A European Adventure
Discussion
After being lucky enough to get our very own Aston Martin V8 Vantage (56 reg, Chiltern Green exterior / Absinthe Interior) just over a year ago, it felt only right to take it on a bit of a European tour (particularly given I had made a New Years resolution to do more "car stuff" in 2012).
Our journey covered around 2,800 miles in all over a period of 15 days with the car seemingly lapping up and enjoying every mile. In terms of fuel economy, we got great mileage out of around 7 / 8 full refuels and even making it all the way to West malling in Kent from Reims on just over half a tank of fuel.
Whilst we didn't drive any of the passes mentioned in other posts (personally, I think they are more fun to do when in groups), we had some great driving times on roads that were fairly empty. For the most part, we didn't drive more than 6 hours per day so we could enjoy the fantastic places we visited. The only really lengthy drive we did have was when we were coming back towards the UK from Lake Como - a 9 hour drive across Switzerland and over to Reims for our final stay.
Surprisingly, we didn't see many other Aston's at all - one V8V on the outbound Le Shuttle (V*** JEB), two DBS Volante's at the services right outside the terminal in Calais and a DBS Volante driving along in Lake Como. We also had the company of a Virage (with French plates) on the return Le Shuttle journey home.
The car was admired wherever we went - in France some people came to tell us it was "superb" but in Italy it stepped up a notch with people trying to drive alongside us to give us a thumbs up or in the case of driving through one small town, tooting and waving at us as we drove along.
We had no mishaps whatsoever and managed to avoid the long arm of the law, even though the speed limit wasn't always observed ;-)
So, to our journey. Obviously, our accommodation and the parking facilitis were the main thing we had focussed on - we would never have been able to relax without knowing the car was parked somewhere secure. The list of accommodation, towns and duration of stay in order of our journey were as follows:
Chateau Etoges, Nr Epernay - 1 Nights
Chalet Apassion, Samoens - 2 Nights
Castello Vicchiomaggio, Greve-In-Chianti, Tuscany - 2 Nights
Palazzo Sasso, Ravello, Amalfi Coast - 5 Nights
Villa Campestri, Mugello, Tuscany - 1 Night
Hotel La Perla, Lake Como - 2 Nights
Chateau De Rilly, Reims - 2 Nights
All of the hotels were great and would recommend them all but without doubt, our two favourite places to stay during the entire trip were Chalet Apassion in Samoens and Palazzo Sasso in Ravello. The service we received was second to none and the views were spectacular.
Some obligatory pics.....
Exiting Chateau Etoges:
Beautiful surroundings of Samoens:
Stunning Tuscan countryside:
The glorious Amalfi Coast:
Picturesque Lake Como:
Homeward bound from Reims:
All in all, a really memorable trip - we are already thinking about where our next adventure should take us :-)
Our journey covered around 2,800 miles in all over a period of 15 days with the car seemingly lapping up and enjoying every mile. In terms of fuel economy, we got great mileage out of around 7 / 8 full refuels and even making it all the way to West malling in Kent from Reims on just over half a tank of fuel.
Whilst we didn't drive any of the passes mentioned in other posts (personally, I think they are more fun to do when in groups), we had some great driving times on roads that were fairly empty. For the most part, we didn't drive more than 6 hours per day so we could enjoy the fantastic places we visited. The only really lengthy drive we did have was when we were coming back towards the UK from Lake Como - a 9 hour drive across Switzerland and over to Reims for our final stay.
Surprisingly, we didn't see many other Aston's at all - one V8V on the outbound Le Shuttle (V*** JEB), two DBS Volante's at the services right outside the terminal in Calais and a DBS Volante driving along in Lake Como. We also had the company of a Virage (with French plates) on the return Le Shuttle journey home.
The car was admired wherever we went - in France some people came to tell us it was "superb" but in Italy it stepped up a notch with people trying to drive alongside us to give us a thumbs up or in the case of driving through one small town, tooting and waving at us as we drove along.
