Περιπέτειες αλά...MNL!!!!

[I_MNL]

Και όπως το λέει ο τίτλος, είπα, τώρα που έρχεται ο νέος χρόνος, να γράψω κάτι κι εγώ...από τα ταξίδια μου...

Το κάτωθεν έχει δημοσιευθεί μερικώς, με περικοπές στα πιο πιπεράτα σημεία από τον εκδότη , στο Jaguar Enthusiast Club magazine πριν 2 χρόνια. Συγγνώμη είναι μόνο στα αγγλικά...και κάτι ψιλά γαλλικά






BIRTHDAY ON THE MOVE

My birthday was coming…I was excited. Everything had been arranged quite a while ago: I had decided that I was going to fly to Greece and visit my parents spending these days in family.

I have never been keen on travelling by plane though. My specific dislike of the long queues at passport controls, the wait to get in and out of the plane and the general idea of not having at least one of my two beloved four-wheeled companions (both X350 now…) with me could drive me mad…so most of the time I used to drive from Britain to Greece crossing almost half Europe on the way! Nevertheless, I believed I was “cured” from my “airplane phobia” two months before, when my 3-week driving holiday to Greece turned to a mandatory 1-week quick trip by plane, which, I thought, was not too bad after all…And the reason for that? My car was under investigation ( I was afraid to take it for such a long trip abroad-needless to say I was devastated) due to a vibration, most probably from the propshaft area, it developed immediately after a Jaguar Dealer had carried out the infamous brake pipe recall repair (for the X-350). Anyway…
This time everything was in order: one return plane ticket bought a month in advance with Easy Jet and car park place for one of my X-350s (as the other one would have to stay at home - I still havenʼt figured out how to simultaneously drive two cars!) booked early at Heathrow airport. All good for just £120! I was going to take the flight early in the morning on the 12th November and come back on the 18th, my birthday been on the 16th…

The few days at work before departure were bad though: very tiring and the last on call horrible… When it was over, I found myself knackered in my bed, thinking that I wonʼt be able to get up in few hours to take the plane and suffer all the usual air travel related “torture”…”No, I canʼt be bothered”, I said to myself, “I need a holiday that will please me the way I want it and I want it now! So, I am taking the car and going to France instead on the following day! And I wonʼt cancel my air ticket, so that I always remember this wasted money – as if I were giving to myself a rather expensive fixed penalty ticket for…not abiding by my rule of ALWAYS USE THE CAR - and never do such a thing again, unless if it is a matter of…life or death!”

Some people are drug addict. Some others are…sex addict. Oh well…I am most certainly a car addict! As if I have no red blood cells, these little particles in our blood which are the usual “vehicles” for our haemoglobin - I am getting too scientific now! -, but micro cars instead doing this task! Oh, what a wonderful thought! And a theme for maybe the ultimate sci-fi film with micro robotic and genetic engineering for the ultimate petrol head: A hero with super powers attributed to the energy regeneration process from her/his bouncing micro Red Blood Cars (?RBC) with their ultra flexible deformation zones in the blood, instead of the normal Red Blood Cells (RBC)!

Back to reality from the telephone ringing…11am. It was my parents, who had figured out by then that I wouldnʼt be flying to Greece. “Have a good time the way you like it and…just be careful when you drive!” were their words…

In the next few hours, I got myself ready: a little bag for me and then all the other essentials in the boot, such as windscreen washing fluid and tablets and two litres of Jaguar motor oil (bought on eBay…), some fluid for the radiator –which has had a slight almost non significant leak from a hose for some 35,000 miles (!) and I have to admit it still has it after nearly 45,000 miles or 72,000+ km now…no problem- and my painkiller tablets, as I could not afford to have a migraine caused by the expected/predicted lack of sleep or tiredness…Not much to check at my car, as itʼs always ready for the “road war”: a quick check with the oil dipstick, top up the windscreen fluid and visual check of the tyres (nitrogen inflated about a month ago, which does indeed keep an optimum tyre pressure for about 3-4 months and I have verified this lots of times so far).

