TRAIN FROM PARIS TO LILLE, FRANCE: March 20, 2011

The time has arrived for the business portion of Gary's trip to begin, teaching a course at the Catholic University in Lille, France. We catch a TGV fast train from Paris, arriving in Lille (just across the border from Belgium) in less than an hour. This is a huge improvement from our very slow Intercity train trips to Bayeux and Pontorson.

After checking into our hotel, we enjoy a short sightseeing tour of Lille, which also takes less than an hour! This is no reflection on the beauty or cultural abundance of Lille, the most important city in northern France and the country's fourth largest city. Lille has a young population of over one million, very hip and trendy for an ancient city.