Province du Hainaut

Day 18 ( + Day 19: Rest Day)
Distance: 35.28 km + 14.96 km (612.66 km)
Steps: 51,192 + 22,299 (878,720)
Move time: 8h23 + 4h05 (141h02)
Spend: £20.35 + £26.06 (£261.21)

Bailleul to Lille (to Wasquehal).

It can be difficult to know how to start writing these entries. Sometimes, I start by just writing about what happened that day, and then I realise, what does it even matter? It's not really important what I did, just what I took from it. And well, yes, French pedestrian crossings might be entirely useless (and terrifying) for one, and, yes, I might be the only person north of the channel to so much as own a Renault Twingo. But more to the point, being able to have meaningful discussions and learn about the world through another's experiences has really been everything I've gained from Lille. Everyone has a story to tell, and unfortunately, I don't quite have the French to be able to understand those of others', nor to tell my own with any real purpose in the depths of the French campagne. But it turns out that proper conversation really is fundamental to what it means to just feel like a human (woah who'd have thought). And one thing I often get asked is 'Don't you get lonely?' Well, to be honest, I'm not really sure what the actual answer is to that, maybe sometimes? The truth is that you don't really need much. But what you do occasionally need is just to be with the right people, and in the right environment. So thanks to Patrick from Nantes and to Matteo (& Hippolyte!) for making my time in Lille. Life is nothing without people!Les mer