As some of you know my plans for the winter involved selling my house and embarking on an extended wandering mission 
.
Part one has been coming over to France to look at a business for sale in the Alps, and I've been here for a month now doing that with another two weeks to go before moving on again. But that's not retro... ;D
So here's the words and pics about tripping down here.
Having packed up the house (and a whole world of curse word), into some secure storage and the back of a Volvo, it was time to leave. Locked and loaded.
I left Taunton about seven pm and headed down to Portsmouth for an overnight ferry to France. The Volvo is so stripped and light with nothing in it, loaded it handled pretty good and I'm tempted to make up some weights for the rear corners.
Emerging into the early morning light of Caen, a short 100 mile drive would land me at the mother Bryns for breakfast. Which is where she and her partner hide an ever expanding number of classic cars, at present there's a concourse 64 B,
... another BGT that they've restored,
... a proper Sue Ellen Merc drop SL450 and a '66 2CV. I was tempted to take a pic of the three Volvo estates together, as they've got a '96 T5 and a modern D5... But hey we all know my 240's the best eh?
Part of my reason for quitting England was the traffic and road network, the next 24hrs just made me realise even more that I'd done the right thing. Here's the Volvo in a forest, 'cos I could.
The next afternoon I set off for the Alps, the sat nav said about 600 miles from Normandy, travelling via Le Mans then Paris before headed south east to Lyon and up into the mountains.
I was kind of thinking about doing it in one hit, but was quite prepared for some cheap motel action... Sleep that is. But then I had a lot of valuable stuff in the back I didn't fancy unpacking. So... I toed it and sat at 100mph the whole way. Hence the grin
Ipod on and clear roads meant I got to my destination in Tignes about eleven, not bad going for a 240k 240 eh? Some great tunnel action coming up into the mountains... I'm sure there's something a little odd about my tunnel obsession.
Then I woke up to this the following morning...
So there you have it... The first three days of the rest of my life. The difference between the first and last pictures say it all to me
.Part one has been coming over to France to look at a business for sale in the Alps, and I've been here for a month now doing that with another two weeks to go before moving on again. But that's not retro... ;D
So here's the words and pics about tripping down here.
Having packed up the house (and a whole world of curse word), into some secure storage and the back of a Volvo, it was time to leave. Locked and loaded.
I left Taunton about seven pm and headed down to Portsmouth for an overnight ferry to France. The Volvo is so stripped and light with nothing in it, loaded it handled pretty good and I'm tempted to make up some weights for the rear corners.
Emerging into the early morning light of Caen, a short 100 mile drive would land me at the mother Bryns for breakfast. Which is where she and her partner hide an ever expanding number of classic cars, at present there's a concourse 64 B,
... another BGT that they've restored,
... a proper Sue Ellen Merc drop SL450 and a '66 2CV. I was tempted to take a pic of the three Volvo estates together, as they've got a '96 T5 and a modern D5... But hey we all know my 240's the best eh?
Part of my reason for quitting England was the traffic and road network, the next 24hrs just made me realise even more that I'd done the right thing. Here's the Volvo in a forest, 'cos I could.
The next afternoon I set off for the Alps, the sat nav said about 600 miles from Normandy, travelling via Le Mans then Paris before headed south east to Lyon and up into the mountains.
I was kind of thinking about doing it in one hit, but was quite prepared for some cheap motel action... Sleep that is. But then I had a lot of valuable stuff in the back I didn't fancy unpacking. So... I toed it and sat at 100mph the whole way. Hence the grin
Ipod on and clear roads meant I got to my destination in Tignes about eleven, not bad going for a 240k 240 eh? Some great tunnel action coming up into the mountains... I'm sure there's something a little odd about my tunnel obsession.
Then I woke up to this the following morning...
So there you have it... The first three days of the rest of my life. The difference between the first and last pictures say it all to me
and leaving the country! 
