BrianDamaged wrote:
That's an EPIC purchase. LOVE the colour.
Indeedy it is.
The very quick potted travelogue...
Friday
4am UK, alarm clock.
4.30, on the road.
7.20, first Michael Jackson joke arrives by text.
7.45, boat leaves Dover.
9.45 European, boat arrives Boulogne.
7-ish, arrive in the Charente-Maritime. Gite is gorgeous. Start drinking with (English) neighbours/gite owner. Briefly meet van seller. 20+ MJ jokes arrived.
Midnight-ish, bed, pissed.
Saturday - 10am-ish, head into nearest town (St Jean d'Angely) to market.
12.30-ish, head round to van seller to meet van, meet his '67 AZAM Export (40,000km from new), have long lunch.
3.30-ish, chill for a few hours.
5.30-ish, load van onto trailer, leave in seller's yard.
7-ish, head round to other (English) neighbours for party. All village (18 people) there, plus various other English ex-pats from area. Astound locals & annoy ex-pats by chatting to locals (and Polish builders) in French.
Midnightish - bed, pissed.
Sunday - 9.30-ish, head to La Rochelle for day. Lunch in vieux port. Head down coast. Ice-cream on Ile d'Oleron.
7-ish, get back to gite. Pop round to van seller's house to check what time to collect van in am, chat over large Pineau. Cook up scrummy veg bought in market on Sat.
9-ish, start drinking with neighbours.
Midnight-ish, bed, pissed.
Monday - 10.30-ish, collect trailer & van, get presented with bottle of Pineau from next hamlet, hit road.
6pm-ish, arrive at plastic hotel in Evreux.
7-ish, get ripped off at Campanile next door for cold Heineken.
Tuesday - 9.30, waiting outside Monet's house for opening time. Get most way round water-lily pond in peace before tour groups descend. Crepe for brunch, hit road.
3.30, arrive Boulogne. Try to kill five hours in Leclerc without further overloading car.
8.30 European, boat leaves.
9.15 UK, boat arrives Dover.
11.30 UK, home & bed.
Wednesday.
8.15, van unloaded already.
Oh, and the van?
Pics to follow. Let's just say that We Are Very Happy. It's utterly, completely, thoroughly French. Bien sur. I can't wait to rip the huge great big sheet of tin out of the cab floor and find out what's underneath. The chassis's an odd one. It's bent and floppy as all hell - and a lot saggier now than it was when we loaded it - but the bottom skin looks immaculate. The toeboard's knackered, but the floors look fairly good. There's a bit of grot around the rear side windows and one windscreen corner - but that's it.
Oh, yes. Then there was the Acad parked up in St Jean, with the rear windows sign-written for a local Indian restaurant's delivery service. A high-top Acad, no less... Or the convoy of c. 30 Renault-Alpines & Gordinis going through St Jean. A310s, R8 Gordinis, etc etc...
Photos later. Got to go and collect the cat then head to work.
