Peter - all by himself.

There was probably a time when Peter would have looked forward to being by himself in Paris but these days something seemed to be missing. There was no point in mooring in Paris so it was back to Villeneuve St Georges which we knew – easy to get to and close to Orly airport for the girls return.

Peter had plenty to occupy him on Matilda, mainly painting and the hand rails around the sides were the project of the moment. Galvanised pipe with years of paint flaking off.

Being under the flight path to Orly meant that there was a continuous stream of planes to be looked at and the challenge was to know brand and model. He knew the Boeing and Airbus types but a continuous stream of strange models and liveries was intriguing. Antinovs were common and of course the new breed of 100 seaters, Gulfstream, Fokker and Bombardier were plentiful.

Another game he played was to recognise the engines of the large planes – Boeing and Airbus. There is a distinct sound difference between Rolls Royce (British) and General Electric (American).

The birds were getting in the way.

Here is some trivia: We all know that the Rolls Royce Merlin aircraft motor powered the British Spitfire and Hurricane fighters in the second world war but few people know that the arch enemy of these two planes, the German Messerschmit ME109 was developed around 1935 using the Merlin motor in its prototypes and also that the last ME109s made used them as well! (these planes were made by a Spanish company, Hispano Aviaicon, after the war) and was actually the first and last production plane to use them.

The bridges of Paris have always been known for their beauty and grace as well as their innovative design.

This bridge carries a Metro line into Gare d’Austerlitz. The detail in the steelwork is beautiful.

 

This is a pedestrian bridge – a passerelle. Sort of suspension, sort of arch. Good fun for the engineers.

There are so many that it is difficult to see most of them by themselves.

 

There are many examples and the detail work is beautiful.

The Alexander bridge was an engineering masterpiece when it was built and still has more beauty and grace than any other.

In all there are thirty seven bridges within the peripherique. All of them have their own character

                      

This copy of the American's Statue of Liberty on an island in the Seine is one of two purported to be the working model used by designer Federic Bartholdi. The other is in the Jardin du Luxembourg – Paris.

Enough of Peter’s fascinations, the girls are returning and there will be more cruising. Till then, keep in touch.