Alok
The TomTom did it.
Last week, me and two friends decided just like that, to drive somewhere fairly exotic. In the end we settle for Paris.
We set off friday at half past six in a rented Mk V Golf 1.6 (very very very nice car) for Paris. The target was to get to Paris in time for the illumination. We hit Paris shortly after midnight and after a bazillion car horns and screams and screeches later, we finally got to the Eiffel tower.
All was well and normal, except for some military dudes walking about with submachine guns with no magazines in them. After an hour or two of admiring the sheering engineering beauty of the tower, we drove to a gas station out of the city, where three of us went to kip for the night in the car.
A hopelessly freezing and cramped as (motherfucking!!!) hell sleep and some light freshening up at the gas station, we got back to the tower and climbed the first two floors using the stairs. There were no more stairs for the public to the third level, so we took the elevator.
Once on top, we saw that London was just 349km from Paris, but since we didnt have enough cash then to cross the channel, we decided to go till Calais.
This is where things get interesting.
Driving around looking for a beach, we accidentally drove into the embarking car park. Seeing that it was the wrong way, Jill just stopped, J turned and headed back, just two see that the two roads forking out of the car park are one-way roads. Seeing that it extended out only 50 meters, Jill floored and we got out with an 11 on the tarmac, and after driving around for a few km, we see a police van behind signalling us to pull over. They talked to Jill for a bit, as she was the only one who spoke french among us. The guy then asked for my ID, but then asked for my passport, which I had, rather stupidly forgotten at home. I got some thorough questioning outside the car, followed by a proper searching. There were three policemen in total. After explaining my situation, two of them went behind the van with my particulars and discussed something, while the third one asked me a few questions.
It went on like this..
G: What are you doing here in Calais
Me: We are a bunch of students who just decided to rent a car and go drive to shoot some pictures.
G: What kind of pictures do you want to take in a place like Calais
Me: Of the sea, always wanted to see the SeaCat.
G: How do you know about the SeaCat?
Me: A UK tv show Topgear
G: Ah Topgear!
And then, he went to the back of the van, and about two mins later, the three came back, returned all out credentials and let us go and wished us a good journey. They told me not to forget my ID next time. I asked them for a nice place to take pics, and they sort of escorted us to a nice beachside parking lot and drove off.
We walked on the beach for a bit, then went to bed in the car for the second night. I slept worse the second night because the car park we were parked in was some sort of ricer central and there were yobos in diesels trying to drift around a small mini roundabout at the beach end.
Woke up in the morning and decided we needed to shower badly, as I had only washed my head the night before and I cant survive a day without a shower. We drove around a bit looking for a gas station with a shower before entering the motorway. Some time later, and still no gas station, we notice that the streetlights have moved to the centre of the motorway. Jill suggested that we could have accidentally gotten into Belgium. She was right, and we dropped by the first gas station 40km into Belgium for a shower. From there on, since we had no clue where we were (we had no satnav and no maps), we decided to hit Germany. Once in germany, our satnav got reactivated (it only had germany) and I found out that the ring was just 125km away. Since Jill is quite possibly one of the best drivers I have ever met, male or female, I suggested we head for the ring, but though the twisty back roads.
We got to the ring, but didnt wanna take our rental on the track, even though I trusted my life and a little bit more in Jill's hands. She too decided not to, and we walked among the car park. After some light strolling, I saw two Elises, and talked to one of the drivers who offered, and I mean offered to show me round the ring in his Elise. I had gained some confidence in him from our conversation earlier, which he later confirmed when he told me he does anything between 300-900 laps a year. He took me for a very quick lap round the hell.
The car wasn't very potent on the straights, but through the twisty bits, we overtook several 911s and Z4Ms. I asked him if he would take Jill for a lap as well, to which he more than agreed to. He said he do as many laps as I wanted
This could have been possibly down to the fact that he had borrowed the wheels and tires from a friend of his.
We headed home after the laps, just two hours ago
http://img262.imageshack.**/img262/6889/dsc7533nl4.jpg
Great trip. I had a lot lot lot lot lot lot of fun, and Jill promised me this was definitely not gonna be our last trip together.
