Venturing Out

The heat wave finally ended in Toul on Monday, June 29. It was long and it was pretty brutal for a part of the world that isn't accustomed to those sorts of temperatures for extended periods of time. We were mostly "hunkered down" in CARIB during those days, as there wasn't much one could do outside in any comfort from 10 in the morning until the sun dropped behind the hills at half past 8 in the evening.   Morning walks were completed before 7 a.m. if possible. CARIB has 2 RV-type rooftop air conditioners, one for the salon area and one for the master stateroom. Murphy's Law being what it is, the salon unit decided at the outset of the heatwave that it was going to malfunction. At least we had a working bedroom air conditioner and could get good sleep, but being limited to that relatively small space for several days made the heatwave a mental challenge as much as a physical one. Lon was finally able to diagnose the problem a couple of days before the heatwave ended, but the fix requires a part that should arrive shortly--hopefully, before the next predicted heatwave builds in next week.

Clockwise from upper left: (1) It got a little wild in our mooring spot every time the nearby lock
emptied; (2) the "sheep mowers" look for the cool green grass to take their overnight rest;
(3) June 21 was Fete de la Musique day in France, with musical performances in cities and
towns throughout France. Due to the heat, we only went out after sundown to the town
 square close to T.S.N.I. to listen to the rock band, along with a rather sparse crowd; (4) in that
 same square we discovered that Port Saint Mansuy has the vestiges of an abbey that was founded
 in the 10th century and remained active until the French Revolution; (5) the roses in the rose
 garden near the City Hall and Cathedral were drooping from heat and lack of water.

"Angel's Pizza", operated at the port office on Friday and Saturday nights in
 summer by the owners of T.S.N.I., provided us with a welcome respite
from having to cook dinner in the heat. It was also the place to socialize with
 several other English-speaking boaters who, like us, were living a
 vampire-like existence in those days: inside in the dark during daylight hours
 and coming out in the evening. Toby the dog was happy to make the rounds
among the customers for petting or a dropped bit of pizza crust.

As suspected, the extended heat has not done the canals any good. The closures on the Meuse and Marne au Rhin Ouest canals have expanded, and the Vosges Canal to the south has also recently closed to navigation. The down time did allow us to make a few decisions regarding our stay in France. Early in the week of June 22 we spoke to the Dutch boat broker that we had intended to use for the sale of CARIB at the end of the boating season, and let him know that it was unlikely we would be able to get our barge to Rotterdam this year. That being the case, he will travel to us on July 9 to look at CARIB, take pictures, and do whatever else needs doing to get her listed for sale. Of course, that meant we would have some work to do to get CARIB ready for photos, but before that, we decided that we needed a few days away from the boat in a place that was readily accessible by train. 

The destination for our escape was the city of Lille, just south of the border with Belgium, and was picked for a couple of reasons. We would probably have boated through Lille on our way to Rotterdam and had heard good things about it from other boaters. As well, boating friends Jonathan and Jeannie would be cruising to Lille during our proposed travel days, and meeting up with them would add a wonderful element to our little trip.

We left Toul on Sunday morning, June 28. It was going to be the last hot day in Toul, but the cooler weather had already arrived in Lille. The existence of Lille was first mentioned in documents 10 centuries ago, its birth linked to being well situated for involvement in trade between the Netherlands, Flanders, and the Champagne Fairs. In the 12th and 13th centuries, the city was part of the territory of the Counts of Flanders. By the late 14th century, marriage brought Lille to the House of Burgundy, and within another century, another marriage brought it briefly under the rule of the Austrian Hapsburgs before it became part of the Spanish Netherlands in 1500. Louis XIV brought Lille into France in 1667. It is currently the tenth largest city and fourth largest metropolitan area in France.

Conveniently, we were able to rent a small apartment in the neighborhood immediately adjacent to the Citadelle Vauban and the canal where Jonathan and Jeannie were moored. They had arrived in Lille on the 28th as well, and we saw them often over the days that we were in town.

Upper: Barge "Aleau" moored in Lille across from the citadel site.
Lower: Jeannie and Jonathan welcomed us to dinner on the back deck
of Aleau on June 30.

We walked our feet off on the 29th and 30th, as is usual for us when we're exploring a new place. 

The great French military engineer under Louis XIV, the Marquis de Vauban, designed and
constructed the "Queen of Citadels," now called Citadelle Vauban. He was later appointed
 governor of the citadel by Louis. The citadel is currently surrounded by a huge amount of green
 space, and although it appears overgrown with vegetation from the outside, it still has an active
 military presence.

Two panoramic perspectives of buildings on the Place du Theatre (Theater Place).
Top: on the right, the darker building is The Old Stock Exchange (1652-53) and to its right
is the Rang du Beauregard, 17th century private houses.
Bottom, left to right: The Old Stock Exchange, the Rang du Beauregard, the Chamber of
Commerce and its belfry (1923), the opera house (1921). 

