2016 Road Trip

Post by **simonc** » Fri Jun 17, 2016 12:54 am

Another series of superb shots @Sailor. Particularly love the shots from your room in Lauterbrunnen and Murten. Stunning. Right, that's it then, you are forthwith banned from returning to Blighty and by my decree, you must carry on touring and keep posting shots of the lovely places you visit during your exile...

. Thanks again.

YouTube · Post by **Sailor** » Fri Jun 17, 2016 4:55 pm

simonc wrote:Right, that's it then, you are forthwith banned from returning to Blighty and by my decree, you must carry on touring and keep posting shots of the lovely places you visit during your exile...

I wish I could, but it's too late now: we're already home.

We came back through France.

First came the Le Corbusier chapel at Ronchamp, the Colline Notre Dame du Haut. Supposedly one of his finest creations, I thought it looked like he hadn't been trying. The Visitor Centre by Renzo Piano also disappointed: it could have been designed by a first-year architecture student.

There are some typical touches, though.

Then we had to find 'X'.

We stayed the night in Reims. There was just enough light for some outside shots.

Anywhere with pink trams is OK by me!

YouTube · Post by **Sailor** » Fri Jun 17, 2016 11:46 pm

And now for the final day.

We went back to the cathedral:

Much of the stained glass is fairly recent, including a set by Chagall. This isn't in it. It's local heroine, Joan of Arc.

"Y" was our favourite letter of the alphabet:-

And lastly, "Z", not too far from the ferry at Dunkirk.

mercutio · Post by **mercutio** » Fri Jun 17, 2016 11:51 pm

welcome home

89 UKDM BA4 4WS (resto job!) · Post by **wurlycorner** » Sat Jun 18, 2016 11:59 am

Yep, welcome back

YouTube · Post by **Sailor** » Sun Jun 19, 2016 1:28 am

Thanks, Gents.

We covered just over 2500 miles in 14 days and the car did all that was asked of it. Apart from the 4WS, which never worked, we picked up three small issues: a dipped beam bulb blew; the handbrake cable has stretched; and the wiper blades are on the way out (we did have a lot of rain).
Average fuel consumption was approx. 29 mpg. I'm happy with that: there was a lot of second gear work in the mountains, sometimes first.

To be honest, a 5G Prelude isn't ideal for many of the roads we travelled. It just doesn't have the low rev torque you need for steep hairpins. In addition, when taking an uphill right-hander, very often blind, I'd start wide and trim the apex on the exit to make sure I was on my side of the road should anything be coming down. This means that I'd be tempted to start accelerating on or near the steepest part of the bend and the front would go light as the power came on. I'd prefer rwd for those conditions.

We made 18 border crossings. Although the UK always opted out of the Schengen Agreement and it shouldn't make any difference, I wonder what the (few) manned crossings will make of a British registered car if the referendum on Thursday goes the wrong way?

mercutio · Post by **mercutio** » Tue Jun 21, 2016 9:52 pm

well as you say there are very few manned crossings so once your in the eurozone you have effectively passed border control

which is why its so easy to smuggle stuff