We decided to take a week into Normandy/Brittany for a week to bask in the September glow promised by the BBC forecast, and just back.
Here are a few 'car-tales' of the trip, nothing too exciting I say in advance.
It had been 30 years since doing this area of France, so starting with the car prep, a few tips...
We booked the Chunnel, pumped up the tyres (actually let them down) and affixed the headlamp deflector stickers as the wrench to remove and adjust the head lights broke at the first twist.
Stacked all the survival gear into all the small boxes, tyre foam, screen wash, Hi-Viz's and all that and thought to check the RAC excellent 'Be Prepared' site for France.
36 hours before we were about to leave I read about the Crit-Air badge and the grim messages about fines, prison and enslavery if you don't have one.
I thought you only needed one in Paris and such places, not the Loire Valley.
Not according to the RAC!
We contacted the Hotels we were staying at and they had almost never heard of the Crit Air, and the fine is only 60 Euro, so why worry?
We applied for the yellow Crit Air anyway which you can only get from the French Government and delivery is several days or weeks! It arrived the day we got back.
Confused also by the new speed limits of virtually 80 km/hr everywhere unless signed differently, should get good mpg at least cruising at 50mph.
My wife had already pin-pointed where the Shell stations were in the region...
The blast down from the Midlands to Dover was as boring as usual, the car sang all the way; filled up with Shell's best and boarded an hour early, onto French roads 40 mins later. Brilliant.
Recently serviced at my new found Indie, Zuffenhaus, all was well but for a bee in my bonnet about the slight play in the steering wheel, not the usual rubbery feeling of power steering, but more of a true mechanical play. Not so brilliant, but car still drove well, but not the 'telepathic' steering I wish it had.
The autoroute used down to Honfleur was like a billiard table, not one undulation, not one bad road joint not one pot hole and dead quiet too, had to talk to the wife!
Honfleur has not changed in 30 years, a place to visit for sure.
Off then the following morning to the famous Hotel de France, famous for its very long rich heritage of all cars Le Mans. We had 2 nights there, absolutely fantastic. Classic and modern cars everywhere, a great atmosphere, and if you do it, you HAVE to get a shot of your car in front of it!
We did the Le Mans museum of course, and drove some sections of the Mulsanne Straight, really nice, especially at 7000 rpm.
Sadly, the Boxster embarrassed itself there and then at the Hotel.
With the front full of classic car buffs and a very pretty French Police lady I started the car up.
BELCH and BURP and I asphyxiated everyone except us with a huge cloud of oil smoke. The frontage of the hotel disappeared briefly and I left the 'adoring' crowd thinking, well, 'They all do that Sir'...flat six don't you know. So, another bee in the bonnet.
The surrounding area is covered in empty 'A' roads, clear views, sweeping bends, quick sudden hairpins everything a Boxster soaks up so very well, esp in the dry and 30 deg C.
Rural France is just the best, everything is either very old, very delapidated or very new.
image hosting with direct linking
We finished up in Deauvillie, the posh part of the area to say the least, and that had not changed for 30 years either!
Left at 8.00am and got home ay 5.30pm, the UK is a shock after such a great country drive, but washed the 987, and got loads of flies off eventually with Tar Remover.
The Boxster was the perfect car, luggage space galore, potent overtaking pace, no back aches or pins and needles and an average for the week of 35.6 mpg. (happy on Total 98 too)
Oh, and there are few 80 km/hr roads, and no Policemen with speed cameras in the trees, or looking for Crit-Air stickers; even the threatened forest of fixed speed cameras were absent, only went slowly through 6 in the whole week.
Now, what to do about the steering?
Should I surrender and p/x the car for a 987.1?
Or just get on with life and book the next road trip?
Seems Scotland in mid October is on the cards!
Graham.
Here are a few 'car-tales' of the trip, nothing too exciting I say in advance.
It had been 30 years since doing this area of France, so starting with the car prep, a few tips...
We booked the Chunnel, pumped up the tyres (actually let them down) and affixed the headlamp deflector stickers as the wrench to remove and adjust the head lights broke at the first twist.
Stacked all the survival gear into all the small boxes, tyre foam, screen wash, Hi-Viz's and all that and thought to check the RAC excellent 'Be Prepared' site for France.
36 hours before we were about to leave I read about the Crit-Air badge and the grim messages about fines, prison and enslavery if you don't have one.
I thought you only needed one in Paris and such places, not the Loire Valley.
Not according to the RAC!
We contacted the Hotels we were staying at and they had almost never heard of the Crit Air, and the fine is only 60 Euro, so why worry?
We applied for the yellow Crit Air anyway which you can only get from the French Government and delivery is several days or weeks! It arrived the day we got back.
Confused also by the new speed limits of virtually 80 km/hr everywhere unless signed differently, should get good mpg at least cruising at 50mph.
My wife had already pin-pointed where the Shell stations were in the region...
The blast down from the Midlands to Dover was as boring as usual, the car sang all the way; filled up with Shell's best and boarded an hour early, onto French roads 40 mins later. Brilliant.
Recently serviced at my new found Indie, Zuffenhaus, all was well but for a bee in my bonnet about the slight play in the steering wheel, not the usual rubbery feeling of power steering, but more of a true mechanical play. Not so brilliant, but car still drove well, but not the 'telepathic' steering I wish it had.
The autoroute used down to Honfleur was like a billiard table, not one undulation, not one bad road joint not one pot hole and dead quiet too, had to talk to the wife!
Honfleur has not changed in 30 years, a place to visit for sure.
Off then the following morning to the famous Hotel de France, famous for its very long rich heritage of all cars Le Mans. We had 2 nights there, absolutely fantastic. Classic and modern cars everywhere, a great atmosphere, and if you do it, you HAVE to get a shot of your car in front of it!
We did the Le Mans museum of course, and drove some sections of the Mulsanne Straight, really nice, especially at 7000 rpm.
Sadly, the Boxster embarrassed itself there and then at the Hotel.
With the front full of classic car buffs and a very pretty French Police lady I started the car up.
BELCH and BURP and I asphyxiated everyone except us with a huge cloud of oil smoke. The frontage of the hotel disappeared briefly and I left the 'adoring' crowd thinking, well, 'They all do that Sir'...flat six don't you know. So, another bee in the bonnet.
The surrounding area is covered in empty 'A' roads, clear views, sweeping bends, quick sudden hairpins everything a Boxster soaks up so very well, esp in the dry and 30 deg C.
Rural France is just the best, everything is either very old, very delapidated or very new.
image hosting with direct linkingWe finished up in Deauvillie, the posh part of the area to say the least, and that had not changed for 30 years either!
Left at 8.00am and got home ay 5.30pm, the UK is a shock after such a great country drive, but washed the 987, and got loads of flies off eventually with Tar Remover.
The Boxster was the perfect car, luggage space galore, potent overtaking pace, no back aches or pins and needles and an average for the week of 35.6 mpg. (happy on Total 98 too)
Oh, and there are few 80 km/hr roads, and no Policemen with speed cameras in the trees, or looking for Crit-Air stickers; even the threatened forest of fixed speed cameras were absent, only went slowly through 6 in the whole week.
Now, what to do about the steering?
Should I surrender and p/x the car for a 987.1?
Or just get on with life and book the next road trip?
Seems Scotland in mid October is on the cards!
Graham.
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