The Grand-Place, officially Place General de Gaulle. The plaza is a dividing "line" of sorts
between the medieval city (Vieux Lille) and the newer 19th century (and later) neighborhoods.

The Rihour Palace, the first stone of which was laid by one of the Dukes of Burgundy in
1453. It was the Lille town hall from 1664 until 1916, when a devastating fire destroyed much 
of the palace except for the main staircase and the chapel. It currently houses the Tourist Office.

Left: In a walk through old Lille, World Cup fever was apparent.
Upper right: a closer look at the Old Stock Exchange.
Lower right: the birthplace of former French president Charles de Gaulle.

The streets of Vieux Lille are still laid out in the old medieval style. 

Jeannie and I had lunch on the 29th at a charming Italian restaurant
in Vieux Lille, while Jonathan and Lon went for burgers across the
street. Our "mocktails" were awesomely refreshing after a morning of
walking, and the interior of the restaurant was stunning in a cozy way.

The Cathedral of Notre-Dame de la Treille (Our Lady of the Trellis) is an interesting anomaly. The foundation stone was laid in 1854 and completing it to the original design would have produced an entirely neo-Gothic edifice. Unfortunately, the lack of funds meant that the building was constructed in fits and starts over 150 years and was not completed until 1999. The earlier parts of the construction are neo-Gothic in style, but some of the chapels have an Art Nouveau esthetic, and the front facade is completely contemporary. 

Top: the front facade of the cathedral. The pointed arch uses metal
framework to enclose 110 plates of thin, translucent marble.
Bottom: the choir of the cathedral is neo-Gothic, with contemporary
touches in the pulpit and altar decorations.

Left: the chapel of Our Lady of the Trellis, with a floor mosaic of the city of Lille
 leading to it, has a traditional feel.
Right: the translucent marble of the front facade as viewed from inside the Cathedral has
a golden glow totally different from its white appearance when viewed from outside, and
has a contemporary esthetic.

I love striking and unexpected ways of presenting the "Stations of
the Cross." In the Cathedral, the stations were extremely modern
paintings. At top, several of these modern paintings were
placed in areas with fairly traditional stained-glass windows. At bottom
is a close up of the Third Station, Jesus Falls for the First Time.

Lon and I spent Tuesday morning, June 30, walking through the area of Lille developed in the 19th century. It was cool and cloudy that day, which actually felt quite wonderful after the heat of the previous two weeks. 

At top, the Palais des Beaux-Arts, one of the largest art museums
in France. Unfortunately for us, we were there on a Tuesday when it was closed.
At bottom, a beautiful governmental building, the Prefecture of Lille.

Left: the "new" city hall and its belfry, built after WWI to replace the previous city hall that had
 been destroyed by the 1916 fire in the Rihour Palace. The 104-meter-high belfry is listed as
 a UNESCO World Heritage Site along with a number of other belfries that represent
 "freedom of the cities of the North". The observation deck close to the top was open for
 viewing. We cut ourselves some slack and opted for the stairs (109 steps)/elevator option to
 get to the viewing platform, and stairs-only for the descent (at right).

One of the views from the city hall belfry. At left is the Porte de Paris, 
built from 1686 to 1694 as a triumphal arch to glorify Louis XIV and
his annexation of Lille to France in 1667. It was restored and a 
city-facing facade added in the 19th century.

The Maison Coilliot is Lille's finest example of Art Nouveau, and
was designed by Hector Guimard, famous for his work on the Paris
Metro. While we were photographing the exterior (upper left), the
current proprietor (upper right) of the optical shop on the ground
floor invited us in to see the artistic touches inside. Because the 
building was always intended to house businesses, the areas of interest
inside were on the ground floor and not on the upper floors.
Lower left, the entryway. Lower right, a mosaic in the main optical showroom.

Lille is proud of its reputation as a center of art and culture. At left, "Romy" is public art
installed on the plaza outside the Lille Flandres train station. Besides being evocative of a
traveler welcoming other travelers to Lille, she also functions pretty well as a bench.
 At right, part of the "Flower Power" exhibit during Lille's year as the European Capitol of
 Culture in 2004.

The cloudy weather made us lazy during the afternoon of the 30th, so we embraced our inner sluggards and simply relaxed around the apartment. We joined Jeannie and Jonathan that evening for a delicious dinner aboard Aleau, bid them "adieu" with wishes to see them again soon, and prepared for our departure from Lille.

We returned to Toul on July 1 and are now in the throes of prepping for the visit from the boat broker. We're fortunate in that we've never been pack rats, so we don't have a lot of things to get rid of. We mostly just need to do some general cleaning and a bit of straightening to make sure that countertops and engine rooms, etc., etc., are neatly organized and devoid of any unnecessary "stuff". We'll be taking some time to celebrate our wedding anniversary on July 7--which will also be the 50th anniversary of meeting each other.