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.