Back home.

Back home.

11/07/2012 07:42:04, errol said:
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That's it, back home after a 2,500 mile trip (1300 of which were getting to & from our destination) to the Loire valley.

Glad you had a good trip Errol.  Im doing a Mosel tour soon.  Just out of interest what time trains did you get?  Last time I booked an early out late back train to keep the cost down.  Comming home to get the 10.30 pm train there was a massive queue and didnt get a train till 2am.  Total misery and the only toilets were 2 disgusting poratloos just before customs.  So bad Im thinking might as well take the ferry to halve the cost.  Anyone else got ferry/ tunnel experiences to share?

RE: Back home.

I love the Loire Valley.  It's hard to pick a favourite Chateau, but "little" Azay-le-Rideau is up there.  At the opposite end of the scale Chambord's sheer scale is pretty impressive.

Did you drop in at the Musee des 24 Heures at Le Mans?  Well worth a visit and a world away from the shabby shed that served as a museum when I first went in 1983 (although that had a certain je-ne-sais-quoi about it).

RE: Back home.

Oh, and an idea for next year - head down to the Alpes Maritimes. The drive over the Col de Turini and down into Monaco is fantastic.  I did it last summer (in a diesel Pug 407 with wife and two kids on board - I spent the whole time trying to work out how I could get my '5 down there),

RE: Back home.

11/07/2012 10:30:29, OchAye said:
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Oh, and an idea for next year - head down to the Alpes Maritimes. The drive over the Col de Turini and down into Monaco is fantastic.  I did it last summer (in a diesel Pug 407 with wife and two kids on board - I spent the whole time trying to work out how I could get my '5 down there),

"

Just come back from a trip to Le Mans myself which is not far away for the classic 24 hours, also did a couple a laps of the track before the races.

'Azay-le-Rideau' That's twinned with a small village not far from me, Croston I think, I'll bet the roads are busier though.

RE: Back home.

Glad to hear you had a good trip & your back safe & well Errol...

Have thought I should do this many times....Just never quite works out that way!

Once....(Many years ago) took the Cortina Estate/wife/kids/ & dogs via Folkstone ferry & overnight train down to South-of France (Port Grimaud).

Quite an experience!....Kids falling out of the train bunkbeds, horsemeat, avoiding the drunk french drivers in huge Citreons, asking directions from people you/they don't understand... puking on the ferry on the way home!

Great time.....

Garffey.

RE: Back home.

Thanks for all the kind words & interesting replies.

We didn’t go near Le Mans but saw dozens of classic cars heading that way for the Classic event last weekend. We stopped to admire a couple of De Tomaso Panteras. There were quite a few "Maigret" Citroens (Light 15s?) on the roads too, I assume they were heading to the event. Most of the classic cars that we saw were the usual dross, you know, Jags, Ferraris, TVRs, Lambos, the sort of thing you see on the streets of Preston every day of the week.

About the train. On Sunday outwards we booked the 16.20 train but were put on an earlier one which was useful. Returning, again on a Sunday, we booked & travelled on the 10.20 train, altho we arrived at the terminal in good time we were unable to get an earlier train. No problems with either journey. Security is a bit lax, on previous trips we've had to stop at the entrance kiosk, type in our booking number & confirm our ID with the credit card we'd used to book the crossing. This time I stopped at the kiosk as usual & the screen greeted me by name & told me which train I could board, no checks. Obviously number plate recognition software but my wife & I could have been Russian oligarchs leaving the country on forged passports with a boot load of forged £5 notes.

The first day was a bit of a drag, the drive from Preston to Rouen is long & tedious. On the return journey we stayed at Coquelles on Sat. night.

As an aside. We stayed in a hotel north of Rouen, a city where I usually get lost, I set the sat nav to guide us to Alencon avoiding tolls & motorways. I thought we were lost when I realised we were on the north side of the Seine but was pleasantly surprised at being advised to "turn left & board the ferry". Yep! A free ferry across the Seine, only problem was we had to wait a few minutes for a Chinese freighter to pass down stream before we could cross.

As usual, we both put on weight. Too many visits to the cake shops & a lack of willpower. Altho I managed to miss out on the French breakfasts, at my age a roll in bed with a little honey would probably kill me, if that didn't SWMBO would.

Otherwise a brilliant holiday.

Thx for the advice re Alpes Maritimes we went to Provence a few years ago but didn't do the Col du Turini but we did visit Port Grimaud, a place not to be missed.

RE: Back home.

Funny you should mention the De Tomaso Pantera, I remember these cars from when I used to play Top Trumps as a nipper but they've fallen off my radar since so I was surprised to see an owners club there with quite a few cars.  Unfortunately one was involved in a collision with an idiot in a Mustang during the 'parade laps', there were a few collisions, the other I saw involved a TVR and an Aston (DB2 I think).  I don't think they should have let the modern cars out with the classics (if at all)