Le Vent d'Autun
This wind has been blowing for a few days. My calibrated gauge says ten knots. It comes from the South and therefore the TLS flights depart high over us all day. Most are commercial, but a few are delivery or test flights. This wind can bring warm weather or cold/rain. We were lucky. It is also called the wind of fools, because it is said it can make you crazy if you stand out in it too long. I don’t know why! We tried it anyway.
Sunday in Toulouse is a familiar ritual for our family with our host. We get up in a lazy way, have some coffee and venture to the market near the city center. William and I did this with our hosts when he was on an informal exchange here 4 years ago. The smells and the sights are always extreme- beautiful, offensive, different. We picked up some fish for a light lunch, and some côte de boeuf for a heavy dinner. There always has to be bread for the French…and the German heritage of our hosts requires potatoes. Lots of carbs for me!! And John loves the bread. A vendor of dried meats and other exotic animal parts offered us a taste of a special ham. She said it was cured by le vent d'autun exclusively. They cure it in the wind-- if it blows they cure it, of not, they wrap it back up and put it in cold storage. I am not sure if this was a marketing gimmick or not, but it tasted good! We got yelled at by others in the line for talking too much and buying too little.
John worked on a math test for Chapter 4 (one down, two to go) and then on a few more chapters of navigation. He finished reading his second book in preparation for our tour of the A380 final assembly line. I offered to help the daughter of our host with physics, but received polite rejection. I miss the evening physics challenge with Benjamin back in Louisville! John and I watched the Northeast Christian Church before dinner with a crowd of friends, some local, some not!
The next day we had a date with a very large aircraft. We left early for our appointment with great anticipation. John’s navigation skills (with iphone) and crew contributions have grown immensely since Scotland. He can describe the maneuver required and give warning in statute miles or kilometers. Still working on nautical miles. We arrived at Airbus with 45 minutes to spare, thinking we would get the lay of the land in the museum prior to the A380 tour. As we approached the building, I remembered we needed our passports. As John looked at the others in the line, he said yeah- we need our passports. We tried my driver’s license, no dice. So we said- hold our place, we will be back asap. We jumped in the Audi TT and we raced back to the house to get passports and returned with 3, yes only 3 minutes to spare. I am sending electronic copy of my passport to our host in case we set off multiple speed trap photos…they cannot afford the additional points. I don’t think it is an offense where extradition is likely.
Our tour guide was extremely knowledgeable and personable. He explained many facts and figures about the industrial approach to fabricating the sections of the A380 in Spain, UK, Germany and France including the transportation of the sections by barge and by truck through the very small towns in the middle of the night for final assembly in Toulouse. We saw an Emirates aircraft inside the final assembly line with my old team’s Engine Alliance GP7000 at the pylon and engine hang station. While outside admiring the huge aircraft at various stages of completion post paint, an A350-1000 test aircraft took off and executed a hard right bank and climbing turn, as if we were at our own private airshow. John and I toured the museum of aviation history and went head to head on a challenge to fly an airplane simulator for accuracy through defined air gates. After describing to John how the side stick controls pitch and roll and the pedals control yaw, he proceeded to clear 9/10 gates. I started sweating. After trying my best, I could only achieve 8/10. John earned the aviator crown for the day.
We had a small celebration for the family decision to accept a new job, then I received an e-mail that the train from Toulouse to Narbonne would be canceled due to the all-too-familiar French labor strike. But don’t worry, it was not wide-spread. Just our train!! We adapted and over came with the help of our host— driving to Narbonne, with a stop in Barges. Barges reminded John and me of a South-of-France version of Poquoson, VA. We immediately recognized the smell of low tide in the lagoon. We enjoyed this quaint little town and had good thoughts about a rumor of a train to our next destination. We signed the steps with the black magic marker, leaving our deepest thoughts for the next owners of the flat. Steak frites outside the Narbonne station fortified us for the train ride southeast. Departed Occitania for Aragon.
at the market...avec du pain. Toujours avec du pain.
Study hall in Toulouse...pre algebra test...or Europa video game ?
On to the Kingdom of Aragon. Reading about Magellan, the Portuguese who signed on to sail for the glory of Spain