Lille

Today I would love to talk about the city I developed an attachment to - Lille. I spent in this beautiful city whole semester. Lille is situated in the north of France. After living there 5 months I have to say it will stay in my heart forever. I will say everything by answering few questions:

Why did I choose to study in Lille in France?

Firstly, I need to say that my decision making was awful. I am really indecisive person so I was changing my mind almost every day and I went crazy. I could not decide. There were too many advantages and disadvantages for all the cities that I did not know where to go.

In my opinion offer from our university is not huge. Although it is satisfactory because on the list there are almost all European countries. I easily eliminated Germany because I had no interest in learning German language. For same reason I did not think of going to Switzerland. I wanted to visit countries in the north such as Finland, Norway or Denmark but I could not imagine living in such cold weather whole semester. Therefore, I did not consider going to Denmark or Finland either. After this I could choose from Italy, Spain, Portugal, France, the United Kingdom, Netherlands, Luxembourg or few other countries. If I had unlimited amount of money I would definitely go to the United Kingdom, especially to London, because I love this city. Nevertheless, I talked to few people from my university and when I heard how much extra money they spent there I declined it.

On the one side, I wanted to enjoy Erasmus at maximum but on the other side I wanted to learn something new. If I went to France, I could practice French and if I went to Spain I could practice Spanish. Although being in Italy or Portugal seemed to me only as holiday. So I continued only with France, Spain and Netherlands. My decision was difficult.

In case of Netherlands – I would come to Amsterdam but the problem was that it was impossible to be accepted there with my grades. I almost applied to Maastricht, but as I already considered studying my whole master program in Amsterdam, I thought it would be better to try another country. I almost applied to Barcelona as well. Although I spoke to people who studied there and they told me I would have to commute a lot to get to the city center and I have already experienced commuting every day to school during my six years at high school.

My last option was France. Actually, at the moment I can not say any disadvantage of being in Lille now and it is clear to me what was the best option. As the university was in English I could practice two languages there at the same time – French and English. Moreover, I have never been to France I could explore new country. France is close to Netherlands as well and I wanted to meet David often. Because of all these reasons I opted for France. The another decision I had to make was about the city.

We could choose from Paris, Toulouse, Montpellier or from Lille. I spoke to almost every student who studied in these cities and according to them Lille was the best one. I talked with two guys about studying there. When I heard from the boy sentence like: “It was incredible. I would come there again. It was unforgettable experience. ” I did not hesitate anymore. Information from people studying same university in Prague was the most important one. Girls who studied in Toulouse did not seem delighted from their Erasmus at all and I did not know anybody who studied in Montpellier. I was considering going to Paris a lot but there would be same problem as being in London. I would spend there a lot of money and it would be much more difficult to move from one place to another one. Therefore, my winner was Lille in France.

At the moment I can honestly say that my choice was the best one I could ever make. Even though Lille is quite small city I appreciated walking there a lot. It was a big difference in comparison to studying in Prague. In Prague I spent many hours underground in metro. In Lille, my home was approximately 20 minutes walking from my university. Moreover, I could walk almost everywhere in the city and if not, I could use bikes that are distributed in the city. I could of course use public transport – buses or metro. I used it only twice during whole semester. This is really convenient because when you finish your party you can get easily home. You don’t have to pay extra money, you don’t have to wait for the night bus, you just walk. When we went to Paris for a trip and we had to take taxi to get home, it took us more than 30 minutes and at that moment I realized that Lille was a great and convenient city for student life. During Erasmus program you have a lot of time to go out and naturally you don’t want to spend your time in transport and pay a fortune for it.

How much money did I receive from my university?

Scholarship from our university differs according to the category. France is in the most expensive category. Therefore, I received 2500 euro (500 euro each month). Scholarship was not enough for covering all of my expenses. I managed to pay my rent with it and little bit of food.

A big advantage is that you can apply for help from the French government – CAF. Even though the application takes a lot of time and they can communicate only in French it is definitely worth it. You will receive money for the second month and after for each month you are staying. It is approximately 100 euro per month and it depends on the size of your room, proximity from the university, monthly rent and another things.

What is the student lifestyle like in Lille?

Student lifestyle in Lille is incredible and you are never bored if you are a little bit friendly, open-minded and social person! Even though the city is quite small there are many opportunities for going out. The famous bar street is called Massena and there are many bars and pubs. If you go further you can find another bars as well, and few of them are located in the street Solferino. In addition, there are another bars located further such as Le People and Le Magazine.

I appreciated help from our International Club a lot because people there were awesome. Since my first day in Lille they organized a lot of activities for us – parties, dinners, sport activities included. We had a pub crawl as well so after my first week I already knew a lot of bars where to party. Apart from the events from the International club, there were parties every day - except for Sundays and Mondays. Although if you wanted to meet your friends, there was almost every week something organized at someone´s residence. You should be prepared that on Sunday and on Monday a lot of restaurant are closed which was different for me in comparison to Prague.

After two months in Lille we always had three possibilities where we ended up our party: club Latina, club Smile or Network. I loved all of them and the good thing was that when you went there you met always someone from your university. To start the party we went often to the Rendez-Vous, Magnum or Basecamp. My favorite bar was definitely Basecamp. They were playing great music and they had special offers - a lot of people were dancing up – on the bar, they were giving shots for free and the atmosphere was crazy. The only thing was that they closed quite early sometimes.

Another place for party is La Plage, which is located in the street Solferino. When you enter the bar you see bras on the walls and there is sand on the ground. In addition they have a special drink called Triple Dragoons. I don´t remember what exactly it is, but there was vodka and absinth. In the meantime when you finish your shot you are breathing the stream from alcohol in. You can dance there as well.

Bar Le People is famous because two open bars party took place there. It is further from the city center as we had to take a shuttle bus to get there but the bar is big. I will talk about open bar parties more next time. I should mention club Latina because it was the most common place we ended up our night. According to the name you can guess that there was latin music. I have a lot of great memories from this club but I can not even count how many times we went there.

To sum up I would say that there are hundreds of possibilities for student parties. I was never tired of it and I already miss it. It almost never happens in Prague that you would just choose random bar and you could meet all of your friends there. That´s the thing I liked the most about my party life in Lille. However, you should be careful when you walk home because it happened that few of my friends were robbed on their way home.

Would you recommend the city and the University of Lille other students?

Of course, I would even say that there was no better place I could choose!

As I said you are never bored in this city. Lille is a beautiful city and there is a cosy area called Vieux Lille where there are many restaurants and sight-seeing. There are normal things such as cinema, stadium for ice-skating, bowling bar, big shopping mall, shops and markets. I would say that for one semester or for one year it is perfect place for students.

