This weekend was the first of several that I'm anticipating this semester. Although I could have traveled to another country (which is absolutely mind boggling, still), I was very fortunate to be able to visit my friend, who lives in Lille (in the north of France). I can't wait to tell you about it!
Upon arrival, I explored downtown by myself for a bit. At the heart of the city is Le Grand Place, a huge, bustling square with restaurants, hotels, and shops lining its edges. There, you'll find the Opera, the Vieille Bourse (or the Old Stock Exchange), and the city's bell tower. Just a few minutes' walking will take you to their cathedral, which is called Notre Dame de la Treille, or to their arm museum, Le Palais des Beaux Arts. I also fell in love with a bookstore there called Le Furet du Nord - basically eight floors of any book you'll ever need!
After exploring, I met up with my friend for lunch at a place near her campus. She studies at Lille 2, a university specifically for law. I also got to attend one of her law classes, which was basically two hours of the professor lecturing at 300 students... with zero interaction from the class. This teaching style is typical of French university classes, and I'm very glad that I don't have to deal with it at GW!
To get around Lille, we either walked or used the metro system. In contrast with the Parisian metro (or even the one in DC), this one only had two lines! Furthermore, each metro only had two cars for passengers. Despite being France's 5th largest city, this kind of illustrates how small the city actually is by American standards (of a large city, that is). There are a large number of students who live there, and my friend described it as the best French city for students. In fact, the university I'm at in Paris - SciencesPo - has a campus in Lille, as well.
Overall, Lille was a wonderful break from the fast city life in Paris. Tomorrow it's back to classes though, so we'll see where this next week goes!