Mclaren 750S into Europe, the usual nonsense!

[ShortBeardy]

Keep posting Br d,
I await your yearly trip posting with antic -i- pation. Inspirational, funny and at times moving. Although we've never met you have made me laugh with you, and the other. Thank you for sharing.

Just got back from a week driving up coastal BC and down the Ice Fields Parkway with my daughter in an older 996 cab. Jaw dropping scenery and though I appreciate it's not your typical fare of culture, it's well worth a look. Safe travels,
Short Beardy

[g3org3y]

Another great thread, thanks for sharing.

br d said:

Now in Locarno Switzerland.

You'll be quite close to the Contra Dam (the one from Goldeneye). Maybe suggest a group bungee jump for you and your friends?

[CharlesdeGaulle]

br d said:

Right, let me get back to those I can here.
I'm at my hotel, just been for a lovely meal with my friends, spent a brilliant day together.

I will put this up here as he is the most fearless person I've ever known.
Nels is terminal but the man is a fking bull, they gave him a year 12 months ago but he's still as strong as an ox, driving his family on European trips and taking life by the throat everyday.
We've been friends for 45 years and every minute spent with him is an inspiration. I've never known anybody with such determination and refusal to stop going forward.

Some pics of the family from today.



... They aren't reading this but thank you guys anyway for a lifetime of friendship and support.

Nice post br d. Whilst they may not have read your post, I bet they know how you feel. How comforting to have good friends around in times of adversity and sadness.

[RicksAlfas]

g3org3y said:

You'll be quite close to the Contra Dam (the one from Goldeneye). Maybe suggest a group bungee jump for you and your friends?

Not with his tender balls!

[Sycamore]

RicksAlfas said:

g3org3y said:

You'll be quite close to the Contra Dam (the one from Goldeneye). Maybe suggest a group bungee jump for you and your friends?

Not with his tender balls!

Seeing your balls overtake you when you're at the bottom of the bungee tether would be character building at least

[Mr Tidy]

br d said:

Mr Tidy said:

Because we know we are going to be entertained!

Just keep posting nonsense please.

Thank you.
I can do little else

Great, that's what we all look forward to!

Nice to see the weather seems to have improved for you - hopefully that provides more scope for nonsense.

[br d]

Sorry guys!

Updates coming! Car finally thrashed!

[br d]

prand said:

Please don't be, I don't think you realise how inspiring it is to read about your trips and allow us a pure and honest view into your life. I would imagine there are many, many friends out here you have not met yet but have aso much invested in seeing you return to Pistonheads each year. Without fail you deliver the same humour and openness, despite what you have been through.

My family and I love our drives to Europe each year, and yours usually serve as a perfect warmup and inspiration for our trips, even if we do it in somewhat more modest style.

Funnily enough we stayed in Chamonix last summer then took the tunnel through Mont Blanc and down the amazing Aosta Valley turning right instead towards Turin and Piedmont for some terrific food, wine, people and scenery around Alba and Barolo before heading back along the coast into France. I don't think we would have had that experience without being encouraged by your trips and your posts to hit the road and go and experience the finest Europe has to offer.

Hey prand.

I appreciate your long suffering support of my threads.
It's fantastic to hear of your family adventures, building future memories. I think your route down to Alba and Barolo is one of the few I haven't done, I will definitely look at this.
It's always been a pleasure to see you here, thank you.

[br d]

millik said:

I agree with Prand.
The first of your travel threads I read was the one with the Ferraris in the South of France and have then looked forward to reading about your annual trips. Appreciate that you tell your tales ‘live’ and unedited.
Don’t usually comment as usually by the time I’ve realised that the thread is up you are already back in the UK! (And whatever I type does not convey what i mean properly !!)

Thanks millik.
I'm with you, nothing I type ever quite approaches what I'm trying to say because I'm thick as mince! But just saying whatever I think is happening at the time seems to get close enough.
I'm very grateful that some of it seems to touch a nerve.

[Sway]

br d said:

Sorry guys!

Updates coming! Car finally thrashed!

Ah, I'm glad you gave it a Italian tune up before handing over.

I'd have hated to have been underwhelmed by the performance.

Hope you're loving life bud, you deserve to.

[br d]

Earthdweller said:

Br d

Keep it coming mate, it’s a great tonic to read and we can vicariously live the ups and downs in real time with your ramblings and exploits

We all have ups and downs and sometimes life can be a challenge

I’m heading off tomorrow on a euro trip, nowt as grand as yours mind and taking my son with me and know it’s going to be a struggle due to my health

But fk it, you’re only here once and while life may get you down at times don’t you dare let it stop you living and enjoying it

As I said keep it coming

Thank you Earthdweller.

I hope your trip with your son is going well, give us some details!
Sorry to hear about your health issues, I wish you all the best.

Indeed, we are only here once. Material st doesn't matter, it's doing things with those you love that counts.

Good luck to you sir.

[br d]

Oh bugger, I had set aside time tonight to catch up but now I'm off on a tangent with Sideways Tim's lovely thread!

[br d]

Tim, that was an amazing trip!

I don't spend as much time as I used to on PH so I miss this stuff, that was an absolute blast! Huge respect.
You did more miles than I would take on with all the latest mod cons. Fabulous.

