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Millau Bridge


steve in stockport

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Today started with a panic when I woke at 5am thinking I'd left the car lights on all night. Went and checked and all ok so back to bed for another four hours. Cold, damp and drizzly this morning which made the first stop at Oradour sur Glane seem even more sombre than last time I was there.

Spent about an hour and a half there then headed north on N147 out of the drizzle and into the sun, through Bellac, Lussac les Chateaux, around Poitiers and past Chatellerault to my last stop in France on the southern outskirts of Tours.

Tomorrow its up to Le Havre, probably via Le Mans, Alencon and Flers and might stop in Honfleur for mussels on the harbour before getting the ferry.

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Yesterday was the last day of the trip and the complete opposite to Saturday. Weather started off dull but ok in Tours but went rapidly down hill as I drove north where I caught up with the rain at Le Mans and it poured down with driving wind from there all the way to Le Havre. The new half hood got a good workout which it came through with flying colours keeping me dry until I was stopped at lights etc where the wind blew infrom the back.

Sees is becoming a bit of a bogey town for me and from there I had to turn off EAST off the main road to follow a massive diversion due to a road closure. Then, and this could only happen in France, there was a diversion off the diversion which took me even further astray.

Ferry crossing from Le Havre to Portsmouth was pretty good considering the sea was a bit choppy and gave a decent breather from the 200 miles in France before getting stuck into the 200 plus miles back home from Portsmouth.

The drive from Portsmouth started ok but north of Oxford I ran into fog which lasted pretty much all the way back up to Knutsford varying from light to properly dense which makes you feel a little vulnerable in a car with trailer lights on the back. Arrived home at 2am, safe but a little frazzled from all the concentration needed with the rain in France and the fog in England.

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Sounds like a real adventure......it's got me thinking about next year....

I've been promising myself a trip to Florence for years....the Boss has no interest,

so I was considering a solo trip via jet & hired car...

but I could extend it & take the Hood, taking my time & stay at B&B hotels in France.

mmmm...definitely food for thought...out with the maps now.

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Guest shaggy

Likewise, glad you had a good trip. Like you, we also stopped for Mussels at Honfleur on the way back a couple of weeks ago. We decided as we had a couple of hours, not to go over the pont de Normandie, and instead took the ferry a bit further up stream. We somehow ended up at the top of a wee hill EAST of Le Havre, and enjoyed a cracking view of the bridge.

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OK here are some pics from the trip, first up some French guy who obviously has a thing for classic British motors

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fishing lake in Brou where I stopped for a brew, and the first of my al fresco dining experiences. The locals were picnicing so I thought I'd join in so out came the gas cooker and all was well with the world.

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French Air Force base

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Some minor celeb or big wig arriving at a chateau I'd just stopped at

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Getting further south and the weather's improving all the time, coffee stop day 2

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Another picnic area and another meal in the evening sunshine

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Viaduc de Garabit

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St Enimie, where I started my run down the Gorge du Tarn

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Arriving at Millau

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My old man insisted on taking the family to Oradour on our way back from Spain in very early 70s.

I didnt go far....it freaked me out.....

but I'm amazed that old Fiat it still there....it looked exactly the same back then.

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its weird as i was only there a couple of weeks ago for the first time. I like the red iron bridge, took a similar picture myself.

 

Did you get a lot of interest in the car? i only saw 1 seven and that was up near calais. The french didn't even seem to have convertibles. We got quite a few looks having the roof down in a 206cc.

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Didn't see another 7 type car at all of the best part of 1700 miles whilst I was over there. I did see a VW Beetle based beach buggy in Tours, a couple of old 2CVs, a group of Renault 4s who were out for a drive and a really nice Renault 8 Gordini on the last day.

People are always interested in our cars, got wolf whistled at by an old girl in one village then in the next a pretty 30 something started chatting to me and asked if she could have a photo. Then she ran off and came back with her dad who used to be a mechanic on the Renault Alpines.

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