France

Tag Archives for France.

And Russia makes 77

I am filling in my globe with all of the countries, territories and regions I have visited.  With the addition of Russia this week, I have made it to 77 countries. I only count a country if I have left the airport. So while, I have transited through Doha and Johannesburg airports, I do not include Qatar and  South South Africa in my tally. I have been to about two thirds of the countries in both Asia and Europe and exactly half of all the nations in the Oceania region of the planet. African exploration…

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The 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month

At 11 am on 11th November 1918 the guns of the Western Front fell silent after more than four years of World War One. 98 years ago, my Grandfather was in the thick of it. Turkey signed an armistice at the end of October 1918, Austria-Hungary followed on 3rd November. The German Kaiser abdicated on 9th November, 1918 and on 11th November, 1918 an armistice was signed and the war was over. Between nine and 13 million people perished in this war. Many still have no resting place. My Grandfather was injured twice in World…

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MH370- Reunion gives news but not answers

The news that part of an aeroplane has washed up on the shore of the Island of Réunion last Wednesday gives little comfort to families and friends of those who were on Malaysia Airlines 370 that disappeared on March 8, 2014. Confirmation by Malaysia on Friday, that the part is a flaperon and is indeed from a Boeing 777 tells us that it is likely that the plane did indeed end up in the sea. It does not tell us how, where or why. (See wsj: What is a flaperon?) Additional information emerged that a suitcase was…

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I Hike Hadrians Wall across England

There are many crazy things I like to do in life. One is walking long distances! I have walked several long distance tracks in Australia, the UK and New Zealand now including the famed NZ Milford track.  One of my goals was to walk the width of England from the Irish Sea to the North Sea following the path of Hadrian’s wall. 84 miles (140km) long. And I did it! It took seven days walking West to East. To back track, Hadrian’s Wall was built in the 2nd Century AD by the order of the Roman Emperor…

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Paris locks bridges down to stop love locks

“Paris is the capital of love, and we are all proud of that…But there are other, more beautiful ways of showing love than attaching padlocks.” I have said a few times in this blog how I hate people damaging the things they visit. Nothing riles me up as an example of this than the vandalism of Parisian bridges! What started as a romantic symbol on one bridge in 2008 has become a blight on bridges across Paris and seems to be spreading to other cities. After part of a bridge railing collapsed on the Pont…

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Where you will find the Concorde

As mentioned yesterday, it is 11 years since Concorde last flew. Sadly, the closest I have ever got to Concorde was at the Seattle air museum, Heathrow airport and CDG airport in Paris. I have the germ of an idea of going to visit all of the remaining Concordes around the world. As most are in the UK and France, that should not be too hard! Adding Barbados in, is a little trickier. 001:F-WTSS Prototype – flew 1969 to 1973  Museum of Air and Space, Le Bourget, France 002 – flew 1969 to 1976:  Fleet Air Arm Museum,…

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World’s Highest Zipline -WOW!

I cannot decide if this would be one of the world’s wildest adventures or absolutely lunacy? The world’s highest zipline advertised as  “a route through the skies mimicking the journey of an eagle in flight” opened between the Maurienne and Tarentaise valleys in France.  The zipline stretches 1,300 metres (0.8 miles or 4,265 feet) across the valleys. First rides for the public took place on  Tuesday 18th February 2014. The official video is here: The altitude at the departure point at the top of the Bouchet chairlift in Orelleis on the n the Orelle field is 3, 230 metres ((10,597ft) above sea-level.…

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Paris Unplugged

Paris unplugged is a Blog featuring photographs of Paris through time. There are pictures of Pl d Bastille, Place de la Republique and Moulin Rouge  through history, images of metro stations line by line, snapshots of the World Expos, maps of the Metro over its development and glimpses of Parisian shopping, fashion, culture and art all frozen in pictures.  There are also pictures of buildings planned or imagined for Paris but never built. It is a fascinating and enjoyable wander through this amazing city.    

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Malaysian A380 Excellent Infographic!

  Related Posts I wanna fly Malaysia’s A380 China Southern’s Third 380  Tuesday Trip Report: Korean Airlines A380 Tuesday Trip Report: Lufthansa’s A380 Tuesday Trip Report: Air France A380 LAX-SYD on A380 Emirates- comparing the A380 My Pinterest pictures of A380s

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