We had no mishaps whatsoever and managed to avoid the long arm of the law, even though the speed limit wasn't always observed ;-)
So, to our journey. Obviously, our accommodation and the parking facilitis were the main thing we had focussed on - we would never have been able to relax without knowing the car was parked somewhere secure. The list of accommodation, towns and duration of stay in order of our journey were as follows:
Chateau Etoges, Nr Epernay - 1 Nights
Chalet Apassion, Samoens - 2 Nights
Castello Vicchiomaggio, Greve-In-Chianti, Tuscany - 2 Nights
Palazzo Sasso, Ravello, Amalfi Coast - 5 Nights
Villa Campestri, Mugello, Tuscany - 1 Night
Hotel La Perla, Lake Como - 2 Nights
Chateau De Rilly, Reims - 2 Nights
All of the hotels were great and would recommend them all but without doubt, our two favourite places to stay during the entire trip were Chalet Apassion in Samoens and Palazzo Sasso in Ravello. The service we received was second to none and the views were spectacular.
Some obligatory pics.....
Exiting Chateau Etoges:
Beautiful surroundings of Samoens:
Stunning Tuscan countryside:
The glorious Amalfi Coast:
Picturesque Lake Como:
Homeward bound from Reims:
All in all, a really memorable trip - we are already thinking about where our next adventure should take us :-)
Edited by Niki M on Sunday 12th August 23:34
Proof, if any were needed, that Chiltern Green is THE best colour for an Aston Martin 
Thanks for the write up, looks like a great trip, Etoges is very familiar with such cars, many of us have stayed there and it's a really lovely place. Haven't been to Lake Como in the Aston, just my old Maserati... wonder if I can swing that for a honeymoon... But I think I know the answer
Thanks for the write up, looks like a great trip, Etoges is very familiar with such cars, many of us have stayed there and it's a really lovely place. Haven't been to Lake Como in the Aston, just my old Maserati... wonder if I can swing that for a honeymoon... But I think I know the answer
Fantastic Nikki. This is something I would absolutely love to do and is certainly on my bucket list, once I have plucked up the courage and the know how so this is great to know someone has already done it and would love to know more. Can I specifically ask:
1. Did you book the hotels in advance or did you just take them as they come?
2. Were the roads better than the UK roads?
3. Have you driven abroad before or was this the first time?
4. Did you have to do any modifications or had to have anything in mind travelling abroad?
Fantastic post!
1. Did you book the hotels in advance or did you just take them as they come?
2. Were the roads better than the UK roads?
3. Have you driven abroad before or was this the first time?
4. Did you have to do any modifications or had to have anything in mind travelling abroad?
Fantastic post!
Thanks for all the comments. The car is my absolute pride and joy so couldn't have been happier with how the trip turned out. It has had some much deserved TLC over the last week - a service followed by a two day paint correction and detailing (paint correction & detailing done by Rob at Supercar Detailing in Tonbridge) - it looks spectacular following the detailing and was getting many positive comments at an AMOC BBQ I went to yesterday :-)
Neilc123: In answer to your questions-
1) Hotels were researched and planned in advance (we had stayed at 3 of them previously - Etoges, Vicchiomaggio & Palazzo Sasso)
2) French roads definitely better by miles (well, the toll ones we drove on), Italian roads a bit more like UK
3) Yes, have driven abroad before. Aside from various holiday hire cars, we also took the AM down to Etoges last August for a few days
4) No modifications required at all. Obviously, we did have to purchase a whole heap of stuff for driving thru France (breathalysers, high-vis jackets, headlamp deflectors - none of which we had to use once).