Nevertheless, the weather was horrible for me. It was really unstable and it happened many times that I walked from my home in the dress because of sunshine and in few minutes it changed into heavy raining. Yes, rain was common in Lille. Although I got used to it and I took always umbrella with me.

There is a big park as well with zoo. I went running there many times. Apart from the way I had to run to get to the park I enjoyed running inside the park a lot. There were many people running all the time despite the rain or cold which was motivating for me.

Location of Lille is more than perfect if you want to travel. It is only 30 minutes far from Belgium, 5 hours from London by bus and 3 hours from Paris by bus. Therefore, we had almost every weekend some plan for travelling. Moreover, the headquarters of big airline company Ryanair is in Belgium – Charleroi. Therefore you can easily and cheaply travel to everywhere - Spain, Greece, Portugal, Denmark, Ireland, etc.

If I compare prices in Lille and in Paris there is a significant difference. That´s another reason why I was happy to have chosen Lille over Paris. You can do a trip to Paris any time you want to and at the same time same you can save a lot of money if you live in Lille – everything is the way cheaper.

What is the food like?

For me the food in France was delicious. I am a big fun of all types of cheese, wine, croissants and so on. Therefore, I enjoyed the food as much as I could (and I put on weight unfortunately, not surprisingly). I got easily used to drinking wine and eat cheese every day.

Actually I was excited about everything related to the food. We had special French pancakes – les crepes. You can choose salty or sweet one. They have a lot of types and you can buy it almost in every French city.

We had a specialty from the north of France called – Welsh. I wrote a whole article about it. Even though it is only a big bowl full of cheese with fries and salad I fell in love with it.

In addition, you have a lot of fresh delicious pastry such as croissants or pain au chocolat. I was even obsessed with pain au chocolat and I wanted to eat it every month! It was crazy. Thanks to my landlord we had a cake from Normandy which is not easy to buy anywhere else – kouign-amann.

Since I was living with a French woman she prepared for us many French specialties. It was amazing! We had even welcoming dinner. Once she told us to try raclette (cheese) because we had a raclette machine at our house. From this moment, when we had it I started to be totally crazy about it. Basically, you just melt raclette in machine and you can add whatever you want to. Madam (our landlord) prepared salad and this cheese for us. Thanks to it I organized many raclette parties later. Once she brought cheese pie as well and because I am a big lover of cheese I could not get enough of it.

Girls living with me started to make fun of me because of the cheese. I could talk about it whole day and when someone proposed having cheese I was always in. Although I missed one cheese fondue dinner because I was still in the Czech Republic at that time. In Prague we had a chocolate fondue many times and we all loved it. Nevertheless, I never tried cheese fondue. Therefore, madam told us to organize another one. She bought a lot of kinds of the cheese and she had special machine for it again. She mixed cheese with wine and she melted it. After that we had a fresh baguette dipping in the cheese. It was awesome. Husband of our landlord wanted us to be happy so when we finished baguette he went to the shop to buy another one but before he came back we already ate all cheese.

Apart from trying French food we went to different kinds of restaurants. My favourite one was called Le Palais Royal and it was close to my place in the street Solferino. It was Chinese all you can eat restaurant. The biggest mistake was that I went there in the end of the semester. If I had known about the restaurant I would have come there often. I was amazed after first minute there. The cost of the food was approximately 13 euro. As it was all you can eat there was a big buffet with all food you could imagine. Firstly, they had already prepared food – all kinds of vegetable, dishes – rice and noodles, fried onions, fried chicken, all sauces, etc. I had it as a first round. Later I found out there was wok place. It was my first time trying it in the restaurant! It was incredible. I chose raw meat (they had all kinds), I put vegetable on my plate and I went to the guy making the food. I could choose from 10 different sauces. I opted for sweet chilli. The taste was unbelievable. I think it was the best Chinese food I have ever had.

I enjoyed every bite. For lovers of sushi they had a special vitrine for it. When I finished my plate I noticed they had sweet bar as well! I tried everything. I had a small chocolate waffle, marshmallow bonbons and ice-cream. Thank god I did not know about this place earlier because I would have gained more weight. The buffet lasted two hours and in the end the waitress was not happy because we started to sign our flags. It was a long procedure and apart from the fact we were not eating because we already finished, we made the tables dirty because of markers. Haha. This lunch was one of the best ones because we were around 35 people. We wanted to see each other before the end of the semester.

Another all you can eat buffet I loved was called Soho. I wrote about it in detail in my story: My last day in Lille. It was really similar to the previous one but it was Italian restaurant. I can not say which one was better because they were different but I would highly recommend everybody to go there!

Apart from the restaurant we found a cosy French café called Elisabeth´s. I found it with my Czech friend Lucy when she visited me. We wanted to try a new café so we were walking in Vieux Lille at least one hour and we came back to this one because they had stunning cakes. The café is quite small with two floors but the stuff is friendly and you can practice your French there. For the first time I went there with my friend Lucy and for the second time we went there with another people from Lille. We had a good cappuccino and I had delicious Oreo cheesecake.

Regarding cakes I am quite picky. I don’t like too creamy cakes and I prefer fruity ones or cheesecakes in general. When I saw Oreo cheesecake my choice was clear because I like oreo biscuits or oreo ice-cream. I made a good decision! I was worried it could be too sweet but it was all right. Next time Torres tasted it and we all agreed it was delicious. For the second time I tried raspberry crumble and I was surprised. It did not look attractive at first glance but the taste was beyond description. They heated it for me and it was similar to our crashed sponge cake.

During the semester we went many times to the famous café Paul. We have it in the Czech Republic as well but if I compare prices in these countries they are almost same xcept for the fact that France is more expensive in general. Therefore, it is not beneficial to go there in Prague. I would say they have the best croissants there and it was difficult to resist every time when I passed Paul.

How did you find your accommodation?

When I received email from my university I first checked residences because I wanted to try living with another students in the same building. Unfortunately, they were all more expensive than I expected. Their price ranged from 500 euro for a single room. On the one side I haven´t tried living in a residence because when I moved to Prague I started to live with my friends in the apartment. On the other side I had no idea how many students would be living there and if residence I checked was a good one. Therefore, I decided to contact few landlordsI found on the list from my university. I thought: ”If I found cheaper accommodation I could spend more money on travelling or whatever. ” Anyways, I didn't plan spending much time at home. I received few answers and I liked one house 2 kilometres away from my university. It was not so far because I could imagine walking to school every day 20 minutes. I could choose the room in the house and I found one attick room. When I saw it I wanted to move there. The idea of being right under the roof was great. Unfortunately at that time I did not realized it meant walking a lot of stairs every day as well.

