Richard's 40th

Spending Richard's 40th birthday in Europe gave us the chance to go somewhere new for the weekend. Richard picked Lille, France. It's only a one and a half hour drive from where we live, and it's a beautiful city. We walked around the old part of town and saw the old stock exchange building, the opera house and a few different churches.

Inside the Old Stock Exchange building they sell used books, old music albums and small toys.

 

We took a break to warm up and sip some hot tea and hot chocolate.

Lille is home to France's second largest art museum, the first being the Louvre, Palais des Beaux-Arts de Lille (Lille Palace of Fine Arts). We took the opportunity to walk the museum, and saw some famous pieces. My favorite was Houses of Parliament, stormy sky by Monet.

Although we had intentions of giving the kids some wonderful exposure to fine art, I can't say they paid much attention to it. They were more interested in laying on every single bench in every single room, then fighting over who could fit on the small ones. I was doing a lot of shushing!

All that bench wrestling must have worn them out, and Richard and I enjoyed a quiet ride back home.

Happy birthday, Richard! May God bless you with another healthy 40 years, and may he bless me with being able to spend them all with you!