Lille

The alarm was set for 4.30am and we were on the road at 5.15am. We had a good journey to the Eurotunnel, but we were surprised at how many people were on the road at that time in the morning!

We got to the tunnel with nearly 30 minutes to spare and were in France by 9.40am French time. We went straight to the Carrefour at City Europe to stock up on wine, and then drove to Lille and after checking in at the hotel, we had lunch at a restaurant that we used to frequent when we lived over here.

Afterwards, we wandered round the 'old town' and went to Meert which is a fantastic patisserie, restaurant, salon de thé and old fashioned chocolate shop (have a look at my extras). We went to the salon de thé for champagne and cake, which was delicious!

Then tonight we've been out for dinner so I've had a nice birthday. This year I've had money off everyone instead of presents which is paying for me to go swimming with dolphins when we go to Dubai, which I'm very excited about!

This image is of the Opera House. We've never been inside but it looks fabulous with very ornate ceilings. It was sunny when we arrived this morning, but then it clouded over and was a rather grey day, so it was nice to see it lit up at night to give some colour.