I wanted to be sure it was no fraud so I asked current students living there about everything. When I spoke to them it seemed they loved the place. They told me that a big advantage was having common kitchen and living room and disadvantage was that the house could seem little bit dirty at first glance. In fact, when I moved there I was unhappy. I did not like it at all. It did not seem attractive to me at all and I was already annoyed with climbing the stairs a lot. I was sure I had to change the place.

Everything was different after one week. I already met my housemates and they were extremely kind. After spending there one semester I perceived them as a family and I had no problem with them. Regarding stairs – I got to used climbing them every day and I always took my food downstairs when I came to avoid useless going up and down. I started to fancy being under the roof because it was raining a lot in Lille. The distance was not big and I was really close to the bar street as well. In addition, my landlord was such a nice lady and we had nice time with her. Not only that she prepared the food many times for us she also suggested going for a trip together.

I paid 430 euro each month which was not the cheapest option as I thought in comparison to other places but in the end I felt happy there. It was in the street Stappaert. I also received help from the government – CAF.

What are the accommodation prices like? What are prices like for other things in general?

I paid 430 euros per month in my house and I received 134 euros per month from CAF. Prices ranged from 300 euros per month to 700 euros per month for a single room. In comparison to the Czech Republic it was almost three times more expensive. If I compare prices in general, in the supermarket, I could find some prices equal as in my country but it was almost always at least 1. 5 times more expensive.

If I went to the restaurant I could find a lunch for 10 euro, but all you can eat bars or local specialties were for 13-20 euros. Each use of the bus or metro was 1. 6 euro. But since I was walking I used metro only twice. The beer was 2. 5 euro if we had a better price for students and 6-8 euro normally. The wine in the bar was even more expensive. You could sometimes find a shot for 1 or 2 euro. There was almost no fee as an entrance to the bar. Ticket for the open bar party was around 20 euro. The meal in the student restaurant was 3. 5 euro. Clothes seemed to me almost same price as in my country.

Is the language easy to get to grips with? Are there language courses available at the University?

For me, it was not easy at all. First reason was that all classes were in English so if you did not want to you did not have to study French at all. It is true that they spoke French in the banks and restaurants and supermarkets but it was not enough for practising. Second reason was that Lille was special because French people born in Lille had even more difficult accent than people from another cities. Anyways, French is difficult language.

Nevertheless, I improved my French a lot. We had two classes per week of French classes in 12 people. Moreover, I registered for another two French classes. We had possibilities to study another classes in French as well. If I knew I was coming to France in advance I would have taken French classes already in Prague and I would communicate more with French students.

What's the easiest or most economical way to travel to Lille from your city?

It's depends where are you from. For me, the cheapest way was using bus Eurolines. They had one way tickets every day for 40 euros. If you bought return ticket it was even less. I chose bus for travelling to France to take two my suitcases. Later, I went once home to see my family during the semester.

If you were lucky and checked plane tickets regularly you could find cheap plane tickets as well from Brussels Charleroi with Ryanair. In general, Ryanair was the best plane company to travel with and Megabus was the best bus company to travel with in France if we compare the prices. Thanks to their offers I managed to travel from Paris to Lyon for 4 euro, from Lille to London for 17 euro and from Brussels to Barcelona for 17 euro.

What good cultural sites are there to visit?

The old part of the city was nice for its romantic atmosphere. There were a lot of museums and sights. The first Sunday in the month there was a free entrance to the museums. On my way to school there was a big cathedral you could see from everywhere. During January we had a big ferris wheel at Grand Place where you could take a ride. I also heard there is a nice tower but I have never gone there.

Is there any other advice that you could give to students going to Lille in the future?

I hope that you managed to read this article until the end because my answer for this question is important and clear. I would say with no doubt:

• Come to Lille and enjoy it as much as it is possible!

Before coming to France I was worried if I enough prepared to spend whole semester there. There is no better timing than NOW. There is no reason to postpone things like this. If you are lucky and you have chance to experience exchange programme, do it! In fact, one semester is too short. The time goes too fast when you are happy. For me, it was an incredible experience beyond description and my best semester in my life. If I could I would repeat it all over again. It is an experience which can not be replace by anything else. Apart from becoming independent I met so many people from all over the world, I learnt so many things, I travelled to many countries and everything I have been through was definitely worth it. Remember that opportunities like this may not never repeat again.

More about Lille

There are still few topics left that I did not talk about. Campaigns. When I heard this word for the first time in France I did not know why everybody was so excited. In IESEG, they took it really seriously. The thing is that there are many groups and student organizations in IESEG. Each of them takes care of anything else. For example, there is a sport club, art club, trip club and so on. All of these organizations receive some money from the university, although the amount of money depends on the ranking. That´s why there is always special competition in May among these clubs and it is called Campaigns. Moreover, students who vote have special rights after. For instance, they have cheaper tickets for many events or they have some advantages in comparison to other students. I had no idea that everybody takes this competition so serious at IESEG.

It all started in the end of March. Clubs started to have advertisement about them and they organized many events and parties. I have to say that IESEG seemed to me as a really active and busy university. Not only that they always had some organizations selling different types of food at the university, they had many non studying activities such as trips, cooking, sport or these campaigns. Maybe that´s why I was never bored. There was the first party for the beginning of campaigns. I did not pay much attention to it because as an exchange student, I was not allowed to vote.

The moment when I noticed campaigns more was the first Open Bar Party. At our university, it was a big hit. I remember that when we found out about the party everybody was talking about it. The thing was that I never saw such party in the Czech Republic. Nobody knew the exact place of the party. You just had to buy a ticket for 25 euro and then come to the meeting point. They take you by shuttle bus to the place where the party takes place. They said that such parties are crazy but I did not believe them.

Unfortunately, I did not go for the first open bar party. I don’t remember why but I think I had an exam the following day. When they organized second Open Bar Party I really wanted to go. Unfortunately, I felt sick (not surprisingly) and I had a lot of stuff to do. In the beginning, I decided to wait for the third (last one). Then, I went to my Corporate Finance class and when I heard Francois talking about this party, I could not resist. Seriously, he was telling me that this party would be more than amazing and that I could not skip it and I realized: “I only live once. I should take an advantage of it and go“. The problem was that it was already late because they were selling the tickets days before. Nevertheless, Francois helped me to contact people who were in charge of selling the tickets and we managed to buy two of them! (for me and Lucia). I could not believe that Katarina did not want to go. Even though she is a party animal. When I had my ticket I was so excited to go!