And lowdrag had some amazing stories to recount too. There's a mine of info on these pages that has to be preserved.

I tried to copy that wonderful pic of your car parked between the modern stuff to this thread but my digital foo is lacking. If someone can get it here I would appreciate it, it's on page 6 of Tim's thread I think.

Brilliant. Well done sir, respect.

[daqinggregg]

This one?

[sideways man]

Bit late to the party this year, just spent a hour catching up with this trip. As others have said, keep ‘em coming and long may they continue. Loved the flying drone out of the window

[br d]

Mikebentley said:

Safe onwards journey br d. Always enjoy your personal travelogue.

This one's definitely been lacking in content Mike, my apologies.

Between the weather and an uncharacteristic lack of enthusiasm for the trip I've not offered up much worth reading.

I think maybe I should've listened to the Doc! Don't get me wrong I'm doing good but there's a definite feeling of not quite rightedness about this trip.
I pulled every trick in the book to get out here but maybe it's all a couple of months too early.

I have got some stuff to post up but I'm not in my usual anything goes mood!

Next year will be better!

[CharlesdeGaulle]

Like life, road trips reflect the ups and downs. Don't worry br d if this feels flat by your usual standards; we readers are along for the ride anyway and wish you well.

[Sway]

If you're not feeling it, you're not feeling it. No point fighting that, and don't for a second feel you owe us anything in terms of updates and banter.

Enjoy it the best you can, take a hard look in the mirror at being a whingy bh whilst touring Europe in luxury via a fking hypercar ( ), and keep in touch as much as you want to.

[shirt]

Agree, if you’re not feeling it just pivot.

You said you’d be in aix on bastille day so you’ve got another week. There are some amazing wellness resorts in that part of the world. Book one with a decent (caterpillar free!) restaurant and great views, and chill out.

I’ve been working in Corsica the last 2 weeks, just sat on the ferry to marseille as I type and getting the train up to Lausanne in the morning. My wellness therapy will be a moto guzzi and some alpine roads

I say that as I had 90mins to do a 2:15 drive to the ferry in a diesel Clio hire car. Omg some of the best roads I’ve ever driven and definitely the most fun I’ve had in the roads of late. A local in a megane rs must have been similarly dispositioned as he led and I followed. A few SFSFSF moments but I can see why the tour du corse is so highly regarded now. Not sure your 750 would fit down some of the gaps between the rocks tho, but Provence / sardines / Corsica could give you a different bent for future adventures?

[br d]

57Ford said:

Chin up Brad, take every day as a new one and enjoy your surroundings. You can’t and shouldn’t forget the past but don’t dwell on it. You, more than many, will be aware of how st life can be so celebrate the good times you’ve had and now make the most of what you’ve worked hard to achieve. You’ll be back to the grind soon enough.

Anyway, tell us about this new jalopy of yours. Is it better than the last one? Is it sharper or is it more GT? Does it give you a better shove out of a dry corner? Does it make you smile when you turn around as you’re walking away?
These are the important things I need to know because I’m considering buying one (once they’re down to shed-money )

Okay cool, thanks man.

I'm jumping ahead a bit here but at least it's car stuff, eventually!

I didn't really enjoy the hotel at Locarno, just wasn't really what I was looking for.
There still is some snobbery in these posh hotels and though I really don't have any right to call it out it can be fking annoying.
As you can probably tell from my obvious cockney gitness I don't put on any airs or graces on these trips, I'm always super respectful though and go out of my way to treat everyone I come across with civility and decency but sometimes I don't get every nuance right. The wealthy from birth people do get this stuff right and more power to them.

The restaurant here was a good example.

I come in for an evening meal and I prefer to sit inside, this is only because if I sit outside someone always lights up a fag next to me and because of my stty lungs this will start me coughing, not ideal when I'm eating.
So I ask if I can sit inside, there's a hundred fking tables.
The guy looks confused and tries to usher me out to the courtyard where everybody else is sitting but I say again can I sit inside please.
He says he'll get the manager.

The manager comes in and I swear to god he's one of those proper fking jobsworth s who's entire existence is based upon running his empire.
He directs such a withering look at me I almost buckle under it!

He actually fking sniffs then says "You wish to sit inside?"

Yes, I do. Thank you.

He gives me another stty look but directs some of his minions to set a place at a table near the door.

I order food and ask for the wine list.
Again, I know two thirds of fk all about wine and don't pretend to but I do enjoy a nice bottle, I only drink red and I generally order either a Pinot Noir or anything Cote de Beaune. This is because me and shal used to spend time in that region and we always liked the wine. There are no doubt much better reasons to pick from other regions but that's what I go with and I'm paying.

He brings the wine list and doesn't like my option.
I really don't mind people recommending stuff to me - never ignore an expert - but this is different, I should have a white wine with this food, he's over confident, he's proper talking down to me, he points out one I should have instead.
No thank you, the Cote de Beaune please.

They bring the first course and fk me they bring out an ice bucket with his white wine suggestion in it!

All of my childhood council estate molecules start waking up and I want to go outside and grab this fker but I just point out it's wrong and they bring me the proper one.
If only I was 20 years younger!

A mistake? Maybe. But he was proper disrespectful to me anyway, I'm convinced it was deliberate.

This was supposed to about cars!