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La Ferte Alais Airshow
Saturday, June 16, 2001; posted by Paris
Last weekend we drove 7 hours to the south of Paris to attend an airshow at Cerny airfield (the drive back took about 4.5 hours - this time there were no traffic jams). There were many old planes, and new ones. Their ages ranged from the early 1900's to the newest hi-tech Mirage 2000 jet fighter. A B-17 even did a fly by. The day was cool and rainy, but we managed to have a nice time. Got a lot of grey photographs.
Following a long day at the airshow, we were looking forward to a good meal. We went to the four star restaurant in the Mercure Le Coudray Montceaux hotel. The items on the menu, although very limited in selection, sounded good. Gerben explained to the waiter what we wanted (in French) as the waiter impatiently shifted his weight and tapped his pencil on his notepad. Gerben asked for a modification and the waiter said he might be able to do it. When asked for a side dish of pasta, the waiter offered to bring some pasta and ketchup. At that point we got up and left the restaurant - no sense in spending $40 per person for another arbitrary meal. I was surprised that this country which is reputed as taking great pride in its food provided a second counter-example for us. My new rule - McDonalds will become the acceptable French cuisine.
This site has information on airshows around the world.
This site has some specific information on La Ferte Alais.
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This is a Breguet 14 - looks like it sports a nice art-deco refrigerator on the front.
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A Caudron G III.
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One of two super tiny planes that did aerobatics. Two lawnmower-type engines power it.
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An old military plane.
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The cloudy sky that made most close-up fotos flat and grey.
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A triplane.
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There was a US Army camp set right in the middle of the airshow. Old vehicles and equipment (the tents had that old Army canvas smell) and men dressed in WWII uniforms.
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