Lycée George-Sand La Châtre

Duxford’s Imperial War Museum kept us busy the whole morning of the third day. Even if you’re not a history buff or a militaria lover, this fabulous place is bound to put you in a trance. Everything pertaining to man’s struggle against the laws of gravity is explained in details, and there are incredibly rich displays of military and civilian plans, in seven huge warehouses.

" I believe I can fly..." you’ve got to be quite over-confident, or maybe a bit drunk to try your luck with a pair of wings like these strapped to your back !

Sitting in the pilot’s seat and manipulating the joystick obviously triggered some Top Gun fantasies in certain people...

Guess what material was chosen to drape the wings of the Wright Brothers’s first plane ? A very light kind of linen previously used to manufacture ladies’ undergarments ! What some people wouldn’t do for the love of lingerie...

WW II : A member of the Royal Observer Corps, dutifully searching the skies for enemy aircraft

Lockheed SR71 blackbird reconnaissance plane.... looks kinda cool and lean and mean, doesn’t it ?

Downed messerschmitt with bent propellers after a crash-landing

V-2 launching ramp

Pilot with a Cassivellaunos moustache gives the thumbs up sign after a successful mission

In the afternoon, we came to Cambridge for our scheduled boat cruise down the Cam. As a chilly rain was steadily falling, only a handful of brave souls chose to stick with the initial programme, while the rest went to a museum

Ideally, this is what our punting cruise should have been like...

So much nicer to float downstream on a sunny day...

Our anglo-irish guide spoke perfect french, with a french south-western accent !

College façade, viewed from the river Cam. Left bottom corner, you can make out the tip of someone’s nose, but I don’t remember who.

Shivering under the pouring rain, huddling under blankets, we loved every second of the boat ride