Quiet (and muddy) days of August

We arrived in Lille a year ago on the first of August. We didn't know then that we were in the middle of the French national vacation month. It seemed like a busy city, certainly compared to what we were used to. It wasn't until the end of August and the beginning of September that we realized how many people actually lived here. Many restaurants, bars, and stores close down for a week or more and use this time to change over ownership or just to redecorate or refurbish for a new look. There is even one hotel in the center of Lille that completely closes for the month. 

The vacation migration was much more obvious to us this year. At the end of July and beginning of August many places began closing. The number of people on the streets are noticeably fewer and even nighttime bars became quieter. That's not a bad thing, really, but it will come to an abrupt end with the Braderie happening the first weekend of September. 

I'm working on getting my daily step count back up and my weight back down. Both numbers moved in the wrong direction over the past several weeks due to both the heat and my health concern. 

While most people go away in August, we are staying put. August is a busier time at Bailey's boarding kennel and they have a one week minimum this time of year. Our next trip isn't until the end of September when we'll go back to London. It's sort of nice being around town when fewer people are around. Although some things or closed (our favorite brewery down the street), those that are still open are less busy. We went to virtual reality experience this past week that featured simulations from the International Space Station. It was excellent. We also went back to the Musee de l'Hospice Comtesse, which had a display of tapestries made in Lille in additional to the regular Lille history exhibits. 

Bailey is enjoying getting back to longer morning walks on the trails at the Citadel, but we have established a pattern of a short walk to a nearby park in the evenings for a quick pee that doesn't involve going all the way to the Citadel. We haven't had much rain in the past month and July was the hottest month on record in Lille, and yet Bailey managed to get herself coated in muck on yesterday's morning walk. She doesn't go into the water on purpose but she went down to the water's edge to get a drink. What looked like a muddy area next to the water was actually entirely liquid and she fell in. She was surprised but scrambled out, entirely coated in black slime from her belly down. She spent the rest of the walk rolling in the very dry grass trying to rub it off. Much of it did fall off, but she definitely needed a bath. 

I had not given Bailey a bath since before we moved, so she was due for one anyway, but now she really needed it. She wasn't bad about it really, even though I kept her in there for a while and did a lot of scrubbing. She did jump out once and led me on a chase through the apartment but only jumped on one piece of furniture in the process, thankfully. We both survived it and she looks and smells much better. I am pretty sure she will keep her distance from anything that even looks wet from now on.

Bailey running with a friend, Jacopo, a Bracco Italiano.

They had played together in the past but we encountered Jacopo and his people twice on this walk. He spotted her from a distance and came running both times, wanting to play.

He's not as fast as she is, but he's energetic and a good playmate.

These are some of the tapestries at the Musee de Comtesse. They are really amazing, incredibly fine, detailed work that really look more like paintings from a distance.

The Musee de Comtesse also has some really beautiful paintings. 

This is inside an art nouveau style bar in Lille. 

Some Malinois have dark legs like this, but Bailey does not.