We set off friday at half past six in a rented Mk V Golf 1.6 (very very very nice car) for Paris. The target was to get to Paris in time for the illumination. We hit Paris shortly after midnight and after a bazillion car horns and screams and screeches later, we finally got to the Eiffel tower.
All was well and normal, except for some military dudes walking about with submachine guns with no magazines in them. After an hour or two of admiring the sheering engineering beauty of the tower, we drove to a gas station out of the city, where three of us went to kip for the night in the car.
A hopelessly freezing and cramped as (motherfucking!!!) hell sleep and some light freshening up at the gas station, we got back to the tower and climbed the first two floors using the stairs. There were no more stairs for the public to the third level, so we took the elevator.
Once on top, we saw that London was just 349km from Paris, but since we didnt have enough cash then to cross the channel, we decided to go till Calais.
This is where things get interesting.
Driving around looking for a beach, we accidentally drove into the embarking car park. Seeing that it was the wrong way, Jill just stopped, J turned and headed back, just two see that the two roads forking out of the car park are one-way roads. Seeing that it extended out only 50 meters, Jill floored and we got out with an 11 on the tarmac, and after driving around for a few km, we see a police van behind signalling us to pull over. They talked to Jill for a bit, as she was the only one who spoke french among us. The guy then asked for my ID, but then asked for my passport, which I had, rather stupidly forgotten at home. I got some thorough questioning outside the car, followed by a proper searching. There were three policemen in total. After explaining my situation, two of them went behind the van with my particulars and discussed something, while the third one asked me a few questions.
It went on like this..
G: What are you doing here in Calais
Me: We are a bunch of students who just decided to rent a car and go drive to shoot some pictures.
G: What kind of pictures do you want to take in a place like Calais
Me: Of the sea, always wanted to see the SeaCat.
G: How do you know about the SeaCat?
Me: A UK tv show Topgear
G: Ah Topgear!
And then, he went to the back of the van, and about two mins later, the three came back, returned all out credentials and let us go and wished us a good journey. They told me not to forget my ID next time. I asked them for a nice place to take pics, and they sort of escorted us to a nice beachside parking lot and drove off.
We walked on the beach for a bit, then went to bed in the car for the second night. I slept worse the second night because the car park we were parked in was some sort of ricer central and there were yobos in diesels trying to drift around a small mini roundabout at the beach end.
Woke up in the morning and decided we needed to shower badly, as I had only washed my head the night before and I cant survive a day without a shower. We drove around a bit looking for a gas station with a shower before entering the motorway. Some time later, and still no gas station, we notice that the streetlights have moved to the centre of the motorway. Jill suggested that we could have accidentally gotten into Belgium. She was right, and we dropped by the first gas station 40km into Belgium for a shower. From there on, since we had no clue where we were (we had no satnav and no maps), we decided to hit Germany. Once in germany, our satnav got reactivated (it only had germany) and I found out that the ring was just 125km away. Since Jill is quite possibly one of the best drivers I have ever met, male or female, I suggested we head for the ring, but though the twisty back roads.
We got to the ring, but didnt wanna take our rental on the track, even though I trusted my life and a little bit more in Jill's hands. She too decided not to, and we walked among the car park. After some light strolling, I saw two Elises, and talked to one of the drivers who offered, and I mean offered to show me round the ring in his Elise. I had gained some confidence in him from our conversation earlier, which he later confirmed when he told me he does anything between 300-900 laps a year. He took me for a very quick lap round the hell.
The car wasn't very potent on the straights, but through the twisty bits, we overtook several 911s and Z4Ms. I asked him if he would take Jill for a lap as well, to which he more than agreed to. He said he do as many laps as I wanted
This could have been possibly down to the fact that he had borrowed the wheels and tires from a friend of his.We headed home after the laps, just two hours ago
http://img262.imageshack.**/img262/6889/dsc7533nl4.jpg
Great trip. I had a lot lot lot lot lot lot of fun, and Jill promised me this was definitely not gonna be our last trip together.
