Day Two - but officially Day One of the Rally
At 8.30am the car park behind the Novotel Suites was buzzing. We had just left the hotel, where six boys and girls dressed in "Where's Wally" Red & White outfits were having breakfast. Every person in the breakfast room couldn't take their eyes off them - until the Green Ladies made an entrance in their pea outfits! They were green from head to toe!
The cars and their teams were all preparing for the longest day of the rally today - some three hundred and fifty odd miles. There was an Aston Martin decked out as an American Policed Car, a Land Rover striped like a zebra with a rhino horn on the front and teams dressed up to match the car themes.
After a photo shoot of everybody behind a huge Travel Trade Crusade banner, we all got to our cars to start. The film crew were filming everyone as they left the car park in convoy, led by Sarah. We all stayed in convoy until the film crew had not only filed everyone leaving (some needed a jump start, and one poor man on a Motoguzzi motor bike got an oil leak and had to head home) but then whizzed past us all on the motorway. Once that had all been done, Sarah had flashing lights on the top of her car, and we all then were on our own!
The first part of the trip was easy but fairly monoton
ous. We headed off on the E40 to Dunkirk, and then on the E42 to Lille. We had been given our first task of the day - to find the Ariane 4 Rocket and have a picture taken with all your team. The other task was to make up your own challenge - the whackier the better! We also all had a booklet that had various "Brain Teasers" in, including pictures of tanks, buildings etc and we had to name where they were. Just to make sure no-one was cheating and staying on the motorway the whole time! We had googled the rocket, and found after some time I might add, that it was at the Euro Space Centre in Transinne, Belgium.
We continued on the motorway to Mons, and then it was here that we came off the main roads. We first headed for a town called Beaumont, and then on to Philipeville. In the middle of a roundabout in Philipeville was an old aircraft - one of the pictures! Just then, a Eurofighter went overhead really low. Spooky. When we met up with Dev's Midnight Runners from Eurorail they reckoned they had arranged for a flypast. Ha!!
We then arrived into a town called Dinant - what a beautiful town. We drove along the river there to the next town, Givet, and it was one of the most beautiful drives I think I have ever been on. And the sun is so hot! An excellent day to have a convertible. Except when Paul leant out of the car to take a picture and his hat blew off. Perfect - I never liked that hat. He grumbled a bit, and I did make a half hearted offer to go back, but we continued on....hatless!
We then headed off to Wellin, and from here to the Eurospace Centre where we managed to get someone to take our photograph, as we both had to be in it. Well, all team members, and as we hadn't actually registered Raquel (the naked blow up doll - seems only right to give her a name!) we decided to leave her in the car. Might not be totally appropriate as there were lots of children about. Several more of the teams turned up when we were there, so it was probably me being thick rather than quite hard to find! We did find out that Raquel had made a diving save from the back seat and caught Paul's hat though - bugger!
We briefly hit the motorway again, before going onto country roads to Bastogne - where we spotted a tank that was in the booklet. This gave Paul an idea for our challenge - let's see how many different modes of transport that we can photograph Raquel on. Too late for the tank, but eyes peeled for any others. We soon came across a JCB and a digger on the side of the road - unattended. We pulled over and the digger hadn't even been locked up, so Raquel sat in the drivers seat. The JCB was locked, so she just hung from the outside.
After a few more miles we spotted a couple of Harley Davidsons in a layby. We pulled in and asked if we could take a picture of Raquel on their bike. Sounds a bit daft now - but they agreed. They pointed out the hot parts (could have been a very short rally for her if we had melted her bits!) and we took her picture. They seemed to think it was funny, because they then took some pictures of her and us! Mad dogs and Englishmen - they must have thought we were crazy.
