Woke up, and decided to Drive to Spain.
Discussion
Actus Reus said:
Brilliant thread.
Total aside, but caught about 20mins over 'Fast and Furious' on ITV the other night - is the Cayman S in that not identical? The kit is actually growing on me, though I don't think that rear wing is really 'me'.
Yuppy, thats the one. A TechArt GT Sport kit. Although the one in F&F (film number 4 I think) is the first generation, second generation (ours) has the LEDs. Really happy with the current build. What with the insanely expensive TechArt goodies, Quaife LSD, a few engine mods, exhaust, etc. It has a bit more grunt/HP over the standard 3.4 and seeing as the engine is in the right place it handles far more sweetly than a 911 (GT3's Et al. aside). I'll switch back to the TechArt shocks/springs after the trip. The ride hit is standard due to the fact the access road to our house refused anything lower. We recently moved and I am looking forward to dropping the Porka 10-15mm. Total aside, but caught about 20mins over 'Fast and Furious' on ITV the other night - is the Cayman S in that not identical? The kit is actually growing on me, though I don't think that rear wing is really 'me'.
Right. Bit sad. Finally >50% through the trip. Considering not coming home but school starts again in a week so I need to come back. We spent two days sightseeing in Barcelona, beautiful City fantastic food (see below) but all I could think about was when are we getting back on the road.
Next few days (up to Saturday) are a blast up to Cannes, Route Napoleon, over to Lake Como in Italy, a dash through Switzerland, then the Black Forest and the Nürburgring on Saturday for some TF laps.
Day 8 & 9
Zzzz. Starting editing the N260 video, damn good road. Catching up on some sleep, sightseeing (completely cultured out now) and plenty of eating:
Edited by redback911 on Monday 16th April 19:48
DoubleSix said:
More questions, sorry!!
Did you drive into Barca, and where did you pitch up? Was parking ok?
Looking forward to the N260 vid!
Questions good, no problem. Did you drive into Barca, and where did you pitch up? Was parking ok?
Looking forward to the N260 vid!
We are staying at the SOHO Hotel (www.hotelsohobarcelona.com), specifically because it has secure (inside) parking and well rated on Trip Advisor. Actually I probably spent the most effort on the trip emailing all our hotels and B&Bs making sure parking was secure and accessible. Not all the preferred hotels/B&Bs fitted the bill but eventually we found so really good locations and even a few petrol-heads. When I get back to the UK I will clean up the thread and post much more detailed information on locations and facilities.
Thanks man, as you can probably tell I'm researching heavily at the moment! If you have time/can be arsed a brief list of the hotels you stayed at would be REALLY useful.... no urgency.
t mental at Brits just for having them in the car. Considered a massive no no according to a lot of travel sites. In fact my Mrs tells me her dad got marched to a cash point and had his account emptied to the tune of €500 for having a RoadAngel, wasn't even on!
Do some research on that if I were you mate,
redback911 said:
Good point, actually the number 1 thing I would recommend for the trip is a TomTom or equivalent with the Camera Alert Speed Camera Database from Pocket GPS World http://www.pocketgpsworld.com/modules.php?name=Cam... Best 20 GBP I ever spent. It took some time to set-up warning distances but well worth it, it contains locations for fixed, mobile and "other".
Just a thought; aren't these totally illegal in France. I've heard tales of the gendarmes going totally ape-st mental at Brits just for having them in the car. Considered a massive no no according to a lot of travel sites. In fact my Mrs tells me her dad got marched to a cash point and had his account emptied to the tune of €500 for having a RoadAngel, wasn't even on! Do some research on that if I were you mate,
Edited by DoubleSix on Monday 16th April 20:45
Edited by DoubleSix on Monday 16th April 20:45
DoubleSix said:
Just a thought; aren't these totally illegal in France. I've heard tales of the gendarmes going totally ape-st mental at Brits just for having them in the car. Considered a massive no no according to a lot of travel sites. In fact my Mrs tells me her dad got marched to a cash point and had his account emptied to the tune of €500 for having a RoadAngel, wasn't even on!
Do some research on that if I were you mate,
Yes its true, but to get around this legislation, the locations on the database are classed as "safety zones" and not radar sites. t mental at Brits just for having them in the car. Considered a massive no no according to a lot of travel sites. In fact my Mrs tells me her dad got marched to a cash point and had his account emptied to the tune of €500 for having a RoadAngel, wasn't even on! Do some research on that if I were you mate,
DoubleSix said:
Just a thought; aren't these totally illegal in France. I've heard tales of the gendarmes going totally ape-st mental at Brits just for having them in the car. Considered a massive no no according to a lot of travel sites. In fact my Mrs tells me her dad got marched to a cash point and had his account emptied to the tune of €500 for having a RoadAngel, wasn't even on!