Before the party, we had a dinner that was part of the cooking contest. The girls who were going to the party did not even take a jacket and they just had some old t-shirt. I took a nice skirt and t-shirt. Probably, I did not know what to expect. Since I was already sick many times, I also took my winter jacket. The only thing I did was packing my mobile phone into the plastic bag – so in the worst scenario I could be sure that my phone survived. Most of my friends bought a ticket for the shuttle bus at 8 pm. Unfortunately, I had one for 11 pm. When we arrived there, everybody was already wasted. Totally. At the entrance, we had a problem because they did not allow us to put our jacket somewhere and we did not want to take it inside when we saw how it looked like. In the end, we convinced someone and we let it there. Fortunately!

When I entered the party I was shocked! I knew that the party was supposed to be crazy but this was too much. On the floor, there was beer everywhere! When I did one step I already had my shoe totally wet. It was somewhere underground. In the bus, people were fucked up and they were singing a lot. Later in the bar, we could not even hear a word because of music. I felt happy when I found everybody from my university. I started to have a lot of fun! Everybody was wet because of beer and nobody cared about anything. It was real party. I guess that many of my Czech friend would not like it. To be honest, I was shocked but I loved it if such party takes place only exceptionally and not every week. I forgot to mention that this party was also quite cheap! The price of the ticket was 15 euro and we had all inclusive drinks! I heard that they also served some food there but we just had drinks. It was amazing just come and have beers, shots and cocktails for free! I enjoyed it at maximum! The bad thing were toilets because they were overcrowded and it was impossible to get there. For me, it was definitely unforgettable party.

Similar parties were in Basement. I would say that it was one of the best partying place for us. Where there was party in Basement (every Thursday, Friday, Saturday), I always wanted to go there! They were playing an awesome music and they always had free shots. Moreover, whoever wanted could dance at the bar.

As the end of our semester we had farewall Gala evening. I will never forget this evening! I spent like two hours by choosing dress, making my hair and everything. It was epic! All people I met in Lille were there and we were watching our video from exchange. It was so sad! Moreover, during the semester we had special categories: the most beautiful girl, party animal, traveller and everything. I admired these people who win so much because they were an important part of our exchange! During this evening, we also had amazing cocktails and food. Moreover, there was a party underground. It was an awesome night!

Except for all the party we had in Lille we also did a lot of non-drinking activities, such as picnics. Actually, few people were also drinking there. Lille is a small city but there are many green areas for picnic. I remember one with Andreas, Paulina, Lucia, Juan, Arnaud and Katarina. We started quite early but Katarina came there drunk and we were making fun of her whole time. Then, we started to make funny pictures and they look well! It was exceptionally one day in Lille with sunny weather!

Lastly, I would like to mention raclette dinners. I tried raclette for the first time with our landlord during my first two weeks in Lille. I immediately started loving it! Seriously. I am a big fun of cheese and this food is just melted cheese with potatoes and ham. It can seem simple but it is not. You need to have a special machine for it (we had one big and small) and the cheese is quite expensive. A good thing was that my roommates also loved the cheese so we organized raclette dinners often. Moreover, my last day in Lille I took the machine to Andrea´s place and we had an amazing typical French dinner with cheese and wine. I can not wait having it again!

Since I already talked about all the trips and special events I have been through in France and I also described Lille as a city, there is one more thing to mention – evaluation of my Erasmus as a whole.

Studying abroad

When did I start thinking about studying abroad? Well, I think that I was always eager to experience living abroad. Since I was at high school, I was jealous that few of my friends had an opportunity to do a small exchange abroad. I knew about special summer schools where you could go abroad for three weeks but unfortunately I don’t think it was possible for me to go at that time. My father was not interested at all. In fact, he would be happy if I just stayed in Nové Město nad Metují where I was born and did nothing. Maybe I exaggerate now, but he never even tried to encourage me. On the other hand, my mum was always the one who supported me at maximum. Even though she was not able to pay for any program programme abroad, she never said I should not go. When I told her my plans she always said I should try it and it was the thing that mattered. I had always someone who gave me support and believed in me no matter what happened.

I was searching for the options a lot. Firstly, I really liked Work and Travel in USA but when I was eighteen I did not have that money to cover expenses for the flight, visa and so on. Then, I was really interested in voluntary jobs offered by AIESEC. Although I would need again some money that needed to be invested. The only chance I had with no money was being an au-pair. I had a few friends who became an au-pair and most of them had a good experience with it. Therefore, when I had no plans for summer 2013, I just decided to try it. This experience was not only bright. I had a lot of ups and downs there and besides problems with my host family, it was quite hard for me to find new people since I was not attending any school there. Nevertheless, I would be always grateful for this experience because that´s how my abroad obsession started.

It was first time when I started communicate fluently in English. Until that time, I was not able to have a normal communication. Since I was there alone, I had to speak only English. I did not know any Czech people there. When I think about it now, it was a big step for me. Nevertheless, I experienced many awesome moments and I met a lot of people there. The most important experience for me was one week in London because I was dreaming to go there for a long time. My dream was fulfilled and I had a blast there. It was the first time when I tried Couchsurfing for real and I was so amazed by London that I could just sit in the pub for three hours and listen to the British accent. I was keen on getting to know British culture and I fell in love with London. When I was there, I promised myself to live in London in future - at least for one year. Dreams are changing all the time so I don’t know if it is still what I want to do but I will see.

The point is that this au-pair thing was a beginning. People say that travelling is a drug. I can already say that I totally agree. Moreover, I find living abroad even stronger experience. While travelling you just explore new places, meet new people but it is only short-term stay and if you don’t like anything you just move. In addition, it is mostly fun experience. Although when you start living in a city, you have to take care of yourself, you are distant from your closest people and you have to find a balance, start over and get used to the new environment. I was not prepared to stay abroad longer than three months when I went to England. Two months and half was enough and I wanted to go home after. Then, I started to study in Prague and when I heard about the opportunity of studying abroad as a part of Erasmus exchange I was hundred percent sure I wanted to do it. No matter what.

Process of admission

Erasmus programme is super beneficial for people in Europe. I also knew about agreements among universities in US, Australia or another distant countries but it would be much more costly. In Erasmus, it is quite easy. Even though you can choose only from universities in Europe, there are many options almost in every country. When I talked to older students at my university, I was surprised that they told me it is not difficult to be accepted for Erasmus programme. Since Institut of Economic Studies is quite small, almost each person who wants to study abroad can do it. That´s another reason why I am so happy I have chosen to study at Charles University Economics because it is more difficult at another universities with Erasmus. Actually, in my first year at the university I did not think much about Erasmus because I was more worried about Mathematics exam. Older students and professors scared us so much that I had a respect from this exam and I studied much. If I say much, I mean I studied too much. Seriously I think that it was a border I was able to bear because I was sometimes really desperate about Mathematics exam. I am so happy I don’t have to worry about it because everything went well.

