Watching A380s coming to life at Toulouse Blagnac airport

Today I cashed in a couple hundred boyfriend points and went with Jacq to the Airbus tour at Toulouse's Blagnac airport.

Here they assemble every A380, A340, A330, A320 and a few other models that are then delivered to carriers across the world.

Our tour focussed on the A380. For 9.50 Euros each we got an insight into how the world's largest passenger aircraft is manufactured.

The tour started with a quick overview of the inaugural flight of the aircraft from April 2005 and were given a little insight into some of the many tests that the prototype models underwent in order to get certified by the FAA.

After that we boarded a bus that took us to one of the hangars where the aircraft are assembled. Parts are shipped in to Toulouse from the UK, Germany and parts of France via the Beluga A300's, barges and road transit. Then the pieces are assembled in Toulouse with just 2 weeks needed to put a completed aircraft together.

Airbus said they have over 240 orders for the A380s currently paid for with deliveries scheduled into 2014. Air France put in a request for an extended A380 that would be capable of carrying 1,000 passengers in a full 2-level economy configuration. The current 72m long A380's have a variety of capacities depending on the configuration ranging from 450 for Qantas up to 517 for Emirates and so on.

After visiting the hangar we had a quick look at a mockup interior which was interesting but pretty aged with a lot of the finishes tearing or peeling away.

The tour is a good insight into the manufacturing process of the A380, but aviation enthusiasts may be left wanting a little more. I would have liked to have been given a tour of the actual airport, to have seen the tower and to have taken a closer look at areas like the run up bays and other hangars. Getting closer to some more finished aircraft or being able to watch a few movements on tarmac would have been a nice bonus.

After the A380 experience, there was an option to take a Concorde tour (two of the original fleet are located at Blagnac) that you could purchase as well as the A380 tour but we only found this out at the end which was a bit disappointing.

All in all, not a bad morning for anyone interested in aviation, but a few little extras could have added a lot to the day.

Yes we Cannes...buy Chanel!

Getting to Cannes is exciting, you imagine yourself as some famous movie star, your film launching as part of the film festival and you can imagine it as you drive into town. The town is busy, very beachy and the stores scream money, LV, Dior, Prada, Miu Miu and of course Chanel.

We spent the morning wandering around, passing the main steps of the Grand Auditorium at the Casino. However it was obvious that they were taking advantage of the down time after this years festival and the works outside the Casino did bring our film star dream down a few pegs.

It can be tough finding somewhere to eat as there is a lot of tourist haunts offered along the water. We were lucky to find a sweet little cafe, just off the main strip where Stef got to relive a memory from long ago...the pan bagnat. For those, like me that aren't familiar, it is a tuna baguette but it is rated highly in the south and after tasting some, I can see why. Tres tasty.

After lunch it was time for a little indulgence, a purchase I have been building up for since we got here, my Chanel handbag. It was love as soon as I walked into the store. A quick swipe of the credit card and my beautifully gift wrapped purchases, a few presses were in their too, and we were off out of town. Thank you Cannes, you made my day.

Antibes

What can I say about our time in Antibes. Well it was simply amazing.

Antibes is such a beautiful place to go, about 30 minutes from Monaco, right in between Nice and Cannes, it would be easy to miss it amongst such popular places nearby. If you ever have the chance though, go. This place is something else. The med is so impressive as it is, but unlike the busier neighbours, Antibes is a little more relaxed, a little more quiet, a little more what we were after for a couple of days to rest.

Our quaint little hotel, situated one block back from the beach, offered everything we wanted. Run by a lovely yet, typical French couple, they offered us a fabulous suite so we jumped at it. We even had our own reading room. Each morning we sat in the courtyard and enjoyed our assorted baguettes, croissants, home made jams, yoghurts, fruit and juice whilst planning the day. It was heaven.

I think the best find of the town has to be the amazing food markets, held Tuesday to Sunday, offering cheeses, fruit, spices, olives and flowers and all so cheap but the best quality. You can easily picture yourself strolling into town each morning to pick up a fresh baguette and some fruit each morning.

The last two days have been such a needed break. Safe to say I am very sad to leave. Lucky a trip to Cannes is planned for tomorrow, which includes a weee Chanel purchase. That helps.

Living the highlife on the Mediterranean in Antibes

Today we spent our second day in Antibes rubbing shoulders with some very very VERY rich people. The harbour in this small town on the South of France is full of yachts and cruise liners, some of which (we Googled) are valued at over 60 million pounds.

So we decided to hire one for ourselves, and after a little negotiation got ourselves a cruise liner of our own. The "Poseidon 455" - basically a bathtub with a Vespa motor stuck on the back.

It was fun though, actually loads of fun, pootling around the Cap D'Antibes watching the fish, staring at the amazing boats and finding secluded bays to stop in. We dropped anchor at a beach away from the main harbour and bobbed around for an hour or so soaking up some sun and jumping in for a cooling swim in the Med.

We both drove, and Jacq became very good at pointing us into the wake of the big boats to try and bounce me out into the sea.

We both agreed that this was one of the most fun things we've done on the trip so far.

Monte Carlo and a special day

Monaco is really something else. It is tiny, one minute you are in
Monaco and then the next you are actually over the border and back in
France. Everything is so steep as it a town carved into a side of a
mountain and the wealth there is overwhelming.

It was a short trip but something very special and despite some bad
weather when we arrived, it was so fun walking then driving around the
Grand Prix circuit, visiting the Monte Carlo casino and wandering past
Prada, Valentino, Louis Vutton and of course Chanel.

An amazing dinner was had, oysters to celebrate of course followed by
some Laduree macaroons and some Tattinger Rose. Happy anniversary!

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Monaco Grand Prix

This is me driving up the start/finish straight as I ended a lap of the Monaco Grand Prix circuit.

Great fun driving over the red and white rumble strips around the corners.

I did it in 8mins something. A personal best, but the F1 lap record remains intact.

Dijon, city of Moutard

En route from Provins to Valence we stopped at Dijon, the home of the
famous mustard.

We popped into the Maille Mustard shop and bought a few jars, one of
which we've already cracked open for a car picnic.

The Notre Dame church pictured was beautiful too.

Dijon is well worth a visit if you get a chance. We also bought a
bottle of a local Boulogne red which we shall be opening as soon as we
find a shop that sells corkscrews...