A night at the opera

We had tickets to an opera Thursday evening. I've been wanting to see on since we got here. This was a Czech language production ("L'Affaire Makropoulos"), not exactly the most accessible piece for an opera novice, but I wanted to go. Clay found and printed out a synopsis of the plot beforehand, but I can't say that it really prepared me. They were projecting surtitles on a screen above the stage, in French and Dutch. Still not much help for me, but the opera house had something that did help. I can only describe them as high tech opera glasses. You wore them like glasses but they sit high so you can still see under them to watch the performance. The glasses displayed the lyrics in the language of your choice, French, Dutch, or English. 

Thanks to this device I could at least follow the story line. There was no fat lady but someone did die in the end so I guess it was a typical opera. We will be seeing two more in this season. We had nosebleed seats (3rd balcony), but they were fine and gave us a great view of entire space. It was a grand spectacle and I look forward to the next one.

Meanwhile, back at the Citadel, Bailey continues her twice daily walks, getting more off-leash time and making new friends. One downside to the off-leash business is that she can now drink out of the canals, which isn't an issue this time of year but they do post warnings about bad bacteria in the water in the summer. Another concern is that she can find stuff on the ground and eat it before I notice and get her moved past it. She had one morning this past week that she wasn't feeling well and didn't eat. I suspect it may have been due to eating something she found on a walk. But she still acted normally otherwise and by the next morning she was back to normal. 

Watching a barge pass by on the canal.

Meeting a new friend on a rainy day.

I got Bailey a second raincoat at Duluth Trading Co. when we were back in VA in January.

She doesn't mind wearing it and it doesn't inhibit her running and playing.

Cormorants

Early spring flowers

These brass plaques are being installed on the sidewalks in front of certain buildings in Lille, marking the homes of Jews who were deported and killed by Nazis. 

A long, very narrow alleyway in Lille.

Bailey and the setting sun.

As always, FUCK ICE, FUCK TRUMP, FUCK HIS VOTERS, SUPPORTERS, AND ENABLERS, and FUCK THE GOP. 

Long distance support and protest

Saturday was a beautiful day in Lille. It was sunny and mild, temps in the 50s, really nice for the end of January. It was also the day that a group of American expats living in Lille gathered in the Place de la Liberté to hold a protest against authoritarian rule, let's just call it what it is – fascism, in the United States. It wasn't a huge group, there aren't that many of us in Lille, but probably 75-100 people turned out to stand in solidarity with likeminded people on the other side of the Atlantic and around the world. 

As always at these things, the signage was the real star of the show. 

"My grandfather fought fascists in 1944. And now it's my turn."

When people ask us why we moved to France, Trump is always part of the conversation. We have been met by universal understanding and sympathy. I always like to stress however, that even when Trump is dead and gone (the sooner the better), all the people who voted for him, or voted for those who enable him, will still be there. Those people are the reason I don't want to return. 

We can and will still vote in federal elections as Americans living abroad, and I hope that our country of origin will find its way back from the brink, but for now at least, we are happy to observe from a distance.

Today marks six months since we arrived in Lille.

This is the edge of the big open field where the dogs play. 

Becoming French

Bailey has taken a couple more steps towards becoming wholly French lately. 

For months I marveled at all the off-leash dogs we would encounter walking around the Citadel. They all seemed to know what they were supposed to do and how to behave. Some were with walkers or runners and they would always keep their person in sight. Yesterday we encountered an older couple with two dogs. One was a border collie who would run ahead but then hop up on a log and wait for his people to catch up. The other was a smaller dog who would scurry back and forth in the woods, often bringing back a stick that no one asked for, but he was never more than twenty feet from his people. It's also common to see people running or even biking with a dog running along with them. Sometimes they may venture away for a bit but they never lose sight of their person. 

Bailey's off-leash behavior is better than I ever expected. She loves the freedom to run into the woods or down to the water's edge, but she always knows where I am and if I get too far away she comes running, whether I call for her or not. If we were still walking the trails at Pleasant Grove in Virginia, I doubt that I would ever have let her off the leash, although there were plenty of folks around there who did. 

I have much less concern about dogs we meet here than I did back in Virginia. They are just better socialized. Coming from a busy foster home, Bailey had a lot of exposure to new dogs and that is serving her well here whether on- or off-leash. The most typical behavior when we pass other leashed dogs is for both dogs to pretty much ignore the other and just go on their way. If the other dog seems interested and the person on the other end of the leash seems open to it, we may stop and let the dogs meet. They sniff and circle and then we go on our way. If we are in an open area and the dogs want to play, we may turn them loose. Typically they run big circles around us but always stay nearby. 

When Bailey is off-leash and we encounter other dogs, Bailey will run up to them and do the greeting on her own. I think she can handle herself and she also reads them very well. On the rare occasion that we encounter a dog who isn't good with others, she just backs off and moves on to find someone who wants to have fun. That seems to be how most of the dogs act and react to others on walks.

Today it was raining today and I put a raincoat on her for the morning walk. That's also very French but it was at lunch today that she really showed us how French she was becoming by finishing off a few pieces of brie. 

A cormorant and a coot

Meeting a beagle friend that we know from the playing field while walking.

"Up" is her best trick. If I say the word she looks around for something to jump on.

With friends on the playing field.

The front entrance of the Citadel at twilight.

When she issues a play invitation, it's very obvious.

We've met another Mal who also has one ear up and one ear down. They play together nicely.

I got her another coat when we were back in Virginia a couple weeks ago but she hasn't worn it yet.

As always, FUCK TRUMP, FUCK ICE, FUCK THEIR CONGRESSIONAL ENABLERS, AND EVERYONE WHO VOTES FOR ANY OF THEM.