With the sun shining, and cloudless blue skies over head, the grimy look of the night before had been abolished, and the city before us boasted intricate architecture and busy streets full of smiling faces.
We made our way to the tourist office, to find some maps to help us plan a route. With every other city we had just wandered, knowing that we would find something. However Lille was far bigger than our other destinations, and with only one day, we wanted to have some sense of where we were headed so that we didn't miss anything.
Our first stop was the Citadelle on the north side of the city. Built between 1667 and 1670, the Citadelle is home to the Corps de réaction rapide France. With a bursting star shape, and intricate series of networks, the Citadelle is an incredible defence structure, which means that no army can come near an outside wall, without being under fire from a nearby wall.
Our walk around the Citadelle was a couple of hours, and although interesting, if you are pushed for time, I wouldn't recommend it. However, on a sunny morning, it was a real treat.
After completing one lap around the fortress, and having armed guards turn us away as I attempted to get inside, we decided to head back to the centre to see what we could find.
Lille is the home of Meert, the favourite pattisserie and tea room of both King Leopold and Charles De Gaulle. Famous for their vanilla waffle, known as a gauffres, sitting down to tea with one was something I had been looking forward to for the whole trip.
Navigating our way through the streets, we arrived at the marble clad building. The windows were all but bare and the door was locked. As it transpired, Meert doesn't open on a Monday, so all I could do was stare through the glass, in a hope of catching a glimpse of the famous interior.
We carried on walking, zig zagging through the streets, passing by a mixture of shops and bars, most of which were closed.
We headed up towards a classic motorbike shop that I had read about hoping that they were open, passing through the quieter side of the city.
As we approach the shop, we caught the glimpse of the sun's rays bouncing off the chromed trim of an old Norton.
The shop was open, however it was filled with workmen, busy dragging electrical cables along the beautiful parquet floor. On the opposite side of the road, watching the store, stood two men, smoking in the sun.
When they realised that we might be customers they came across to chat. We asked if it was a national holiday, because of all the shops being closed. No, they replied, it's a Monday.
Our puzzled faces let on that we needed some clarity. It's a Monday? As in a bank holiday? Or was this just a mix up of translations?
"Lille doesn't open on a Monday. If we hadn't had the workmen in, I wouldn't be open either."
I'm not sure why Lille doesn't open on a Monday, the man had returned to his cigarette on the other side of the road before I had a chance to ask, but I'm glad he had opened that Monday, just for the chance to see his beautiful store.
We made our way again, back to the centre, where we found a couple of restaurants open. Sitting down to a late lunch of Flammekueche we watched the world go by, and tried to work out how a whole city can close, on a Monday.
(The restaurant we went to was a chain restaurant called Flams, which specialises in the Alsace dish of Flammekueche, a thin pizza style base which is topped with creamy dishes, most commonly a tartiflette mix of potatoes, onions, lardons and cheese. I don't like traditional pizza at all, however I am a big fan of Flammekueche, and the restaurant made a fantastic one, served along side a great salad and a cold beer.)
After another walk around the city, finding an open chocolate shop and buying rather large boxes of goodies (after indulging in a few try before you buys), and restraining myself from attempting to buy everything in the Leica and Mont Blanc shops, we sat down in a bar and cursed the fact that the next morning, we had to board the Eurostar and head back to the UK.
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