For a trip of this length, luggage was going to be an interesting challenge but it worked out - loading the boot up was a bit of a jigsaw puzzle but we managed. Total bonus that one of the vineyards we stopped at en-route in Italy shipped our wine to the UK for a very reasonable rate (€72 for 24 bottles - bargain, particularly given it got to the UK before we did). It was also only right for us to leave some space for the fizzy stuff on our way back through Reims :0)
Neilc123: In answer to your questions-
1) Hotels were researched and planned in advance (we had stayed at 3 of them previously - Etoges, Vicchiomaggio & Palazzo Sasso)
2) French roads definitely better by miles (well, the toll ones we drove on), Italian roads a bit more like UK
3) Yes, have driven abroad before. Aside from various holiday hire cars, we also took the AM down to Etoges last August for a few days
4) No modifications required at all. Obviously, we did have to purchase a whole heap of stuff for driving thru France (breathalysers, high-vis jackets, headlamp deflectors - none of which we had to use once).
For a trip of this length, luggage was going to be an interesting challenge but it worked out - loading the boot up was a bit of a jigsaw puzzle but we managed. Total bonus that one of the vineyards we stopped at en-route in Italy shipped our wine to the UK for a very reasonable rate (€72 for 24 bottles - bargain, particularly given it got to the UK before we did). It was also only right for us to leave some space for the fizzy stuff on our way back through Reims :0)
Gosh, in my day dreaming of the trip I had forgotten completely about luggage. This may force a person away from a DB9 to a Vantage as I can't imagine sufficient luggage fitting into a DB9 for a trip like this. I am going to have to print this thread out for the future to have a list of good hotels with decent parking for a journey like this. Very hard to find useful information like this without a lot of research!
Neilc123 said:
Gosh, in my day dreaming of the trip I had forgotten completely about luggage. This may force a person away from a DB9 to a Vantage as I can't imagine sufficient luggage fitting into a DB9 for a trip like this. I am going to have to print this thread out for the future to have a list of good hotels with decent parking for a journey like this. Very hard to find useful information like this without a lot of research!
I think you would be fine in a Db9. For the last two years we have done 10 day trips in our DB9V and included needing to take DJ. Careful choosing of clothes and packing will even see you with room to bring back a few bottles of wine!!!My dad and I hit Europe in a couple of weeks for a Belgian GP/Italian GP/Goodwood Revival trip in his Vantage. Great to read such a positive review of your trip. I'm hoping packing light comes naturally as my weekend car barely has a boot. I'd be delighted to share hotel information and the like when we return. Oh and the car looks stunning.
I'm loving the Chiltern Green too 
. In the dealer photo's the interior looked cream but obviously wasn't - unsure about the colour at first but it soon grew on me (after about 2 mins). I don't have pics of the interior but it Is the same as this one:
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
Packing for the journey was definitely limited but as I say, we made it work. Have been toying with the idea of La Manga next but not convinced we'll get two sets of golf clubs in there (unless of course we take them out of their bags).
If any of you do make such a journey, we were strongly advised by two different sets of people not to stop at services near Naples else either all of our stuff or worse still, the car would get pinched so worth bearing in mind. With that in mind, stopped for fuel well in advance of getting there but can't do much about people selling stuff at the tolls - even the tool booth operators were on their guard with the smallest slot in the world to put the money in given they were sat behind very thick perspex...
. In the dealer photo's the interior looked cream but obviously wasn't - unsure about the colour at first but it soon grew on me (after about 2 mins). I don't have pics of the interior but it Is the same as this one:http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
Packing for the journey was definitely limited but as I say, we made it work. Have been toying with the idea of La Manga next but not convinced we'll get two sets of golf clubs in there (unless of course we take them out of their bags).
If any of you do make such a journey, we were strongly advised by two different sets of people not to stop at services near Naples else either all of our stuff or worse still, the car would get pinched so worth bearing in mind. With that in mind, stopped for fuel well in advance of getting there but can't do much about people selling stuff at the tolls - even the tool booth operators were on their guard with the smallest slot in the world to put the money in given they were sat behind very thick perspex...
Neilc123 said:
But i guess could always use the rear "seats" for luggage in a DB9.
That's what the rear 'seats' are for isn't it, c**k all use for aything else in truth...
The one time we used the DB9 for an airport run meant having a dive bag full of scuba gear in/on the backseat, bit of a squeeze to be fair but it was either that or leave it behind! Loads of space!
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