SteveM

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Ok first off there are LOADS of pictures and what I have put on here is only a few of the 1200 shots taken! I wont bore you with all the details but a quick rundown of the rough route and places visited (even a quick rundown will take a while) We set off from home down to the Eurotunnel then through to France, straight on to Belgium then stopping in that small bit of Holland for lunch in a town called Geleen (three countries down in the first morning) then we crossed into Germany and on down to a town called Bad Kreuznach for the first nights stay. Next day was down to Baden Baden and onto the route 500 through the German black forest and down to Konstanz in the German Swiss border for night two and then on into Switzerland passing by Liechtenstien and on down to one of the two largest man-made climbing routes in the world then on from there to the San Bernardino pass and Davos for night three. From Davos it was across the Fluelapass, Umbrailpass, Passo Del Stelvio and no down to Merano in Italy then more passes only this time we are in the Dolomites, San Leonardo Pass was the highlight we then stopped in the mountains for night four. More passes in the Dolomites the next day as we headed down towards Venice and the coast before entering Slovenia and crossing into Croatia and stopping in Rovinj for night five. The coast road of Croatia for the next two days stopping in Split for night six and visiting Zadar and Dubrovnic and passing through a small bit of Bosnia before getting the overnight ferry (night seven) from Dubrovnic to Bari in Italy. We crossed the bottom of Italy in a day ending up in Positano on the Amalfi coast where we hires a Rib and did a bit of a James bond blast along the coast for a couple of hours to take in the sights, night eight. The next day was over to Sorrento for coffee, then up pass Naples and Mount Vesuvius into middle of Italy and a couple of national parks stopping the night in a small town called Popoli for night nine. The next day was exploring Umbria overnighting in Spoleto night ten, then Tuscany overnighting in Volterra night eleven. Next day was up around Florence and Mugello along some amazing roads on onto Bologna for a Ducati Factory tour then on up to Lake Como and a little lake side town called Colico for night twelve. The next day was heading back up into the mountains in Switzerland doing the Gotthard Pass, Furka Pass and Grimsel Pass before stopping in Bern for night thirteen. Back up into Germany and the Black forest again then on up to Trier for night fourteen. Last day was through Luxembourg and up through Belgium stopping at Ypres for lunch and then home. 10 countries later and some 4042 miles, awesome roads and an amazing trip! We both understand that that amount of driving wont suit everyone but we love it and have seem so many places in our two weeks away and so much better than lounging on a beach somewhere. Anyway onto the pictures

nope.... we ended up coming back via Germany (route 500.. again)and Luxembourg (cheap fill up) then stopping in Ypres for lunch...the B&B in Troyes has been logged for future reference though that said we are thinking of the Pyrenees next year.....

if there is one the one downside of a trip like that is that you don't have the time to really do places like Pompei justice so we decided to skip Rome and Pompei on the basis that we will fly back and actually spend sometime doing them properly as for costs..... not looked a it yet and if I am honest we probably wont work out how much it cost... as a rough guide we did 4042 miles and averaged over the hole trip 26 miles per gallon (bear in mind fuel in Europe is slightly cheaper and very much cheaper in Croatia and Luxembourg) hotels roughly work out at £100 per night for 2 including breakfast (and lunch as we make a packed lunch from the breakfast stuff, meats, cheese and rolls) and including parking. some night are cheaper and some more expensive but allow £100 a night and you wont go far wrong then its just evening meals and drink so its up to you how much you spend. I have cooked a set of pads in the mountains so I guess you need to add that to the costs as for my back... all good! no aches at all.... it does seem a long time behind the wheel but with coffee, pee, petrol, photograph, lunch and other stops you are in and out of the car a lot. still got to go through the pictures (all 1200 of them!)

Will, we ventured into the Dolomites a bit more this year.. VERY much worth it! some amazing roads. the coast of Croatia was ok in places but the towns made up for the sometimes busy roads. Rovinj, Split and Dubrovnic are amazing places to visit. will sort out more details and pics in the next few days.....

well despite being told that we wouldn't and or couldn't do it in the time we had allowed are back from our epic tour of Europe! 10 countries, 4042 miles, 2 weeks and some of the most amazing roads and places.... loads of pics but for now just the one teaser.... picnic at 2400m

did mine many years ago and went from never having ridden even a scooter to having a full licence in about 5 days... bought a 600 and had fun for a few months then went silly and bought a 1200 if you have even a small amount o bike experience prior the this will help you

zig zags Graham

I thought the peoples front of Judea were splitters?

same as mine.... late model rev up DE

i dont drive anything every day... can go several days between usuing some form of combustion engine but when i do its usually or or the wifes

they decended at twice the normal rate and the pilot was in the main cabin trying to break the door down to the cockpit.... you bet they knew something wasnt right!

sad to say but the peak you can see behind in this picture is Tete de l'estrop which is right next to the crash site (behind that peak)

yeah i was thinking that.... but i have driven the Col d'Allos which passes within 3 miles of the crash site and had perfect phone signal even at the top of the col (2,250 m (7,380 ft) you would have though SOMEONE might have sent a text or something...... not good..... people could be heard screaming before the crash... that must make it even harder for the relatives!!! at least a massive decompression COULD have killed everyine before the decent but knowing that they knew is horrible

something doesnt add up...... someone at the front of the plane is trying to break the cockpit door in while the plane decends shaply for 8 minutes... even if people dont realise whats going on for 4 minutes (hard to believe) that gives people a further 4 minutes to turn on phones and send a message or call a loved one and say goodbye or something??? and not one message was sent? very odd

first day is always a drag..... long boring motorway miles to get as far down as you can then as you say try to limit the daily milage so as to still enjoy it. we have pretty much worked out what we can do in a day on the mountain roads and also know roughly what sort of time we will want to be looking to stop and not booking hotels gives you a lot of flexibility. also there are a few areas in that trip that if we are getting tired we COULD skip onto some bigger roads and jump ahead a bit to buy us a down day but we will see how we get on. first night hotel is booked (i like to at least know after that long drag i have a hotel for the first night) although we have already started changing things as we are booked into a hotel in Bad Kreuznach which is just down the road from Heidelberg on the basis that we have already been there and wanted to see somewhere new. we know that a lot of people can think of nothing worse than spending that amount of time in the car and have had friends say but when do you stop and get a holiday but to us we love it and being in the car on those roads in that scenery IS the holiday

full set of brakes and tyres fitted, Return train crossing booked and ferry crossing from Dubrovnik to Bari booked! Heidelberg in Germany, route 500, Konstanz in Germany, Diga di Luzzon dam, San bernadino pass, Davos, Fluela pass, Ofenpass, Umbrailpass, Stelvio Pass, San Leonardo pass, Rombo Pass, Rovinj in Croatia, Split in Croatia, Dubrovnik in Croatia, Bari in Italy, grotto palazzese, Amalfi, Sorrento, Pompei, Bologna and the Ducati Factory, Verona in Italy, Furka Pass, Grimsel Pass, Bern in Switzerland then heading home via Germany and Belgium. 2 weeks, over 4000 miles, over 15 tanks of fuel and some of the best driving roads in europe...... cannot wait!

what papa smurf said.... Always drive to Sly at Kaizer now. trustworthy, good price and you know if he gives you any advice on parts that need replacing they NEED replacing its worth the trip... i drive an hour each way to go there

only rear shot i have of mine is from back before i put the wheels on but you get the idea... personally i think the nismo type spoiler is just a bit too much for the roadster but each to their own...

subtle works in my opinion

Civil / Structural Draughtman contracted to a large multi national consulting engineering company working as a CAD co-ordinator for a large civil job currently in progress in east London