Meeting up
And peering at other people's Spiders
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Six or so teams were definite for the trip to Aix-Les-Bains to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the launch of the FIAT 124 Spider and of these two finally went (Dave and Sue Slaney were the other entry). Dave and Sue wisely went out on Weds 24th for the meet on Thurs 25th, I decided to make a short hol of it and booked with Speedferries to cross on Monday 22nd afternoon. This turned out to be a bad idea as the weather that weekend was atrocious and the catamaran could not run; so that was a £25 ticket saved for later in the year and £75 spent on P&O! Once over there the run down was quite fun even though the weather was poor, but I must get the seal between hood and screen sorted, as a waterfall into the lap can be a bit embarrasing when you stop for lunch. No matter, we all arrived on Thursday afternoon at the faded grandeur of the 'Hotel des Isles Brittanique'. When they built Aix-les-Bains and the hotel, motor cars were just a gleam in Gottlieb Daimler's eye so fitting twenty-odd Spiders into the limited parking was quite a job. Nevertheless we were able to check in, pick up route books and 'Plaques de Rallye' and have a rather jolly dinner. |
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Meeting up |
And peering at other people's Spiders |
| Friday 26th Pause for Petrol | A quick(hour or so) visit to the service station. This was followed by an anguished discussion (and only the French can really do 'anguished discussion') to discover the person who had not paid |
 20+ Spiders need refreshment |
 (At the local FIAT dealer of course) |
| With that out of the way, we travelled in convoy along the lake and halfway up the mountain to the fromagerie. Narrow road with 1000 ft drops on one side and overhanging cliffs on the other plus lots of nice hairpins. Very entertaining although I suspect the lady in the Renault Clio waiting at he top for a chance to come down as Spider after Spider went up was less amused. At the St. Ours Cheese Co-op we tasted and compared their various cheeses (and very good they were too) and buying for those that wanted to - Thanks to the French club's organization, the weather on both days was blazing hot and I didn't myself give much for the cheese's chance after it would have spent five or six days in the Spider's boot so I refrained. |
| Friday 26th | 'visite et dégustation' (blessed are the cheesemakers) Sorry there are no PICTURES of the cheese but you know what it looks like - slabs of creamy-yellowy stuff, So here are some more Spiders |
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 Decent of them to provide a stand for photography |
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| After that it was time for a glass or two of Savoy wine to prepare us for the regularity trial, a 33 Km course through the villages and round and up the mountain to be performed at a rolling average of 45Km/Hr with (fairly) secret controls. At the top magnificent views, a very nice restaurant and a very nice lunch. I should say that the initial fee (350 Euros IIRC) covered absolutely everthing, Hotel, breakfast, lunch and dinner with wine at both from Thursday evening to Sunday morning. |
| Then a fast descent back down into Aix, round the south end of the lake and back up (more hairpins) the west side of the lake to visit the Abbaye de Hautcombe. I thought we'd arrived when we all stopped high above the lake, but that was evidently just the halfway point from where we could look down on the abbey. To actually get to it we had to carry on and come down the hills again. Which we did and had a tour of the abbey. After that things disintegrated somewhat. The convoy scattered even though there were no enemy wolfpacks, some went back up the hills, some went back to the hotel and some who had read their route books even went to the Casino to be on display, however even the Casino had forgotten (or something) and so that was it until another jolly dinner and afterwards - prizegiving! You will be glad to hear that both UK entries won prizes ( er.. as did everyone else.) |
| Friday 26th (continued) | Abbaye de Hautecombe | ||||
 South East across the lake to Aix- |
 -The abbey from above |
 And from closer to. |
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| It seemed that being on display at the Casino was important as apparently Aix-les-Bains were so anxious to see genuine Spiders that they had chipped in towards the costs. It was re-arranged to be in the Place des Thermes the next morning (Saturday) and so at 8.30 we duly drove out of the hotel, round the corner and placed ourselves on view. |
| Saturday 27th | On display in The Place des Thermes | ||||
 Spiders |
 Spiders |
 Everywhere |
 'A poor thing, but mine own' |
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 Photographed |
 And discussed |
 The group assembled. Slaneymobile to the fore |
 Dave and Sue Slaney |
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| Whilst the populace were drooling with envy we were given a tour of the baths and also of the casino. I must say that if you are proposing to lose all your money, you couldn't find a nicer place to do it in. Even the car park is worth seeing, being covered in 'Egyptian' murals. The old 'Thermes' building is ineresting too, You go in the front door, go up to the first floor and there are the (Roman) foundations. Then you carry on up to the third floor, cross the road and up an ancient tunnel to the grotto where the water comes from. Back across the road into the top floor of the building and there are excellent views of the town. Back in the 1890s a number of vast and superior hotels were built. They're still there but are now just appartment blocks. |
| Saturday 27th (continued) | Tour of the baths & the Casino | ||||
 The old Baths (Thermes) building |
 The surfaces of the grotto are covered in gysum efflorescence |
 The view from the top floor |
 The Casino |
 The Casino Lobby |
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| And then it was off again, into the town, another pause for petrol, round the lake, through the tunnel and a longish drive through the lanes to the 'Circuit du Laquais' with, of course, the obligatory stop for another good lunch. Those not wanting to go on the track were offered a trip to a chocolate factory. Unfortunately that meant that they dragged us away before any of the track-goers had actually begun. The chocolate factory was a bit of a swiz really, it wasn't a factory at all - just a selling outpost in an old Louis XI chateau. Still they brought on a pretty girl to give us a lecture and let us taste the chocolate. I might have understood about one word in five but the chairs were comfortable, the lunch (with a glass or three of wine) had been good, the room was warm and 7.30 breakfasts are a bit early for me so it was time for a nice snooze. Hope I didn't snore |
| Saturday 27th (continued) | The Track day and the Chocolate factory | ||||
 The Circuit du Laquais. About 5 Spiders ready to go. |
 The Louis XI chateau, where is the'Palais du Chocolat' |
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| That's it really. A certain car dropped off the back of the convoy, forgot we were going back to the circuit and proceded hotelwards wondering where everyone else was. - But it was very pleasant sitting in the square having a glass of wine and an ice cream whilst waiting for the caravanserai to return! Then dinner and after breakfast next morning - farewells and off we went. |
| Sunday 28th (continued) | "The tumult and the shouting dies; The Captains and the Kings depart" | ||||
 It's not that I can't remember this chap's name - I never really knew anyone's name! Best of luck anyway |
 The Last few spiders ready to go |
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| It was a really super and thoroughly enjoyable trip. One name I do remember is Jean-Francois Vincent, the organiser, so J-F, I hope you see this. You did a a great job. Superb organization and all the things you and your colleagues did worked like clockwork. And if a motley crew of Frenchmen, Belgians, Luxembourgois, Swiss, Italians and Brits cause chaos from time to time - That's the EU! - It was enormous fun. Did I hear you say 'Next year in Dordogne? If so I'll be there and I hope for a better British turnout. To the young lady who translated for Dave, Sue and myself -Thank you. You should get a job interpreting at the U.N. To Dave and Sue Slaney Thanks for your good company And to everyone else there - Thank you for being really Good (international) Companions. |
