www.theblisspages.com - lille 2006
www.theblisspages.com - lille 2006I have enjoyed great Salsa breaks in Lille in the past and enjoyed 2006 (see my Lille 2004 Salsa report and associated poem, and Salsa in Lille 2003).
We went on the weekend of 07-10 July, travelling via Dover - Calais by Seafrance, on the spacious silver coach arriving late in Lille.
There was a full programme of teaching, dancing & sightseeing opportunities during Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday, arriving back in Sussex late on Monday.
The cost was only £130 per person (single accommodation subject to availability £50 extra), including all travel, 3 nights accommodation with substantial breakfasts based on en-suite twin rooms, all teaching, and 'in-house' dancing. Contact Jonathan at swingshift@connectfree.co.uk, on 01825 872574 or 01825 830708 for details of future events.
I was excited as we headed towards Maresfield for the coach - but the purple coach has now been replaced by a silver machine.
It's roomier and has air-conditioning, but I still feel a little nostalgia for the old faithful.
When we got in, we were facing backwards - I know it's safer, but I hate not seeing where I'm going, and we were facing this way nearly all the time.
The ferry crossing on the Rodin was uneventful, and we were soon heading through the darkness to the Novotel Lille Tourcoing Hotel, ten kilometres outside Lille.
When we arrived, it was late, and we went straight to bed, not relishing the early start next day. We were up at nine in the morning, a totally uncivilised time for a holiday. The hotel was in a nice location facing fields, and it was easy to forget that it was only about a hundred metres from a motorway. The location, however, was to impose restrictions on our independence as we had to arrange our schedule around the coach, leaving us with less freedom to do our own thing. Breakfast was a very adequate buffet, and we were ready for the coach to take us into the town centre at ten.
We were dropped off at the Pont de Kharkov near the Gare TGV Lille-Europe, and walked through the park to the Porte de Roubaix, built in 1620.
Passing through this, we decided to explore the Musée des Canonnière, until we found it didn't open until two in the afternoon.
Instead, we wandered around the shops of the old town.
I particularly liked an old fishmongers, Le Huître, which is also one of the best and most expensive restaurants in Lille.
An olive shop was also an interesting find, and we tasted a few different olive oils. I particularly liked one from Sicily. There was also a superb balsamic vinegar which was quite sweet. We planned to go back to buy them, but ran out of time.
We also noticed Bliss the barbers, with some super T-shirts with the slogan, "Le cyclisme en direct Chez Bliss", but they were not, unfortunately, for sale. Each chair had its own TV set showing preparations for the World Cup - this being two days before the final. I was amazed to see so little support - only one flag and one man with the tricolour on his face, in the entire trip. In England, there were flags everywhere, and we were only in the quarter-finals. I can't conceive the mass hysteria that would accompany England to a final.
We spent a few minutes cooling off in Notre Dame de la Treille, built between 1854 and 1999, before having lunch in a cafe opposite. We had a fantastic dish of couscous, accompanied by a dish of stewed vegetables, lamb sausages and a lamb shank, with the meal melting off the bones. After a coffee and crème caramel, we headed back to the coach. We then went off to the first class, in a venue I hadn't seen before. It was just as hot as the studio in 2004 though.
I was pleased that Paul and Lindsay started off very gently, as I was lacking in confidence, having danced only once in the last twelve months.
We started off with some very different exercises, holding hands with our partners, then walking round the room without bumping into anyone. Sounds easy? Well, first the men, and then the ladies, had to keep their eyes closed the entire time. If you touched anyone, you had to change partners, and the change-overs were so slick that sometimes I didn't realised my partner had changed until she spoke.
Then we both had to lean back and forwards while holding hands. All these exercises helped us refine our sensitivity to touch and think about how to interact with another person.
We then moved onto some Salsa. First, we stepped back and forward, then opened and closed, following with a dip. I found this straightforward, but ran into difficulties when doing cross-bodies, both when I had to turn clockwise and anti-clockwise. I started feeling a little dispirited, as I was very familiar with cross-bodies before my enforced break. The men then had to walk round their lady ... and I forget the rest of the sequence, though De le que no rings a quiet bell. There was some time for practice before we returned to the hotel.
We just had time for an invigorating swim - several other salseros heard my cry of anguish as I entered the cold water - a bath and change of clothes before we were out again, for a fantastic meal at Le Pourquoi Pas, 62 rue de Gand, 59000. After our filling couscous at lunchtime, we weren't sure we had room for another meal, but Jonathan insisted that the menu featured quality rather than quantity, and so it proved. I started with Chicken marinated in vodka and lime, whilst Chris ordered marinated salmon. For our entrees, Chris had a delicious sea-bream, whilst I had a Kangaroo steak with honeyed spiced onion tagine, which sounds even more exotic in French, Pave de Kangourou et sa Tagine d'Oignons au miel et aux epices. I ordered it medium-rare, but it had scarcely touched the grill, so I was forced to request it be cooked a little more, after which it was superb. To accompany our meal, we had a half-bottle of 2004 Petit Chablis from Domain du Chardonnay and of 2002 Bordeaux , both lovely wines. Mind you, I had ordered another Haut-Medoc: Chateau Segur 2001, but I didn't argue. We drank Ferarelle sparkling mineral water and finished off with a Tiramisu for Chris, whilst I had a diabetic-friendly Cinnamon Crème Brûlée!
