Doha

Doha is dam Hot. Arriving at 7pm it is 47 degrees. I am sitting at the airport Lounge getting my free meal compliments of Qatar Airways. All is good. The food is very spicey. Doha's airport is very much a hub in the middel east and one would expect to board the plane on a jetway. This airport does not have any yet. Doha is at the moment at the beginning of it's expansion. In 2006 it hosted an expo of somesort. Everything has been build by the Emiri of Qatar who only wants the best of the best. I would have loved to have spent more time in Doha. A six hour layover won't do.

I am to board my plane at 1am in the morning. It is still so very hot that I can see the plane is sweating too.

I am given a complimentary case with eyeshades and socks.

The food on board is exceptionary grand. This is a five star airline and is keeping to there promise to have the best service. Next time one is to travel remember Qatar Airways and you too will enjoy good service. Oh and they don't charge for alcoholic beverages, unlike Air Canada.

Time in London

My London adventures have been splendid except I have picked up a cold of some sort. Traveling on the underground is quite the experience. They know how to crowd the train. I have been pushed into the train. My head has been inches from the door.

Some of the places I have seen are Eltham Palace, V and A museum and the Natural History Museum. The childhood museum and a few other places.

Eltham Palace is more of a house or mansion. Once owned by a prestigious family who were originally from Belgium. They owned a yacht where they traveled to Sri Lanka, Scandinavia, the Caribbean and the Mediterranean. Their family pet was a Lemur. The house has an Art Neuvo style. The living room looks fairly elegant. I would have taken pictures except they don't allow photo's.

Not having been to the Victoria and Albert Museum I didn't think there was anything new. I was mistaken.

Cambridge

I made a little trip north to the country town of Cambridge. The train fare to Cambridge was pricey, but well worth it.

I met up with an old Primary school friend who is teaching at Corpus Cristy College. He gave me a wonderful tour of the town and campus. One place that stood out was going to Kings College. The Vancouver Bach Youth Choir I had sung in ws where the conductor studied and I believe he also had conducted the choir. My awe of the cathedral was superb. Every story that Bruce Puillen has mentioned had all of a sudden come to life.
Another college was St. James where the story of Chariots of Fire took place.
The city has soo many colleges I didn't didn't know of. I knowledge of the city has been expanded greatly.

My day was well enjoyed. My freind and I had catch-up talk while sitting onn the grass facing the Backs. Most of the students were enjoying a cruise on punts. A punter almost lost his grip and fell into the backs.

So much in Lille.

As I titled this post so much in Lille, my expectation of the city was not grand. I have been proven wrong.

Lille's location in France is north east of Paris and literally miles to the Belgian border.

The town began as early as 1066. (the same year as the battle of Hastings). Lille first major structure was that of a citadel built in the late 1660s. It today is still used by the French military. Lille first belonged to Belgium.

The city's stock exchange dates back to the early 16th century, a birth place of an important citizen of France and during world war two Lille was a location to a major battle (as well as Dunkirk).

A lot of flemish influence has been used with the buildings in Lille such as the city hall, cathedral and Stock exchange. The city hall built later than the stock exchange has been built using reinforced concrete to support it's walls.

The cathedral built during the 16th century was never finished untill recently where a side of the building has a modern concrete wall
Lille's old town still has cobble stones on the streets which are apart of the modern day street plan. I can only imagine the frequency of having to change tires constantly.
Charles De Gaulle was born in Lille in 1890. He spent many years in the city growing up and became a military general during the wars. Becoming the president in 1970.

During 1983 a massive expansion to it's city transport system was built. Lille's underground was the first city to be operated without a driver.
The Eurostar station was built in 1994 which led to the beginning of a mass of modern architecture (known as Gare Lille Europe)

Lille, France

Bonjour.
To note when traveling to France. The French usually take a two hour lunch brake. 12-2pm. Many museums are open in the morning and afternoon, but will close at 5pm. Be ready to be kicked out a good ten minutes before hand.

The journey over had a slight interesting twist to it. The National Express bus that I took from Victoria bus station passed through the place where I was staying in London. The thought of seeing the same intersection I passed by three hours earlier was not enjoyed. Unfortunately I could not pick it up from Eltham. Once we arrived at Dover I was fully expecting to board a sailing vessel belonging to P & O Lines of some sort. Wrong. I saw train rails. Oh, that's not what I was expecting. Passed through French customs with a breeze. The exciting part was getting a stamp in my passport. A few minutes later the bus drove down a ramp and arrived at a platform. Stopping beside a silver fieght car sporting a few small windows. The coach made a massive maneuver and slide into a tight hole inside this thing. One might feel a bit claustrophobic, but will only last a few minutes. The bus came to a complete stop. Doors began to move locking in place and lights begin to twirl. An announcement came on. 'You must keep all windows open half way, Do not stand between vehicles, taking pictures are not aloud as it interferes with the fire system'. Most of the journey was spent in a tunnel. The same passage as the Eurostar takes. I am on an auto-train. Quite an experience. Arriving less than an hour later in France we were greeted with rain. The motorway took us through Dunkirk and alot of farmland before reaching Lille.

Street signs are placed on the corner of buildings in small text. If your not used to it you could misread it and end up walking round in circles if your not careful. It's exactly what happened to me.

My first night was spent at a hotel. It was a two star that proved to be more than pleasant. Wonderful staff speaking both English and French. In the morning I enjoyed fresh French bread with nutella. This was priceless for me. During my stay I made sure I got to most of the museums.

I have been bad about writing in my blog. It had taken me a good three days to get over my jet lag.

Saturday I decide to go to France to visit a friend in Lille. Not having a booked a Eurostar ticket before I left Canada gave me no option but to take the Euroline Bus. What an experience. The fare still a bit pricey, but enough to make it worthwhile. 63 Euro RTN. Arriving in Lille at 9.15pm after a 6-7 hour bus ride. I was tired. Turned out the friend I was to met up with was not there. I stayed at a two star hotel near the train station. It was actually pretty decent. Clean I might say.

I shall talk about Lille in My next post.