What I did/saw in Europe this July

[NorfolkNWeigh]

Please excuse the starting of a new thread for my disconnected ramblings , hopefully there are  enough mildly interesting pictures and anecdotes to inspire other people's holiday spots .

To start, we have "work" , you may remember this time last year I had to take a couple of Crewe's finest to Cap Antibe. Well I say Crewe, one probably started life at Pressed Steel Fisher in Cowley thence to Park Royal , the other in Wolfsburg although both might have had the running gear installed in Cheshire, whatever, off we go.

The  advantage of a millionaire making the travel plans;

Yes, you can rob loads of stuff from the buffet in the Eurotunnel Flexipluss lounge, although we did spend so much time there that we missed our intended crossing 

This did mean we got to see a load of Dutch Spitfires, pictures of which haven't transferred from my phone ....

Ill be back.

[NorfolkNWeigh]

Ok , I'm back.

That wasn't my first breakfast that day , obvs

Here's  the Dutch Spitfires including some quite early ones , a mark 2 on wires is probably my favourite Spit.

 

 

 

[Mrs6C]

I love early Spitfires. I have a couple of Mk2s, both with steel wheels though.

[NorfolkNWeigh]

1 hour ago, Mrs6C said:

I love early Spitfires. I have a couple of Mk2s, both with steel wheels though.

Not that Im weird or owt, but...

Spitfire 4- steels and hubcaps, preferably with rim embellishers.

Mark 2- knock on wires- painted

Mark 3 - bolt on Dunlop wires, chrome

Mark 4- Cosmic slot mags.

Dont get me started on "Minilites"

[DVee8]

Never mind spitfire wheels. Get on with it man.

[NorfolkNWeigh]

Ok, first day pretty uneventful . Just Autoroute cruising with regular €300 fill ups, the Corniche managed about 14 mpg cruising at 70ish. The Bentayga was doing 30 mpg , mainly because it was barely ticking over staying with the Rolls. This doesn't seem bad for a 2.5 tonne 625bhp brick shithouse.

We saw some modern day French Spitfires  en-route from Dieppe( ?)  to lucky new owners

[NorfolkNWeigh]

French gipsys seem to be a bit more stylish than UK ones, this 635 was in a convoy of Merc Sprinters towing massive caravans.

[NorfolkNWeigh]

Overnight stop was in a town called Beaune where they make wine I think , the hotel was a beautiful converted farmhouse/ mansion with this parked out front- some cliches work too well to ignore

This was the everyday wheels forthe owner who, because of some misunderstanding seemed to believe we were musicians on our way to Nice for a concert. We of course did nothing to disabuse her of this idea- I'm sure she was googling us( she hadn't got our names as the cars owner's company booked everything) all night.

Hillairiously we got a very romantic open plan suite with a sunken bath in the middle of the room and just a glass panel between the bed and my morning dump- lovely if with your ( or someone else's) Mrs , not so much if with your brother!

The town was nice and the reccomended restaurant had a brilliant €40 set dinner, oh and a friggin Michelin star! - I've spent more in a Chinese.

There was a an old Clio with the most terminal big end knock you've ever heard circulating the town all evening, didn't seem to die whilst we were there.

Back to to the grindstone...

Had to wait a few minutes whilst  the hotel owners, some guests and some builders took pictures, now I know what it must feel like to be a 'celebrity'

[lesapandre]

And do you know...if given the choice (and it was a really nice one) I'd still take the 2CV over the Rills Ryces.  Lovely post - surprising how many 2CV I see running about in France too. The 2CV says I'm the type of person who does not need to hurry about...a bit like bits of France. 

[Asimo]

2 hours ago, lesapandre said:

The 2CV says I'm the type of person who does not need to hurry

I think brown Corniche says  I'm the type of person who pays someone to pay others to do the hurrying........

[RobT]

7 hours ago, NorfolkNWeigh said:

There was a an old Clio with the most terminal big end knock you've ever heard circulating the town all evening, didn't seem to die whilst we were there.

 

We had similar when in Beaune in April.  Strolling around on our way back to the hotel some scrotes in a knackered 306 dizzler kept driving past, obviously doing the ring road constantly.  Leering out of the window drinking cans of Stella or something.

I found it amusing as it took the edge off being in the heart of the Côte d'Or...brings you right back down to earth!  I found Beaune too poncy for me anyway.

[NorfolkNWeigh]

7 hours ago, lesapandre said:

And do you know...if given the choice (and it was a really nice one) I'd still take the 2CV over the Rills Ryces.  Lovely post - surprising how many 2CV I see running about in France too. The 2CV says I'm the type of person who does not need to hurry about...a bit like bits of France. 

Yes, you're right. Some cars just fit some locations, my Dad lives in the middle of nowhere Brittany , yet refuses to buy a 2CV or R4, his chosen method of clogging the lanes is his 1955 S1 Land Rover or  Triumph TR4 , which would be fine if he lived in Devon or Wales or something. It's not like he hates Deux' we had a LHD Dyane 4 when I was a kid in the early 70's.

His local Land Rover man , that keeps his high speed long distance Trans -Europe express (rusty Tdi Disco) going, has an ancient 2 door 205 as a courtesy car and whenever I stay and he's got that, I can't resist rattling round in it feeling all French.