At our university, we can apply for Erasmus only for the third year of our studies. Normally, everybody has all mandatory classes in first two years (mathematics included) and then last year is not so hard. There is time to have an internship, go for Erasmus or write a thesis. Therefore, I applied in my second year in January for Erasmus and I hoped I would pass all exams. My decision about the city was crazy because I am so bad at making decisions. That´s why I spent a lot of time by talking about the cities, universities, changing my options and asking questions older students. The big role also played the fact that David was going to study in Amsterdam and we wanted to be close together. I ended up with few options – Barcelona, Lille, Maastricht and Luxembourg.

I was craving to study in Barcelona but there were few reasons why I did not choose it. Firstly, I did not have perfects grades from my subjects. I don’t even know if I would be accepted because Barcelona was the top option. Second reason was that Barcelona was far from Amsterdam and third reason was that I preferred practising French as a second language than Spanish. I think I decided not to apply to Barcelona when I talked to few people who studied there last year and they talked about commuting 30 minutes by train. I have already experience with commuting to school for 45 minutes every day by bus and it was enough.

Another important decision was related to the fact if I wanted to go alone or no. In the beginning, I talked to my best friend Lucy and we agreed on going together. Then, I heard few opinions that it is not the best idea because when you go with someone you don’t have the real experience because you can always rely on another person and you can always switch into your language and everything is easier. I was actually surprised from myself but I chose the adventurous option. I decided to go alone. I told Lucy that I would prefer having another option and even though she did not like it much we did it. She chose Luxembourg and I wanted to go to Lille since beginning because two people who went there had amazing opinions about it.

Lille was a winner – mainly thanks to French. I knew if I went to another country, I would practise English but being one semester in France could give me two advantages at the same moment – French and English. Everybody applied for winter semester because it is usual that students study abroad in winter semester and then they have another semester for writing a thesis. We had a special table in Excel with choices so I knew who was going to apply to Lille and since the university was not ranked really high I knew it should be fine and I should be accepted.

But I was not. When I received email from my university, it was a perfect example of situation when you are just sure about something and you don’t even doubt and then it does not go according to the plan. I was almost hundred percent sure to be accepted and go studying abroad in winter semester but they just told me I was only substitute if someone cancels his application. I could not believe it! It was a terrible surprise. The problem was not about me actually. The problem was that my Czech university did not found university in Lille enough attractive. They just said that they would finance only first 40 universities according to their ranking and Lille was unfortunately below this threshold. Therefore, I was linked to Lille University but they did not have enough money to send me there. I had an option to go as a free grant which means that I would have to pay for everything on my own but of course I did not want to. Firstly, I did not want to spend all my money on it and secondly, it was totally unfair because all of my friends got the financial support. I was complaining a lot. I was sad and angry. Nothing helped me. I tried to change my option for Maastricht but it was too late. I was arguing with our director of our university but it did not work. I could not change it. I just had to reconcile with it. That´s what I did.

I found a new internship, I was also working a lot in the second job and during the weekends I went home or we did some trips. I think I was quite happy and I almost forget Erasmus after a while. Then, the miracle happened and they called me to announce that someone cancelled his Erasmus and I can go – if I want to. I said yes with no hesitation and I confirmed to move to France in two months (in January). When I hung up, I had a mess in my mind. I did not know what to do. I was going crazy when I realized that I still had three difficult exams ahead, many things to arrange, announce this at work and much more. It was totally fast to leave Prague in two months. I was sitting at work and I already planned that I should start studying. When I checked the schedule in France, I was even more shocked because our semester was supposed to start 4th of January. As a consequence, I had to be done with my exams before Christmas. It seemed impossible. Again, everything went well and I had few days to say goodbye and pack my luggage. When I was in the bus on my way to France I started to ask the right questions: What am I doing? Is it the thing I want? Why am I going alone? What if…? I did not have time to think about it properly before and I had whole night in the bus for it. I felt confused. It is not so comfortable if you go to new country and new city alone. The beginning was not that easy.

First thoughts

My first day was terrible. I already managed to cry, I could not imagine staying in my accommodation for a whole semester and I had a lot of prejudice about people. I did not like that most of the people were not from Europe and the city seemed to me not attractive. I already described my whole day in Lille in one blog story. Fortunately, everything changed rapidly.

It turned out that the fact that people mostly were not from Europe was an advantage. I met so many people from different continents. I saw the cultural differences and I was interested in getting to know new information. I got used to my accommodation and living with French woman was definitely nice because our landlord showed us real French culture. I also found out that the weather does not matter when you are with right people and I realized that 5 months can be a short period.

I think that I felt already excited my second day of Introduction week and my excitement never disappeared. It was with me whole semester and then I just wanted to stay. Maybe, I perceive it in a subjective way but my staying in France had many bright sides…

University

Studying abroad in different language was amazing for me. Even though French English does not sound nicely, we had a lot of great teachers and I had a lot of great classes. Thanks to my home university, I did not have any problems with studying in English. Since we already had many classes in English in the Czech Republic, it was no difference for me. The big difference was the way of teaching. Firstly, most of the classes were in a small group and secondly, the final grade depended on many activities. The final grade included the attendance, homework, presentations and activity. I was not used to this. In Prague, our final grade mainly depended on midterm and final exam and homework. In France, they gave the weight to presentations a lot. In the beginning, I was nervous and I was complaining but it was really beneficial for me. Almost for every class I had a presentation and I learnt to take it normally and in the end of the semester I did not mind doing it. Presentations in French were quite hard for me but it helped me a lot also.

Moreover, I really liked the system of classes in France that we could choose between intensive and extensive classes and then we had completely different schedule every week. It enabled me to finish my bachelor thesis at Erasmus and travel a lot. Regarding the thesis, it was quite funny. Since I was so scared to write it during my exchange, I started really early. I started to write something in January or February. A lot of people told me that they wanted to do it also on exchange but they were not able to manage everything. I tried to learn from their experience and I had a meeting with my coordinator already in December and then I worked on it. During first two months, I did not have many intensive classes. It was convenient for writing a thesis because most of my friends went to school every day from 8 to 12 and since I had no school, I could write. Of course I was lazy to do it and of course I did not write every morning. There were many mornings when I did not get up after party or when I just went to the library and I did not do much but the most difficult thing was to start. When I started to write, I was doing a progress – slowly but I did. In addition, I was in contact with my coordinator and he helped me a lot. He went through the chapters I sent him and I had a chance to correct it.