At about 9pm I am on the wheel, on the way to Dover. I have to catch the Sea France ferry boat just after midnight, at 00.10 on the 13th November to be more precise. When I arrive there, I am informed that there may be a delay due to the adverse weather conditions: strong winds blow and heavy rain compliments the scenery. Indeed, later on, a 1 hour delay is announced, to my “disturbed” relief, as this is translated to 1 hour of less driving in the dark on a not so well known road without any sleep! For safety reasons, I would not like to get out of my locked car in the small hours, been on my own - daft blonde? Ha, maybe…- in a luxury car in any country where big Jaguars are still a rare sight…
A refreshing café au lait or maybe lait au café; (as I usually drink…milk with coffee or “black milk” if you prefer!) and a crispy French croissant before we arrive to Calais and I am ready. Just after 3.30am I am on French soil heading to motorway A16/E402 destination Boulogne-sur-Mer. The road is pretty quiet; just the occasional lorry here and there and of course me with the Jag! Soon after, near Abbeville, I take the A28/E402 destination Rouen. Itʼs dark, obviously, some more life seen from the early starters and I enjoy the comfort of my car with only a rhythmic musical background, mostly with a lot of bass to keep me awake(!).

I carry on the same road towards Le Mans. Morpheus, the handsome Greek God of Sleep, keeps on whispering at my ear how much he wants to take me in his arms; I can feel his deep breath next to me. My eyelids are about to close…but then no! I have to stay put and resist his flirtatious approach. A meaningful bat of the eyelids and I continue to drive at a significantly low speed…

…until about 8am when the daylight started to come out… I pulled at an aire to have some rest. I parked near the café in a space big enough to accommodate the length of this 4-wheeled babe, pressed the button for the electric rear sun blind to go up, jumped at the rear seat, locked the doors with the alarm once (I avoided using the dead locks for obvious reasons!), put my handbag in a discrete place, took my shoes off and lied on the rear seat using my scarf as a temporary pillow and my jacket as a blanket. Oh and I put the car key in the rear door pocket next to my head… All good and tidy, ready to surrender to Morpheus temptations!
It was about 11am when I eventually woke up and reluctantly got out of the car. Life was going on as normal: cars with their content(!) coming to and going out of the parking bays next to mine. Nobody seemed to have noticed, or at least they were too polite to show, what had happened between me and the handsome Morpheus at the back seat of the big Jag…

I felt hungry. I went to the café. After a refreshing café au lait and a hot and crispy crocque-monsieur, I was ready. I bought a couple of souvenirs for my parents and back on the wheel.

The rest of the journey was like a little excursion! The weather was good, it was not raining and it was not very cold. Perfect driving conditions. From Le Mans I continued on the A28/E402 direction Tours and then on A85/E604 direction Bourges. I was approaching my first destination Nevers, where I would spend the following 3 nights. So, I had plenty of time to make few stops on the way and take photos in an attempt to stop the clock. In vain; at least these photos will always be there as a memory of a frantic moment (one of many!) of my driving madness…
At about 6pm, I was entering the gates of my first destination: the Nevers Magny-Cours Holiday Inn Hotel by the N7 close to Magny-Cours Autodrome. I was a bit tired but very pleased at the same time. Several hours of enjoyable driving, many stops with photos (which I hope you enjoy ? ) and the excitement of the unknown, all together made for a very happy driver-explorer! And I had just cropped up about 1000km (just over 620 miles). Not bad for a day!
Now it was time for a delicious French dinner and then back to the room for some bed rest and planning for the following dayʼs little adventure…

…I was driving on the motorway entertaining the 90mph mark, trying to find the exact speed at which the previously mentioned vibration would appear. The occasional car here and there oh and the rain, a lot of rain… I concluded that it was at 92mph. All of a sudden I saw a silver silhouette getting closer to me. The so familiar front grille of a BMW 3-series became clear in a couple of seconds. It was a French registered car, fast and furious…Grabbing the opportunity, I was now determined to see at what speed this vibration would disappear, if at all… The Beamer now was behind me at a safe distance waiting with respect for the Big Cat to make a move. After I passed a “mobile obstacle” that had forgotten itself in the middle lane, I courteously pulled to the middle lane and started to accelerate gently. At 110 the nose of the Beamer was “sniffing” the bum of my Jag... at 120 I could just about see its nose next to the front left side window… at 125 both cars were level… at 130 the Beemerʼs bum started to show and only at 135 it showed off “naked” in front of the astonished seafrost eyes of the Big Cat; it was then that I realised what car had just passed me: a BMW 330dx Touring…Diesel and Estate and All-Wheel-Drive! At 140 I could just about keep up with it from a distance and then at 142-143 it was completely out of sight…
I started to think how useful the four-wheel drive system of that car (this is what the letter x stands for; pity that they canʼt be produced as RHD for the UK market) was in this pretty heavy rain and since I only have a rear-wheel-drive I should slow down, as Iʼd rather enjoy my birthday in two days alive and in one piece! And oh miracle: the dreaded vibration seemed to have disappeared for good over 130mph! A naughty thought came to my mind and a silly smile (like the one we get after a good nightʼs…sex…ha ha ha ) on my face: maybe, when I got back to Britain, I should ask for an exceptional (based on these facts) permission from UK police to allow driving over 130 only for Jaguars!
Lost in my thoughts, my lids started to feel heavy and droop… I could hardly keep them open… And then, all of a sudden, “bang” “dong” “doop”…

