france in pictures: downtime in the quiet city of lille

france was the first country east of the atlantic that i visited and it only felt right to revisit it during this trip.  we stopped by the northwest city of lille.  we got lots of downtime thanks to a holiday weekend and although armed guards were out in full force around town (thanks to the numerous terrorist attacks throughout france this year), the city had a very laid back vibe.  having spent our whole summer in europe, being in france for only one day reminded me that not all pastries and breads are made equal.  we love our french baking and we got our fix in lille at a fraction of the prices in paris.  the city had lots of farmers markets