One bad moment was in March when I was in France with my friends and I was waiting for one of his last emails because I needed to have it approved to start transforming my thesis into Latex. Moreover, I even had earlier deadline than another people because I bought the tickets to Portugal one week before the deadline. It was okay because I knew it in advance but there was still chance that if I did not finish it, I could not go. And it would be a shame to miss the best trip of the semester. After that negative email, I had to correct many things and it is maybe the reason why I received grade B instead of A but all my experience was more important than the grade from my thesis actually.

Although my classes were not difficult, I liked many of them. I am wondering how I managed to do so many activities – travelling, partying, studying and thesis. It was busy semester. Even though I always say that university in France was easy and I did not study much, I spent quite a lot of time with preparing presentations and homework. There was also a big difference because I went to almost every class in France and I did not go to school much in Prague. Firstly, because there was obligatory attendance and secondly because I was interested in classes. The best ones were Excel Expert, Game Theory, Introduction to Derivates, Colloquial English and Money and Capital Markets. All of them were quite practical in comparison to my statistics and mathematics classes and I could listen to the teacher almost whole time. I did not like Corporate Finance at all – maybe because of the teacher and maybe because of the topic. Nevertheless, I had to take this class because of my application for Amsterdam.

French

One of my goals was improving my French. To be honest, I expected to see a bigger progress because it is known that French people prefer speaking French than English. Nevertheless, at our university, almost all students spoke English and it was actually hard to find someone who would speak only French. I met with few my friends to speak only French but I did not feel comfortable because I had to be silent since I don’t speak much French. Anyways, I improved a lot because before coming there I was not able to say anything. I also have a funny story that happened in the beginning of the semester. During December, we received email with French test and they wanted to divide us into the groups according to the test. I did not know it and I thought it was only informative. Therefore, I was filling the test and when I was bored because of reading part I just starting to randomly guess the answers. Although when I came to France, the teacher told me that according to the test I am between A2 and B1 and I had unequal results from different parts. She even thought that I was cheating because she asked me why I had such a good writing part. Then, the worst part came. The teacher suggested to have a conversation with her to decide to which group I belong. I did not expect it at all! Since I haven’t studied French for last semester and actually I had a lot of Spanish classes, the conversation was a disaster. I remember that I was mixing English, Czech, Spanish and French and the teacher must have thought that I was crazy. In the end she just said that I can decide as I want to and I can change the group first two weeks. In fact, I wanted to go to the higher group because I wanted to improve my French as it was possible and they had also few requirements for another classes where I wanted to go. I wanted to choose Preparation for DELF and they required at least B1 in French. That´s why I decided to try B1 group and it was fine in the end.

Moreover, I decided to take one econometric class in French to make it even harder but it was not a good idea. I went to the first class and I did not really improve because all presentations were in English and only the teacher spoke French. Moreover, it was a basic Econometrics and I already knew everything what we learnt. I dropped this class.

Travelling

It was the best part! I remember that one of my reasons why I chose Lille was that the city is well-located but I did not really think that I could travel so much. Probably, I never saw so many cities in 5 months. It was not only about location and distance to another cities. Important fact was that in the middle of Lille and Brussels there was an airport called Charleroi and Ryanair offers frequently really cheap tickets from this airport. I think that it could not have been better. Besides Ryanair, we often used Flixbus, Megabus or another bus companies because they also often had cheap tickets. In the beginning, I just thought that it would be amazing to see Paris for the first time and go there if I have a free weekend. I am so delighted that I saw it more than once and not only Paris.

I will try to take it step by step. The first trip was Paris. We found unbelievable tickets for 1 euro! We had always option – to go by train for 25 euros approximately and it lasted 30 minutes or go by bus for 1 euro if you are lucky and it lasted three hours. I always took a bus to save money. Paris was amazing! More I visited that city, more I fell in love with it. On the other side, I was happy to live in Lille and be only a tourist in Paris. I am already missing the city lots. In February, we already had one week off. It was a great chance to travel! Firstly, I went to Amsterdam for three days, then I went with my girls to Dublin and we also wanted to visit Brussels but due to my illness we did not go. Dublin surprised me a lot! Maybe because I did not expect anything from this city. When I saw it, I could easily imagine working or studying there! The problem is that all universities are really expensive there.

Another unforgettable trip was Disneyland! I suspected that this trip would be awesome and it was even better! I am a lover of amusement parks. Disneyland is not only amusement park. The best thing about Disneyland is that it is meant for everybody! There are many nice safe not scary attractions for children, many crazy roller-coasters for people like me, many performances and parades for adults and the whole park just looks stunning. I am craving to go to the other one in the US!

Since Lille is only 30 minutes far from Brussels, it was clear we needed to see Belgium as well. We started with famous Brugge and we joined one organization during this trip and then I went to Brussels with David. Brugge was cute small tourist city and Brussels did not impress me much but the trip was great! Anyways, I definitely had the best waffles in Belgium.

When my friend Lucy came from the Czech Republic to visit me, we had a great idea to meet together in London. You already know that I was amazed by London three years ago and I needed to see it again. Nothing changed. London is my love. I still want to live there. The buildings, the river, the language is just unique.

I even went to Prague with International Club. It was great to be with people from Lille in my country but when they left it was kind of sad and I just wanted to go back...

Finally I am getting to the most important part. As I said, Lille is rainy city. I hate cold weather. After five months living in Lille I was desirous of being in sunny environment. It all started with the best trip of my semester – Portugal. I heard about Portugal many times and I wanted to visit it. We were already searching for the tickets in January. The Ryanair had a special offer in May from Charleroi to Porto for approximately 30 euros. The story with buying the tickets was funny but thanks to Lilian and Andreas and Arnaud we bought the tickets and we had a blast there! I cannot even describe how amazing I felt there. It was just pure happiness. We had a perfect group of people and we were at the right place. Even though the sea was not warm enough to swim there (only for winter swimmers), I enjoyed it anyways. I was amazed by both cities – Porto and Lisbon. We tried Portuguese food, people were extremely friendly, we had a great accommodation, we did a lot of trips and vitally important were people who went with me.

In Portugal, I realized that the best way how to get to know people is by travelling. Normally, if you just see your friends once per week, it is easy to get along. You just share your happiness or complains about things in your life. When you travel together and when you spend days from morning till evening with someone, you realize much more. You can see much more – how the person behaves in troubles, how the person is reliable, how the person acts in a bad mood or how the person is funny. During this trip, I got to know closer to people I went with and I did not want to leave from that place… I had so unforgettable memories from this trip that I will probably never forget it.

As a great ending of travelling was Barcelona. Except for the fact that I went there with my best friend Mára, we met charming people who hosted us and hopefully we will see them again. As I repeat all over again, everything is about people. We also met there two Croatian guys and it was a pleasure to spend our days with them. When I heard that weather in Barcelona was around 25 degrees since February, I regretted for a minute that I did not choose it. The sun was so strong that I was totally tanned after three days there. I was totally captivated by the beauty of Barcelona. Barcelona as a city was a number one from all cities we went to. It has a perfect combination of everything – beautiful language, beach, friendly people, sights, Gaudi´s building and palms. Three days were not enough!

