July 25, 2009
Torhout - Lille
We have a hotel room and - for the first time since I don't know when - it didn't rain during the night. The sun is out when we leave and the wind is less and from the side, a relief compared to previous days.
| Heart | 1 | Comment | 1 | Link |
We follow the D32, not a particularly scenic route but we make good progress and have a bike lane, even after we cross the border into France. Although the quality of most French bike lanes, if they exist, isn't up to the near perfect lanes in Holland or the very good paths in Belgium, there are some and we have appreciated them in situations where there is fast or heavy traffic. In this case the surface is often damaged, but we are out of the way of the cars on the straight stretch leading to Lille.
At noon we cross the border into France. Hurrah, France! Again it isn't possible to say exactly where we crossed the border: no signs, no customs, no passport check, it's the EU.
| Heart | 2 | Comment | 1 | Link |
Entering Lille is easy. The city, except for the historic old part of town, is more like a big village, very uncitified. But the center is bustling, has many impressive buildings and lots of people out shopping and enjoying the sunny Saturday afternoon. The center has all the attractions of a cosmopolitan city but is small enough to let you get around easily.
The main attraction for us in Lille is the art gallery of Ming Tong, a Chinese painter and sculptor http://www.afc-lille.org/spip.php?article8. I know Ming and his wife Cathie from the year we were all teaching at Xiamen University on the south coast of China. That was 15 years ago and we had lost touch. However, I knew they lived in Lille and I found the address of Ming's gallery in the Internet.
Without giving previous warning, we cycle to the gallery, very centrally located in the old town, and lo and behold Ming is in! To say he was surprised to see me enter his gallery is an understatemet. I am of course delighted to see my friends after all these years.
Ming doesn't hesitate to invite us to stay with him and Cathie and their 14-year-old son Louis. We are overwelmed by their hospitality. Cathie urges us to stay, "Just pretend it's a hotel and stay as long as you wish." A truly heart-warming and charming couple, too bad Lille is so far from Munich.
Today's ride: 50 km (31 miles)
Total: 2,084 km (1,294 miles)
| Rate this entry's writing | Heart | 2 |
| Comment on this entry | Comment | 0 |
2 years ago