…When I opened my eyes, I was on the floor of my hotel room next to my bed, maps and pillows all over the place. I was dreaming… I had been at the automotive heaven and back in my dreams! I was very much alive though, as the pain on my forehead indicated after a disagreement it just had with the bedside chest…

Never mind; another glorious driving day was there! Nevertheless, I decided not to overdo it over the next two days during my little trips around Nevers.
So for the first day, I took the N7 towards Moulins and then turned west direction Limoges via Montluçon and Guéret. My plan was to visit Poitiers and then get as far as La Rochelle and then back with lots of photos on the way. But as it would soon start to get dark and I was a bit…tired with mild headache from the morningʼs accident, I only managed to reach Poitiers. The sensible thing would be to return, so that I donʼt spoil my so far great experience. I chose the road via the “Parc National Régional de la Brenne” direction Châteauroux and then to Nevers via another narrow D road… Total of only about 600km (just over 370 miles) for that day…Tiredness had started to kick in!

Second day and I was even more restricted on my driving ambitions…Only a short trip of some 300km (not even 200 miles…) direction Autun and Chalon-sur-Saône, then south on A6/E15 to Mâcon and then back to Nevers via Moulins. I finally decided to visit the Autodrome, but clearly neither the car nor the driver was up for a track ride…
Back to my hotel, I was contemputf8g my achievements so far: almost 2000km (nearly 1250 miles) in 3 days and I still had to drive back another 1000km! Brilliant! Now I should plan carefully the itinerary to Caen, the destination of the following day - 16th November - , as the return journey was due to start in hours.

I opted for a trip from Nevers to Caen via…Paris! A77 first and then on A6/E15 north…Despite the heavy traffic around the capital of France (and my personal birthplace), the journey was very relaxed, as the Big Cat was attracting admiring glances from the French drivers here and there… I even stopped for a quick photo shooting in Versailles, as you may see from the relevant photos… ? I was very happy and excited!
Then back on the wheel, direction Evreux to finally reach my overnight accommodation at the Caen City Centre Holiday Inn Hotel. I was somehow concerned: I knew that there was no car park on site; so where would I park the big boy (all my cars are boys of course… ha ha ha) safely for the night?!?! A quick chat with the friendly receptionist solved the problem. He initially suggested a nearby underground car park (10 min walk). As he was genuinely interested to know what kind of car I could possibly have to worry that much, I explained it was a Jaguar XJ.
“Oh, le propriétaire a une Jaguar XK coupé; et il la gare dans la rue en dehors de lʼhôtel. Pas de problème! Nous aussi en France, nous avons des voitures prestigieuses…” he replied… Mind you, during my journey I saw only 3 French registered Jaguars: two S-Type and one XJ (X350)…
I took his advice about parking though; I was very lucky: a relatively big space was waiting in front of the main entrance of the hotel. I parked the car with all its length within the white markings without a single scratch! The photos that you may see explain what I mean! I was very pleased: I could see him even from my window! True is that the night view of Caen from my top floor window was such that I found myself hooked there for a while like a child who has found a new toy…my birthday gift...

Next day, the 17th November, it was the return day… As I had plenty of time until my late afternoon departure from Calais, I decided to take the coastal road from Caen to Le Havres, via Deauville and Honfleur. A short stop at Le Havres and I eventually reached my final French destination, Calais, via Dieppe and Boulogne-sur-Mer. After the almost mandatory stop at the supermarket Carrefour, I was on my way to the port to wait for the Sea France Ferry boat for the way back. And guess what… I was first on the queue with no other car waiting yet. That early I was!!! Or maybe I was simply tired, so no time to sightsee any more… A last chat on French soil with two friendly French officers of the Port Police about the car, as they felt sympathy(!) about me seeing me lonely waiting…(ha ha ha), and several hours later I was back at home.

During this trip I did about 3000km (just over 1,850 miles) in 5 days…No problem! On second thought I could have driven to Greece instead… I donʼt remember exact figures of fuel consumption, but I would only describe it as “acceptable” for the type of car and level of driving mode! Besides, who cares about the cost? We only have one birthday a year and we should enjoy it! And the next one is coming now fast…So, ready anyone for this yearʼs little adventure?!? ?