March 2019

As spring approaches, the temperatures during the days swing a wider arc between cool and warm. Early in the month, the wind accompanying a passing storm tore down some street banners. Although the snow was gone, we did get a hail storm or two and daffodils began popping up in a variety of spots.

The month was sprinkled again with yellow vest protests, mostly on Saturdays. One protest, after the march was over and the crowd had dispersed, had a handful of rogue participants who stayed behind to vandalize a variety of business’s outdoor furniture, spray paint, egg windows and throw fireworks. Also, we had to shut our door and windows due to tear gas right below on Rue Faidherbe. It only happened once, fortunately, and was not even remotely connected to the issue. Some event handlers have expressed dismay at the violence by anarchists being tagged on to the movement.

There still seems to be delays or in some cases, errant deliveries with the items we order online. As a result, a day was spent going to a variety of drop-off points for delivery companies to see if there were any of our boxes in the back. One box did show up, which we had not gotten a notice of delivery for, so it was time well-spent.

We had a bit of a step back on our taxes. The ex-pat tax accountants we had switched to turned out not to handle the French side of filing, so we went back to the firm we’d used for over twenty years, in the US. G is in contact with a French tax fiduciaire that will handle our tax work here. Not too much trouble but more time spent again ironing out a glitch.

Banking software became a problem due to the outfit we use being bought some time ago by another company, which in turn has changed it, significantly impacting its user-friendly platform. We spent time researching and replacing our software with another type that is completely online. Also in the mix, communication problems between our US and France accounts continued to dog us. In order to put that issue to rest, we have planned a trip next month to the states. We will close a bank account which is not providing what we need and open a new account at a sister bank of our French bank. Hopefully this will close the chapter on a very annoying, persistent issue. The upside to making this trip is that we have taken the opportunity to schedule appointments with our dentist and doctors, to more comfortably be able to answer a few nagging questions. We have also gotten our group of friends to gather for dinner at one of their houses while we are in town, so we can get our refill of hugs. Good folks that we miss.

G follows a couple of blogs which were instrumental in steering us toward places which carry books in English. Visiting them, we were able to pick up a few as an addition to our Kindle library. Speaking of steering, my friendly GPS managed to misguide me to an incorrect location, causing me to miss my hair cut appointment this month. It also threw me completely off in my return home because the address is apparently repeated, elsewhere outside of Lille center. Wild. At least my shoes got a good work out, as a result.

We went for the first time to the Opera House for a lovely concert. It was held in a wing of the building, not the main auditorium, with a modest amount of seating. There were seven performers, playing in a variety of groupings. The instruments were violins, flutes, accordion and harp, which covered a collage of composers, in five pieces.

We continue to uncover surprises in our walks of the town, sometimes finding a business we didn’t know existed or one that was larger on the inside, with more inventory, than we originally thought. I’ve begun to draw out my own map of Lille, to help the process of getting to know the town. I saw a park on a route to a grocery store we use, different from what we usually took. When we did take that route, it was a wonderful, sunny, warm afternoon and a pleasure to wander the path, flanked by stretches of grass and flowers.

People were laying out on the landscape, enjoying the rays and eating lunch.

The art museum had been on our list to see and one rainy afternoon we decided to finally visit it. It turned out to be a free day called ‘Children’s Day’ and it was great fun to see it filled with children of all ages, with incredible amounts of energy. It is the second best, after the Louvre, with a fabulous permanent collection of Finnish and European painters, sculptors, 17th and 18th century ceramics and over 40 Raphael drawings. There is a wing dedicated to a large number of relief maps of 15 fortified Northern France and Belgium towns, which were used by different French Kings during a variety of wars. As is our habit, we take museums in small bites, to fully appreciate their collections. We covered the bottom floors of sculptures, including Rodin, and ceramics, saving the rest for subsequent visits. While there, we decided to buy an annual membership which allows us to enter the 14 different museums of Lille and surrounding cities.

The local cinema was also a visited target and we have been educated on the meaning of the abbreviations under each films listing. VO is our choice as they are films in the original form with French subtitles. We have tried VOS, which are films dubbed in French, sometimes with English subtitles. Without subtitles, we are lost and even with English subtitles, we miss the original voices. In English, with French subtitles, we actually find we pick up more French vocabulary, which seems contradictory.

In preparation for a long known friend who was coming to Lille for the day, we investigated online why Lille is such a draw for shoppers. There were blog mentions of not only the shops in town but of retail outlet stores in Roubaix so we went to visit them. A 20 minute metro ride took us to the first mall and the second mall was a 30 minute walk from there. Although it was interesting to see, any designer’s names were lost on us and we aren’t great shoppers either. But we took notes and pictures for our friend.

When she arrived, there really wasn’t enough time to travel to the malls and it wasn’t something she really wanted to spend the time on. She fell in love with the apartment, the architecture, as we had, and loved the independent shops of cheeses, chocolates and breads. It was a great afternoon of strolling and catching up, followed by a terrific dinner at Les Compagnons de la Grappe, before racing to catch her train back to Paris. At least if she had missed it, we could have offered her bed and breakfast at our place.

Two of our apartment faucets had shown signs of leakage and when they reached a point where we could no longer ignore them, we texted Fabrice. He sent a plumber to replace them both, which he did in quick fashion and we got a chance to ask him how to clean up the scale on the sinks, a result of the mineral-heavy water here.

His reply was vinegar and indicated we could get it in a spray. At the store, to our surprise, they sell a water and vinegar spray right next to other cleaning supplies. Not an item I’ve ever seen in the US. Sometimes, it’s the little things.

Our upstairs neighbor came down to practice his English and in the exchange, we ended up meeting his flatmate. More discussion followed over a bottle of wine and we were told of a farmers market 10 minutes away by foot which occurs every Wednesday and Sunday.

They agreed that the produce and fresh fish was not-to-be beat. Of course we went to check it out as soon as Sunday arrived. And it was terrific – large and varied, with a tremendous attendance.

The smells of all the flowers and foods were enticing, with long queues for more popular vendors.

To our surprise and closing out the month, we were invited by a fellow we’ve come to know, to his birthday celebration to be held at a local cafe. Just to be social, we went armed with some party whistles and hats, to give out. It was a fun crowd that took great delight in the offerings and we were warmly welcomed by all.

Our friend is part of a small band and they took to the stage to sing the night away. Terrific music, fun people and a wonderful evening to remember.

Toward the end of the month we had a lot of activity in Lille with the 2019 Series Mania Festival, celebrating all series – movies and TV. A friend took photos of Uma Thurman visiting for her Kill Bill series. Additionally, we had the 2019 Coup de la Ligue – the Finals for the National Futbol series. Saturday March 30 was a busy day/night with fans all over town in the bars and restaurants.

 

That evening, there was an incredible light festival on the Opera House, Vieille Bourse (Old Stock Exchange) and the Gare. We took some photos and video from our balcony of the Opera House light show.

We’re fortunate to be living here in the middle of the activity, are still incredulous at our great life and time here.