Do some research on that if I were you mate,
Yup ....... Was there a month ago and told by an officail looking type on the boat over that its 1300 euro fine if found using a satnav speed camera locator. ..... it just used to be a laser type that got you in trouble.t mental at Brits just for having them in the car. Considered a massive no no according to a lot of travel sites. In fact my Mrs tells me her dad got marched to a cash point and had his account emptied to the tune of €500 for having a RoadAngel, wasn't even on! Do some research on that if I were you mate,
I still used my nav, just switched off the camera locator. To be honest though, it would be difficult for them to catch you using it, unless it was kicking off whilst they had pulled you already.
hmmm..
Looks like a change to the law 2012:
"However, if you want to play it safe, here’s the bottom line: if you’re taking your satnav to France, make sure it complies with the new French law. If you aren’t sure whether it does or not, don’t take your satnav to France with you, whether you plan to use it or not. In the worst case – that is, you get caught in possession of such a unit, and the French police can prove it contains a usable database of speed camera locations – they theoretically have the right to confiscate the detector itself (along with your car if the device in question is fitted to it at the time) and you could get a €1,500 fine and six points on your licence into the bargain."
Doesn't sound great.... go careful.
Looks like a change to the law 2012:
"However, if you want to play it safe, here’s the bottom line: if you’re taking your satnav to France, make sure it complies with the new French law. If you aren’t sure whether it does or not, don’t take your satnav to France with you, whether you plan to use it or not. In the worst case – that is, you get caught in possession of such a unit, and the French police can prove it contains a usable database of speed camera locations – they theoretically have the right to confiscate the detector itself (along with your car if the device in question is fitted to it at the time) and you could get a €1,500 fine and six points on your licence into the bargain."
Doesn't sound great.... go careful.
Wozy68 said:
Yup ....... Was there a month ago and told by an officail looking type on the boat over that its 1300 euro fine if found using a satnav speed camera locator. ..... it just used to be a laser type that got you in trouble.
I still used my nav, just switched off the camera locator. To be honest though, it would be difficult for them to catch you using it, unless it was kicking off whilst they had pulled you already.
Yup, I have read similar articles but I am not overly concerned. A series of incredibly unfortunate events would have to transpire to prove that I was using the TomTom with Camera facility enabled and in use. Something like Road Angel, iCoyote, et al. is much more black & white. Having lived in Belgium and been pulled over countless times for speeding in France, Belgium, Germany and The Netherlands (including my car - 911tt - being confiscated and a brief stint in a holding cell for outrunning a police car) I am not easily phased. I guess I just have a problem with authority figures ;-) I still used my nav, just switched off the camera locator. To be honest though, it would be difficult for them to catch you using it, unless it was kicking off whilst they had pulled you already.
redback911 said:
Wozy68 said:
Yup ....... Was there a month ago and told by an officail looking type on the boat over that its 1300 euro fine if found using a satnav speed camera locator. ..... it just used to be a laser type that got you in trouble.
I still used my nav, just switched off the camera locator. To be honest though, it would be difficult for them to catch you using it, unless it was kicking off whilst they had pulled you already.
Yup, I have read similar articles but I am not overly concerned. A series of incredibly unfortunate events would have to transpire to prove that I was using the TomTom with Camera facility enabled and in use. Something like Road Angel, iCoyote, et al. is much more black & white. Having lived in Belgium and been pulled over countless times for speeding in France, Belgium, Germany and The Netherlands (including my car - 911tt - being confiscated and a brief stint in a holding cell for outrunning a police car) I am not easily phased. I guess I just have a problem with authority figures ;-) I still used my nav, just switched off the camera locator. To be honest though, it would be difficult for them to catch you using it, unless it was kicking off whilst they had pulled you already.
DoubleSix said:
Oh don't get me wrong I'm no straight-laced-goody-two-shoes-three-bags-full-type, and you certainly sound more Euro savvy than I, just a heads up.
:-) I do appreciate a heads up and fingers cross everything will work out. Although it would be ironic if I post on the weekend on how we were marched to a cash point. DoubleSix said:
So where are you right now, still in Barcelona?
Yuppy, just about to log-off as its an early start to Cannes, then Grasse tomorrow. Day after will be Lake Como area, location TBD. Then Switzerland by Thursday and Black Forest on Friday. Fingers crossed I'll have Internet and I can upload more piccies, at the end of each day. ROK said:
More pics mor emore more! thank you. 
:-) Indeedy. Actually in the spirit of full disclosure. My wife is taking 95% of the pictures, but she is a little upset I am uploading before she can pass them via Adobe Lightroom or something.
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