We had booked our flight in the Mongolfiere when we went to "Les Artistes aux Village" at Faye la Vineuse last year and saw the balloon on display.
"AiretNature86" come from another local village, Saint Christophe, and the team were prepared to take off from the field across from our house. This made the whole experience even more special for us!
We knew from the start that there was a waiting list and that everything depended on the correct weather conditions...We'd one near miss late last year, when fog failed to lift in time but yesterday was perfect for our flight.
The preparation to take off took the best part of an hour and we were interested to watch and help out where possible.
Elizabeth standing in front of the balloon gives an idea of scale
And then we were up!
Views of the village...
From the air we could appreciate the extent of woodland which surrounds the village; it was a truly amazing sight.
How straight is this for a road!? This is the from Chatellerault to Chinon..
As we flew over the woods, we could see deer in the fields below..
We descended at this point to skim the tree tops and could see the buds coming out..
We've photographed the trees from ground level many times to show the wonderful pattern the planting makes, but now we saw it from above..
Just over an hour in the air and it was time to come to land and pack away the balloon..
Anne, Philippe and their team had given us the flight of a lifetime! One more item off the bucket-list!!
To find out more about the team we flew with see here. They are to be highly recommended for their friendliness, professionalism and Anne's amazing piloting skills!!
9 comments:
Congratulations, I'm so glad you got to do it eventually. It looks like it was everything you had hoped it would be.
How wonderful to have those aerial views of your own house - not everyone has the chance of that!
Wow! You made it seem nearly tempting! What a great opportunity. And what a shame they don't do commercial flights for tourists (I assume they don't?) We sometimes get asked about balloon flights, and frankly wouldn't recommend any of the firms we've encountered that put their leaflets in the tourist offices. Not because they are dangerous, but because they are unreliable and poor communicators.
Most envious!
Looks like it was well worth the wait. What an experience!
Corrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!
That looked as tho' it was wonderful...
but not for me...
I used to help out as ground crew...
many moons back...
with the mob that flew the Barrat Housing ballon and others...
offered a flight on a number of occasions...
but, sorry... no...
I do prefer to keep my feet on terra-firma...
the firma the better.
But, it was always great fun chasing the balloon, so's we could pack it away as quickly as possible...
what a wonderful experience tho'...
the shots look amazing.
And your poplars really make your house seem a walled chateau from the sky.
What is a "bucket list"...
I've never really been certain exactly what it means....??
Tim Things to do before you "Kick the Bucket" Die...
Susan Balloon flights would not work for Tourists TOOOO weather reliant. Conditions appear to have to be just right and there are not that many windows perhaps. I suppose you could have a booking and then advertise it subject to weather conditions... That may work!
That looks wonderful. Even more so because of the proximity to your own home and village. I'd definitely love to give it a go. Congratulations!
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