After a small detour - that might have thrown us - to get to Ettelbruck because of roadworks, we were then on the last leg to get to Metz. Should have been fairly straightforward, but it was nose to tail for around twenty miles. We finally arrived into Metz at 7pm - led straight there by Mrs TomTom, who had been spot on all day. What did we do before technology! What a fantastic old town Metz is - and how confusing the roads are. The road we wanted to go down had bollards, so we had to reverse and park in a big square. I walked to the hotel, and got directions to an underground car park where we could leave the car overnight.
When we got to the hotel, I realised that we had both been in the full sun all day, with the roof down, and no sun cream on. Tomato faces! Never mind - I am sure they will have settled down a bit by tomorrow. Nothing else for it but a campari and beer - very well deserved after that long days drive.
ous. We headed off on the E40 to Dunkirk, and then on the E42 to Lille. We had been given our first task of the day - to find the Ariane 4 Rocket and have a picture taken with all your team. The other task was to make up your own challenge - the whackier the better! We also all had a booklet that had various "Brain Teasers" in, including pictures of tanks, buildings etc and we had to name where they were. Just to make sure no-one was cheating and staying on the motorway the whole time! We had googled the rocket, and found after some time I might add, that it was at the Euro Space Centre in Transinne, Belgium.
We continued on the motorway to Mons, and then it was here that we came off the main roads. We first headed for a town called Beaumont, and then on to Philipeville. In the middle of a roundabout in Philipeville was an old aircraft - one of the pictures! Just then, a Eurofighter went overhead really low. Spooky. When we met up with Dev's Midnight Runners from Eurorail they reckoned they had arranged for a flypast. Ha!!
We then arrived into a town called Dinant - what a beautiful town. We drove along the river there to the next town, Givet, and it was one of the most beautiful drives I think I have ever been on. And the sun is so hot! An excellent day to have a convertible. Except when Paul leant out of the car to take a picture and his hat blew off. Perfect - I never liked that hat. He grumbled a bit, and I did make a half hearted offer to go back, but we continued on....hatless!
We then headed off to Wellin, and from here to the Eurospace Centre where we managed to get someone to take our photograph, as we both had to be in it. Well, all team members, and as we hadn't actually registered Raquel (the naked blow up doll - seems only right to give her a name!) we decided to leave her in the car. Might not be totally appropriate as there were lots of children about. Several more of the teams turned up when we were there, so it was probably me being thick rather than quite hard to find! We did find out that Raquel had made a diving save from the back seat and caught Paul's hat though - bugger!
We briefly hit the motorway again, before going onto country roads to Bastogne - where we spotted a tank that was in the booklet. This gave Paul an idea for our challenge - let's see how many different modes of transport that we can photograph Raquel on. Too late for the tank, but eyes peeled for any others. We soon came across a JCB and a digger on the side of the road - unattended. We pulled over and the digger hadn't even been locked up, so Raquel sat in the drivers seat. The JCB was locked, so she just hung from the outside.
After a few more miles we spotted a couple of Harley Davidsons in a layby. We pulled in and asked if we could take a picture of Raquel on their bike. Sounds a bit daft now - but they agreed. They pointed out the hot parts (could have been a very short rally for her if we had melted her bits!) and we took her picture. They seemed to think it was funny, because they then took some pictures of her and us! Mad dogs and Englishmen - they must have thought we were crazy.
After a small detour - that might have thrown us - to get to Ettelbruck because of roadworks, we were then on the last leg to get to Metz. Should have been fairly straightforward, but it was nose to tail for around twenty miles. We finally arrived into Metz at 7pm - led straight there by Mrs TomTom, who had been spot on all day. What did we do before technology! What a fantastic old town Metz is - and how confusing the roads are. The road we wanted to go down had bollards, so we had to reverse and park in a big square. I walked to the hotel, and got directions to an underground car park where we could leave the car overnight.
When we got to the hotel, I realised that we had both been in the full sun all day, with the roof down, and no sun cream on. Tomato faces! Never mind - I am sure they will have settled down a bit by tomorrow. Nothing else for it but a campari and beer - very well deserved after that long days drive.
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