One consequence of the, quite frankly, stunning weather we have been having lately is a complete lack of motivation on my part to do any work. The knowledge that I have a Roadster just sat somewhere idle feels wrong. So after an abysmally lacklustre and unproductive day on Monday and after discussions with a colleague who felt the same way a plan was hatched. Friday would be a day of venting such frustrations. Tuesday to Thursday therefore we would actually have to get some work done in order to make this feasible. We both had plans for the weekend so a challenge was set. To get from London to Paris in time for lunch, spend an hour or two on a whistlestop tour and make it back in one day. This had the added bonus of me being able to drive on the continent which (ashamedly) I had not yet done. So lunch reservations were made and the Eurotunnel times checked. Rather than bore everyone to death with the whole story, here are my observations from yesterday...:

1. London is still a b***h to get out of even at 6:30am. This was never intended to be a top gear challenge. But it very quickly turned into one with distances having to be covered in almost unfeasibly short times...

2. We were not the only ones. The Eurotunnel check-in was like a small villa de este. There was a gorgeous Riviera Blue 993RS and a convoy of a black 308, a V12V and an R8.

3. Eurotunnel was much nicer than I anticipated, very quick and very efficient.

4. The coastal D940 from Calais to Bologne de sur is a lovely lovely stretch of road....

5. The French love Aston Martins. Fact. There was an inordinate amount of (positive) attention on French motorways. There were also very very few service stations and it seemed my fuel provision was getting optimistic...

6. The Arc du Triomphe was predictability manic and somewhat hair-raising but palatable. The general standard of parisian driving was shocking. It was like driving in Vietnam. Limited marked lanes. Traffic lights in odd hard to see places. The sheer number of scooters/bikes with constant lane changes and weaving. The amount of 'lane creation' with people just squeezing through improbable gaps. The beeping. The cars cutting perpendicular into oncoming traffic to make u-turns or side street entrances. Mindblowing.

7. The front of the George V hotel is probably the best parking spot in Paris. Even if you are 20 minutes late for lunch and arrive as they are closing the kitchen, if you explain politely you have driven from London to be there, they will do their best to accommodate you.

8. Le Cinq is as good as people say.

9. The little old Vantage was very well received in Paris. Cries of "c'est magnifique", everyone stopping to read the bonnet badge. I was very surprised to see it getting far more attention outside the hotel than the black LP640 SV it was parked in front of.

10. I have never seen the single dashed line on the fuel indicator before. And after conducting some research, the concierge at the hotel was able to point me to a underground fuel station just off the arc du triomphe. So for those that need a lifeline, there is a place to refuel at the top of Avenue Foche.

11. Unlike London, it was possible to drive within 10 feet of iconic places such as the Eiffel tower.

12. Getting out of Paris at 6pm is a b***h. Again. Having to cover a substantive distance in short order really does focus the mind..

13. After a trip like that, the front of the car looks as though it has committed multiple atrocities against the insect population.


So a very fun day. Possible, yes. But in all honesty probably a lot nicer if you stay for at least one night.

Still. Very nice to be able to know that if you want to, the carriage from Gaydon will whisk you down to Paris for the day without skipping a beat.

P.S does anyone know how long it takes to receive any correspondence regarding those annoying flashing little boxes on the side of the motorways...

Sounds good. Need photos, though, or it didn't happen.

DOn't worry about the radars, if you are on English plates they will disappear into the ether.

Which part did you leave out

That's still rush hour - also a bugger to get into at that time.

Thanks for the tips Old Skool - I've even gone as far as bookmarking this thread

Agreed!!

Champagne shopping and a nice lunch Mmmmmmmmmmmm!

The link won't load up Seb alors I went on Tripadviser and it does have a lot of people drooling !!

Tried a 2 star in London - The Square - and it really is amazing what these guys can do.

Just because I'm off the Louis Jadot en ce moment.....il faut manger, n'est-ce pas

Just tried again BB but all it loads are the words mobile and site

Thanks for trying BB but I just get a blank page headed ironically with Document sans Titre.

Perhaps I need to look at my filter settings for foreign sites

IE7 - still won't have it with a proxy - don't worry BB, I shall play about with the settings

As requested....










I think a convoy of Astons on the Eurotunnel is an exceptionally good idea. Very keen. Can be done very quickly, easily and cheaply (at least for us in the s/se).

Le Cinq was a 2-star and it really was pretty amazing. Jockman, if you like The Square then you will love the Ledbury (also 2-star). By far my favourite restaurant in London, leagues above anywhere else - probably my favourite full stop. As far as France is concerned I have also heard amazing things about this 3-star place (http://www.bras.fr/) pretty much in the middle of nowhere... (https://maps.google.co.uk/maps?client=safari&oe=UTF-8&ie=UTF-8&q=bras+restaurant&fb=1&gl=uk&hq=bras+restaurant&cid=0,0,9952110631842531865&ei=D1vDT_fmMs3f8QP3tNTyCg&oi=local_result&ved=0CCoQ_BIwAA)

Oh well. Back to Mondays in the office...

I shot to France via Euro Tunnel on Friday morning as well. Caught the 11.20am train. Saw a sage green DB5 and other than one other Aston all weekend that was the last of our favourie brand I saw. Porkers and Ferraris were ten a penny.

We decided to go to Paris from Calais without using Motorways and OMG are the French country roads a lot of fun. Very little traffic, no Rozzers or camara's and everyone driving so slow it was if they were staionary i.e. very easy to overtake.

I simply parked up at hotel in Paris rather than drive around as it is bumper to bumper stuff and a bit nerve racking when you look at the state of Parisian's bumpers and came back up to Calais via motorways which did have a few camaras which I did make sure I was gong the correct speed for as I hear Le old bill in France don't forget you if they nab you at a later date. Seems most traffic in outside lane thinks circa 90 mph is the speed to be doing.

Will be doing many more trips to the continent I think.