All Is Well In Paris
The opportunity came along recently to trade one of my Caribbean trips for a Paris trip. Not having been there in almost a year and thoroughly enjoying my previous visits to the city, I made the trade.
Departure from DFW is in the late afternoon with an arrival in Paris the following morning.
All loaded up and ready to taxi...get that MD80 out of the way!! We had a mission to accomplish! (they probably did too)
Takeoff weight this day was close to 400,000 lbs. Every seat had an occupant. Our liftoff speed was close to 170 knots with a climb speed of 330 knots above 10,000 ft.
Not a problem for the Boeing and it's General Electric powerplants.
Before long we were pointed Northeast and cruising at 33,000 ft under clear skies as the sun was setting in the West. In just a few hours we would be staring a sunrise in the face and putting up our sun visors.
Paris in the summer seems to bring out the crowds. I don't know if I have ever seen the city quite so busy.
The French have an excellent idea at work in Paris. Bikes for rent. You can rent a bike from a multitude of locations throughout the city. All you need is a credit card and off you go. Then you can drop off your bike at any of those locations....you don't have to go back to where you rented it. What a great concept. And they are relatively inexpensive also. I intend to try it someday.
Naturally I had to visit the cathedral of Notre Dame de Paris. Always an impressive sight.Then a walk through the Latin Quarter.
Kind of busy today.
Is that lady picking her nose?
So then back to the hotel for some rest. The next morning our crew of 13 was up early for the leg back to DFW. Departure from Paris is before Noon with a mid-afternoon arrival time in Texas.
Charles de Gaulle airport is a very busy place. But there's always something interesting to see. Look at this Air France A320 in retro colors.
Next up was this Air France B-747-400 and then it was our turn.
The headwinds were brutal this day. The leg took just over 11 hours. Our individual rest breaks were extra long and allowed for a nap and a movie!
All is well in Paris.
Next up, a trip to the 49th state.
For a look at some more of my photos, please aviate over to Plane & Simple.
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