After the meal, we went to the free outdoor disco we visited in 2004, L'Ile Moulins, at Maison Folie de Moulins, 47-49 rue D'Arras, 59000.
This was fun, with great music and enthusiastic musicians. We popped down the road to buy some water - less than two euros for 9 litres, which almost lasted Chris and me to the end of the trip. Back to the disco and I danced for a few songs, gaining confidence, before we returned to the hotel.
The next morning, we were again picked up at ten, and went to the Marche de Wazemmes Sunday market near rue Gambetta.
I tried to buy some Hawaiian shirts, having got four on the last trip, but could find none.
We did however, find some clothes for Chris, including an orange top, orange trousers and a lurid orange and green skirt.
She also found a couple of other tops, including a tasselled white tunic that will be great for salsa.
We had hoped to get to the Palais des Beaux-Arts museum, but ran out of time, so walked to the dance studio in time for today's class, which featured Reggaeton as well as Salsa.
We talked about the roots, origin, and popularity of Reggaeton and practiced the unique moves.
I have to confess that I would be uneasy dancing Reggaeton with someone I didn't know well, as some of the gyrations are distinctly raunchy.
After being introduced to the grind and the wheelbarrow, we moved on to Salsa, and I felt rather more at home.
We went back to the hotel to prepare for the evening, which was to feature watching the World Cup final on a giant screen in the park, followed by two Salsa night clubs, but I felt like a quiet evening in. We had a couple of Kirs in the bar, and then planned to have a meal in the hotel restaurant. To my horror, it was closed, so we decided to eat in Crocodile. It only took about fifteen minutes to walk there, where we were confronted by an old railway carriage and a crocodile on the roof. It seems that a Crocodile was an old railway locomotive, which explained the theming. But what about the food? We were very pleasantly surprised. For twenty euros, we had an unlimited buffet starter, a very filling main course - my steak was worth the three euro supplement - a buffet dessert, and unlimited drinks. There were soft drinks, beer, and wine. We also watched some of the World Cup Final. When we got back to the hotel, however, Chris couldn't find her new sunglasses, and more importantly, I couldn't find my diabetes medication.
The next morning, we had to pack and check-out by the now-normal ten o'clock, and went off to another town and another dance studio for our last class.
The room was large and cool - a pleasant change, as the other rooms we used this year were too hot, with no fans - perhaps next year we could take a fan with us.
The class was again imaginative, useful, and interesting.
We were able to see the effects of leaving out certain elements of the dance - dancing without hands, with eyes closed, with no turns, only using turns, and without repeating any moves - though thankfully, not all at once!
At the end, we had some time to practice our dance, though I must admit that I still didn't feel confident enough to dance with the five partners Paul and Lindsay requested.
I did make a video of Chris and me dancing, but my camera was nearly full, so it is very short. See the Lille Salsa 2006 video.
After the lesson, we popped back to the shopping centre near the hotel, and Chris and I walked back to the Crocodile in an abortive attempt to see if her sunglasses and my diabetes medication had been handed in.
We then popped into a store called Gemo, where I was able to buy a few tasteful Hawaiian shirts for me and an acid-green skirt for Chris. We got back to the coach on time to see others staggering back with their purchases.
Next on the itinerary was a visit to St Omar, but we were diverted by road works, and there was a little friction between driver and navigator, resolved when I found the correct map - the scale of the original map was such that there was only an inch between Calais and Lille.
We had time for a Croque Monsieur and a glass of wine in a cafe in the main square before being whisked back to Calais, via a wine shop, where I bought a few bottles, including a Crème de Cassis for some Kirs on hot summer evenings.
After the crossing, we arrived back in England in time to watch the dusk - and rain - fall. We arrived back at Maresfield as the skies opened again, moving our belongings and booty to the car, and saying hurried goodbyes.
I'd like again to thank Paul and Lindsay for their help and enthusiasm, but especially Jonathan, who worked extremely hard to ensure everything went smoothly throughout. I will post some more pictures as soon as I get some time.
When we unpacked, in a Homer moment, we found the sunglasses and medication in the pockets of the coats we were wearing on the windy evening we crocodiled. Doh!
updated Fri 28 Jul '06 give feedback...
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: © Mike Bliss 2009