Destination France 2017: Pure Poetry

August 21, 1976. The future held so much promise!

Forty-one years later, we find ourselves in France, experiencing a perfect day.

We are in Amboise, and this custom built bike with a V-8 engine captured Karl's attention. Ah, those motorbikes... When we got married, there was a beer strike. It was customary at the time for the wedding couple to serve free beer at weddings, so we had to buy a whole lot of hard liquor to replace those kegs of beer. Karl sold his motorcycle to pay for the hard liquor and reminded me quite frequently about his sacrifice. On our 25th wedding anniversary, he finally got a brand new bike, a Honda VTX, to replace that bike he gave up so many years ago.

We toured the town, a town we know well. I like the wrought iron signage often found at various boutiques.

A beautiful lace boutique. We bought a little souvenir.

This is where Leonardo da Vinci was buried. There is a restaurant right next to the Château where we've eaten before, so we headed back there, even to the same table!

We both had a salmon appetizer with a light salad.

Followed by the duck confit.

Then for this amazing dessert: crêpes with Grand-Marnier, flamed.

Enjoying those last sips of rosé wine.

A perfect meal with all, or some of, our favourite foods!

After touring more of the town, it was time for Karl to stop for ice-cream. After all, it was 30 degrees F and he needed a refreshment!

His café ice-cream came with a meringue.

We drove to Nazelles-Négron, just across the bridge from Amboise, to go on a hot air balloon ride with Touraine Montgolfière. Can you think of a more romantic thing to do than to float above the Loire Valley, overlooking Renaissance Châteaux, in a vessel that was invented in France?

"The hot air balloon is the first successful human-carrying flight technology. The first untethered manned hot air balloon flight was performed by Jean-François Pilâtre de Rozier and François Laurent d'Arlandes on November 21, 1783, in Paris, France, in a balloon created by the Montgolfier brothers." (Wikipedia)

Karl, an aviator through and through, looking forward to our departure.

I am really excited as well!

Crossing the bridge leading to the Château d'Amboise, on our way to a field in Saint-Georges-sur-Cher.

There are different sized baskets, but we were in a large one with four passenger compartments and the middle space reserved for the pilot. We were 14 passengers.

The "panier" is taken off the trailer which was pulled by a 4X4.

Our pilot, Franck Cousin, was very conscientious to check everything. He has 23 years of experience flying balloons and airplanes, including Alpha, Jaguar and others, during his time with l'Armée de l'Air.

Franck is checking the propane burners that will be heating the air inside the balloon.

The balloon is then attached to the panier.

There were five balloons that left from the same field. These three were a little ahead of us. We thought we'd stand in front of them for a photo since it would not be possible to do so with ours.

They were inflated and off they went!

The 4th balloon was the same as ours, with the "Touraine Mongolfière" written in prominence.

It, too, was inflated and left before us. Notice that we are in a farmer's field with hay bales.

Our balloon getting air blown into it.

This is done with huge fans. Isn't the opening large? This crew member is well over 6' tall.

Once the balloon has been filled with air, the propane burners are fired up to heat the air. Hot air is thinner and therefore lighter than the air that it replaces, so that's how our balloon will float.

Those flames are hot!

When the pilot says it's time to get into the basket, we have no time to lose. All 14 of us must be inside within 30 seconds. Our positions have been assigned before hand and we know exactly where to stand. Those little square holes in the side are used as a ladder for us to scramble in.

And we're off! This is the shadow of our balloon, and we see all the support crew on the ground.

Up, up and away!

This is what we saw. Incredibly beautiful area of the Loire Valley, along the Cher River.

We flew over my favourite château, Chenonceau.

Sharpen your vision - there is a small white plane flying below us.

What an incredible bird's eye view! Karl has always said he was a bird in a previous life, and maybe he was.

The vineyards of the Loire. Great wine!

Ballooning is known for the exceptional quiet, except when the propane burners are fired. It's also very smooth, unless you hit vertical air drafts, which we didn't.

There is a lack of feeling of movement, as though we're standing still. No breeze whatsoever since we are following the wind current.

We flew for an hour, but the whole experience took about three.

We are about to land. The pilot asks us to take the brace position, with our knees together, slightly bent, and holding on to the handles.

We had a very smooth landing. The basket lay on its side for a brief moment then righted itself and came to a standstill.

Wow! That was such a wonderful experience!

The balloon is strapped tight at regular intervals, then loaded onto the wagon. All the passengers helped. (Well, except me. I took photos!)

The sun will be setting soon. Our pilot must be tired, and very hot. Those burners radiate a LOT of heat. They recommend we all wear hats.

Remember me buying boots last week? We were told that there was no way of knowing in which field we would land, and many of them have knee high weeds. I was glad to be protected from those thistles. These little boots will forever be known as my "blue balloon boots".

The panier is winched back onto the trailer.

Time for a glass of champagne to celebrate our accomplishment! Of course, they served Vouvray, a "pétillant" from the Loire Valley.

The certificates indicating that we have gone up in a "montgolfière" on this date.

I don't think we could have improved on this anniversary.

"The winds have welcomed you with softness,

The sun has greeted you with its warm hands,

You have flown so high and so well,

That God has joined you in laughter,

And set you back gently into

The loving arms of Mother Earth.

~ Anonymous.

Known as "The Balloonists Prayer", believed to have been adapted from an old Irish sailor's prayer.

***

L'Aérogare called a local restaurant and asked them to stay open a little longer than usual to accommodate some hungry balloonists. Pizzas and salads, wine and beer were fine with us!