Last but not least important - French cities. It was funny that we were keen on visiting many cities in Europe but we had some problems to arrange trips in France. Of course the best experience was Paris. Then, we had a bigger trip to Marseille and Lyon. It was quite adventurous trip and thanks to it, we met Walter and Bruno. In the end of the semester I went with Bruno and Joshue to see Bordeaux, Nantes and Arcachon. We also went to Mt St Michel. The castle is awesome but we spent a lot of time in the bus. We also saw Versailles! All these cities were nice and I mainly liked the French culture. The food is just amazing for me!

Food in France

Another great thing I experienced last semester was French cuisine. I don’t know if it was an advantage for me or disadvantage because it was so hard to keep my weight on the same level even though I went running at least three times per week. In addition, someone could say that French food is nothing special. For me, it was special! I am a cheese lover and I did not find any food that I did not like. Because of Torres, I would love to mention the best cheese – Maroilles- the one I could not stop eating in the dish called Welsh. It was great to try real crepes, taste many different types of cheese, have for a breakfast croissant or pain au chocolat, do raclette dinners and naturally eat baguette with everything - even with pasta! Moreover, it was not only about Maroilles. I participated in Cooking Contest where we tried many specialties from different countries and we also organized dinners where we tried Argentinean empanadas, Moroccan dish, Indian spice food, Mexican tortillas and many more!

People

So I talked about the places I saw, things I studied at school, food I tasted but the most valuable were definitely people I met. In the beginning, I was scared to spend semester with people from all over the world and it turned out to be the best thing ever. It can sound as a cliché but people I met there opened my eyes. When you move to the place where you don’t know anybody and everything is new, you have nothing to rely on. New people are the only thing that matters because if you find someone with who you get along, everything is suddenly easy. Family is far from you and your friends become your closest family. It is easier to overcome obstacles together, it is fun to travel together, it is useful to do homework together and it is unforgettable to spend nights together.

It all started by meeting my roommates. They were all charming. During whole semester, I had no problem with them. I was lucky and I had really easy-going, kind and sociable roommates. We had many evenings together and talks while cooking or walking to school or whatever. It was a pleasure to spend one semester with them in the same house.

In the beginning, I decided not to look for Czech or Slovak people in Lille because of my English but I could not resist and I found Lucia from Slovakia and Katarina from the Czech Republic quite fast. Then, we spend numerous nights and days together. It was quite a relief to say all details and my opinions in my language. We spent almost every time before party together at Lucy´s or mine room. I miss that times so freaking much. I felt with these girls wonderfully. We had so much fun. On the other side, we did not have problem to speak English together while being with others so I did not mind speaking same language at all. We also travelled together a lot. I can´t wait when they come to Amsterdam!

Another awesome experience was meeting people from Latin America. People say that these people are naturally friendly and it is easy get along with them. I can confirm that it worked for me. I appreciated that it was enough to spend with these people few minutes and I already felt like we knew each other for ages. I don’t know if I exaggerate but these people seemed to me always in a good mood, always in for every fun and always kind - full of positive vibes. I would love to mention meeting Lilian and Andreas. These people became so close to me and I felt like I knew them for ages. Sometimes you just meet someone that perfectly suits you. I guess that thanks to them and many others I became obsessed with going to Mexico because I heard almost every night how awesome this country is and that I should visit it.

Sometimes people went crazy and parties were insane. Sometimes I did not know which day it was because we were just out every day. Some of our parties did not follow rules for instance when police came or during open bar parties. But I don’t complain at all. It was all part of my experience and I would not trade it for anything. I did not come to France to sit at home and study. Meeting new people and making memories was the purpose. Thanks to my friends, my exchange was full of happiness and joy. I hope to see everybody somewhere in the world.

The worst part was leaving. I did not realize that it could be so difficult to leave. It was so hard that I almost did not manage to pass my state exam because I spent one week of crying. In fact, I did not mind being sad or not having good grades (I just needed to pass). I could not just switch and stop seeing that people without notice. I needed some time to miss everything and to balance everything out.

There are not many things I regret about France. I think that everything happened for a reason. The only thing I could regret are the things I did not have time to do. For example, I should have definitely gone to the Dunkerque festival or visit Nice. I was also thinking that I met many nice people in the end of my exchange and if I had met them earlier I could have enjoy their company for longer time. On the other side, I was already busy that I did not even have time to keep contact with my friends from the Czech Republic or skype with my mum and sister. I mean that I don’t think I could do more. I did so many trips, I finished the thesis, I passed my exams and I went to many many many parties. It is difficult to manage everything. Although, I arrived at important conclusion that I don’t want to miss any opportunity anymore. It is always better to try everything than regret not trying it. I realized that time flies like crazy and there is no time to hesitate. Just do what you love…

Homecoming was hard. In the beginning, it was nice to be the centre of attention and see all my friends. Although after certain period, nobody really cares about your experience and people don’t want to hear same things all over again. You are the only one who will have the memories forever. Thanks to this, I realized that I will never stop. I don’t want to be in one place. I want to explore. Six months ago I was not sure if I should go back to the Czech Republic after exchange or if I should try living abroad again. After exchange, I was sure what to do. I wanted to experience another adventure. That´s why I am here in Amsterdam. My only concern is that I am addicted and I will become bored being in one place after everything I experienced. The only solution is – never stop dreaming and coming up with new adventures.

Thanks Familille! I miss you so freaking much!

Take me back, please!

Lille, France. 19-21 of December 2014

Just as going to Sardinia's diverse cities compromises of discovering architecture, art and diverse cultures despite all still belonging to Italy; arriving to this city is a discovery that in France too, each city is unique and special.

Lille is a large and dynamic city, like a reality which mixes fairy tales and daily life amonst a large accumulation of luxury items, displayed in elegant windows to be sold.

It's a cold city because how could it not be? It's midwinter and between the rain and humidity, you end up freezing to the bone. Even so, it has an individual warmth; in all of its restaurants, cafés, confectioners, bakeries and even in its colourful Christmas market; special and inviting.

We are so close to Christmas that its essence is breathed in the air of la Grand Place - an enormous square in the heart of the city, surrounded by individual constructions such as the Hotel Carlton, the Chamber of Commerce along with its majestic clock, elevated high up into the sky, and thousands of shops, alligned up on both sides of the boulevard starting here.

