Like any aviation enthusiast, I had a fascination for Concorde and had made plans to visit the grand dame for several years. There were a few places you could see the supersonic bird - Bristol, Manchester, Toulouse, Paris Le Bourget. The S.O. wasn't too keen on visiting, saying the tickets were too expensive and the tour takes up half a day including transport.
"This is Concorde you silly hardheaded workaholic. People pay an entire year's salary to fly Concorde back in the day," I said.
"They did? And after enjoying all the luxuries they chose to slap us with carbon tax and ban us from using plastic?"
After agreeing to join him and the entire population of Paris to queue for free entry to the Louvre on the first Sunday of the month, he reluctantly agreed to visit Le Bourget with me.
Le Bon Marché to pick up some wine.
Le Bourget is such an architectural beauty.
We booked a Concorde + Boeing 747-100 tour online. After meeting up with our guide, we were brought into a hanger holding not one, but two Concorde. I was leaping with joy by then, but the S.O. was complaining about the heat and lack of air conditioning. Who cares about air conditioning when you have these two beauties in front of you?
Some close-ups of the Olympus engines and Michelin tires.
In terms of comfort, Concorde in the 80's will never be the lie flat seats or suites we enjoy today. The posh seats were certainly reminiscent of days when smoking cabins were the norm. The AirFrance cabin was designed in shades of grey and white. I personally prefer BA's blue leather interior.
Everyone had to bow to the grand dame upon entering the aircraft.
The 90's interior.
I told the S.O. that initially France and the U.K. had some squabbles with 'Concord' or 'Concorde', and that with a stroke of genius, Tony Benn said the 'e' stands for excellence, for England, for Europe and for the entente cordiale.
It is hard not to notice the S.O.'s astonishment. I caught him snapping his iPhone away and questioning me about various details regarding Concorde. After we returned to Taipei, I even found he looked up some documentaries about Concorde from YouTube. I guess with enough persuasion we could be visiting Aerospace Bristol and Toulouse soon.
Our second visit was the Boeing 747-100. The museum had stripped the interiors of part of the ex-AirFrance jet to reveal the skeletal structure of the queen.
A lounge on the upper deck of the Boeing, back in a time when exclusivity and passenger comfort take precedence over seat count for airlines.
After a wonderful afternoon at Le Bourget our tour came to an end. The S.O. was admittedly quite amazed and gagaing over the machine marvel capable of "skim[ming] the edge of space, the edge of heaven, the edge of dreams"; but wanting to emphasize the fact that this 2-hour tour cost him 14 Euros, dragged me into the bus to head here:
Look at the crowds!
Next and final installment: Paris, guided by the romantic S.O., and the flight home.
Happy weekend everyone!