I did, but it’s worth a shot.
We went to sleep last night under the protective light of the city hall searchlight. Fascinating that the tower features that.