Gran Place, Lille ©VanessaWallis. 2014

During the holidays, the entire city is fitted out for the occaison: a lovely Christmas carousel entertains children and adults in the square. They are also able to appreciate the spectacular installations of the Christmas bears, who sing in a band as well as a magical white village full of animals and Eskimo children happily playing in the snow - all for the entertainment of adults and children.

Following the huge tide of people passing through the boulevard, carrying packages and presents, I arrived at a small antiques market, located no less than on the Lille Stock Exchange!

This establishment is a building with a square base, which on the outside is very elegant but doesn't offer in itself any distinct appeal. However, upon entering it words disappear into thin air as the structure opens up into a pleasant and spacious internal patio; its galleries housing thousands of vintage posters and hundreds of old books, accumulated in organised bookshelves and guarded by their vendors.

Chambre de Commerce, book market, Lille ©VanessaWallis. 2014

Having an uncontrollable passion for books, I lost myself in the sea of titles, waiting patiently to be opened up by someone. I rustled through the books of every kind before me; and finally, after some incontestable minutes (or had it been hours? ), I came across one of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's volumes about the legend of Sherlock Homes. This was impossible for me to pass by unpercieved. I got the best Christmas present for just three euros. I was incontestably content.

Happy with my new (and old) acquisition, I head back to the boulevard starting with the Grand Place and without any fixed destination, I allow myself to be carried by the people who circulate this area. I descend onto la Rue de Béthune, in absolute awe, as well as being slightly frozen and discover my next destination in the distance: an enormous lit up fortune wheel, adorned with laughter and music, seemingly greeting you from afar. I correct my path to go towards it and the decision is certainly worth it; given that not only is it a fortune wheel, but it is right there in the square facing the Main theatre - A wonderful Christmas walk full of elves and magical creatures, ending with this incredible wheel, which is even bigger up close than it seemed in the distance.

The line of people, who squeeze in to be able to go on the wheel, is truly enormous so I decide to take a detour and continue the tour, in the hope that later on it will get a bit smaller... I would really like to see the city from those heights. I am sure that it would be an unimaginable spectacle.

The main Theatre is an impressive and beautiful building at the same time. Its entrance isn't on the same level as the street. However, it has a double staircase in order to access the inside, which permits me to contemplate the panorama from a higher and very attractive point of view; and which additionally by some strange circumstances in life, allows me to spot one of the most famous predictors of alien life, announcing the proximity of an extraterrestrial invasion with his banner which is a little worse for wear.

Blog Alerte Invasion Extraterrestre. Lille ©VanessaWallis. 2014

I don't particularly believe in this kind of thing but I find his power of conviction absolutely outstanding: this individual maintained his posture throughout the entire afternoon. It doesn't really sound like much, but in addition to the fact that the temperature is at around 9° and he was only wearing a blazer, a shirt and trousers, well... it changes everything.

I was shocked to see his red hands, stung by the cold and holding the banner, like an eternal penance get attention from others. It reminded by of some horrible episode which occured in Caracas, my native city, where students hammered their hands into trees and sewed their lips together without any anaesthetic in order to be heard... A truly atrocious and sad episode - above all because in the end, they weren't heard.

Well, we'd better return to the subject of Lille and leave those terrifying memories in the past.

From the main Theatre, I take a street at random, still following the the sea of people. After having walked for several minutes, I arrive at another impressive Christmas structure which looks like a Christmas fair. I am not wrong. I end up at the Christmas market. What a joy! If my mum was here, she would jump for joy like a small child... She loves these type of Markets so much.

Well, the area is full of people (and not in vain as it is the 21st December) but I still gather up courage and join the masses entering this fair. As I am small, people generally carry me ahead. However this time, it doesn't matter to me because the place is truly incredible. The cheerful stands are lined up (some more original than others) in order to sell sweets, cider and hot beer, waffles, crepes, chocolates, flowers, elves, jewellry, music and handmade toys... It basically has everything but it isn't commercial at all. What I like about this place, is that all those on the market are true artisans. For me, this is a very special touch as it promotes the struggling local businesses as well as supporting them on a human scale.

I happily pass through the stalls, smiling at people's creativity. My good spirits are apparently acknowledged and valued as a kind woman offers me one of her delicious chocolates for free. I pay her gratefully and take a photograph. It is what's right and it will stay with me in my memories.

Chocolaterie, souvenirs. Lille ©VanessaWallis. 2014

After so many hours walking around in the streets, the cold takes me as it's prisoner with no remedy: I am frozen to the bone. Much to my regard, as I must say, I love to walk, I decide to seek refuge in a warm place for a while so that the heat can return to my body.

So, I leave the market and go back to la Rue de Béthune bringing me directly to the Galeries Lafayette, an enormous shopping centre, uniting the best brands I know together; all organised into small departments which curiously, have their own personnel, uniformed and attentive, ready to help and to sell.

I wander through the corridors and without much interest, contemplate the large quantity of things offered in this place. There is so much to see that I can't pay attention to just one point.

My body already having warmed up a bit, I finally decide to return to the street to meet my friend Marion in the door of the main theatre. I retrace my steps. It is already night-time and the volume of people is getting smaller, although the line of people waiting for the wheel of fortune remains unaltered. I go up the theatre staircases, taking note that the alien man is gone and I wait quietly.

Theatre Principal. Lille ©VanessaWallis. 2014

One one side of the square in close proximity to the great wheel, a teenager has a series of containers, pots and trays surrounding him. I am, as a result, curious to see what he is doing. However, a few minutes later, it all finally makes sense because sitting in the middle of all of these things, he picks up a set of drumsticks and begins an incredible drum&bass concert, 100% done at home. The sound is amazing and seeing as this teenager makes music from objects that are apparently useless, it results in a marvellous experience.

My friend finally arrives and we decide to go round the old Lille, with its narrow, cobbled streets, dating back to the 1700s; and a romantic feel given by the small, typical cafés, restaurants and bakeries.

Everything is very pretty. I am very struck by the fact that all windows are perfectly decorated with absolutely nothing missing or being excessive and perfection manifests itself wherever I look.

It's the 21st of December so all of the restaurants are completely full; so much so, that in the premises doors', there are notices which say 'we are full, we don't accept reservations'.

We went to different cafés and restaurants without any luck but in the end, we arrived at La Creperié, located a bit outside of the old Lille on 4 Rue des Débris Saint-Etienne. It's a friendly place with stone walls and a charming atmosphere, where we can taste the typical crepes from Lille, accompanied by cider in a bowl - a very interesting detail because we basically drank it in cups. According to what Marion told me, it's a tradition.

After a day full to the brim with curiosities, surprises, joys and delights, I can tell you that without a shadow of a doubt, Lille is plain and simply, the charming heart of Flandes.