This morning
we set off to the Revel Market, B&E. This is a superb, bustling covered
market. We bought the seafood for tonight’s dinner and had a coffee, taking in
the atmosphere.
We returned home to Loubens to have a very early (i.e. before
noon) lunch of the previous day’s leftovers. We then had to rush out again to
our 1:30pm tour of the Airbus factory in Toulouse. The tour took place at the
Airbus facilities at the Toulouse airport and we had chosen to take the A380
tour. As it turned out, about 40 people showed up for this English tour.
Initially we started in a mock control room, where we saw footage of some of
the very first test flights of the aeroplane, with the pilot and co-pilot
wearing parachutes, just in case. The A380 is the largest commercial airliner
in the world – it really is of epic proportions. We then bussed over to the
supersized hanger where the planes are assembled. Before coming here, the
components are manufactured in Spain, Germany and Britain along with France. Up
to four planes can be manufactured at once at this facility although, with it
being a weekend, there was not too much activity. We were also able to spy
their ‘Beluga’ aircraft in the distance. These are very oddly shaped things,
used to transport aircraft components. Once the aircraft are assembled here,
they are then flown to Germany to be painted and fitted out before being sold on.
They currently produce three aircraft per month. The final part of the tour was
to go inside a full-scale section of an aircraft, to get an idea of its size. Then,
back to Loubens again so Philip and I could cook tonight’s pasta marinara.
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