my cat is watching ice age 2 on tv

Winter is comming

hi everybody!

well, it's october. but last days we had -1/-3 grad celsius!!! and i still drive with summer wheels! so i decided to organize winter ones! i decided not to use agm boots and ordered "normal" budget 17" ones. and not so wide - just 225/17".  next week i'll get them and i'll take a couple of pictures. i promise!

France 2009: highways, toll station and coffee

it’s not a secret, that to drive on French highways, you have to pay. It’s not really cheap – but it can save you time and money ;-) For the way from german border over Metz, Paris and Le Mans we spent approximately 56, - Euros. The highway was quite nice to drive with rarely traffic – so this price was not too high for us. In comparison to german highways (Autobahn) – French ones were just like roads to paradise!

Speed cameras. I saw a lot of them in France. And I did all my best not to see flashes behind me. Why behind? Because almost all of speed cameras shoot your ass! :-) But it’s also good – you can detect lot of them before they can take a picture of you.

WC and rest room on parking lots. Almost all facilities were clean and large enough to serve dozens of people. Usually they don’t charge for WC. But I never had the possibility to dry my hands after visiting WC – dryer was always broken and no paper-towels.

Don’t buy coffee at gas stations in a coffee machine! It’s cheap (about 1.- till 1.20 EURos), but disgusting!!!

French toll stations have been built to provide high pass through of traffic. But still there are a lot of idiots (foreigners too) that always try to pay cash at toll stations. Almost everybody owns at least one credit card – and this kind of electronic payment possibility will be also accepted at toll stations in the France.  

GUYS, PLEASE USE YOUR CREDIT CARDS!!!! 
DON’T WASTE YOUR AND MY TIME!
DON'T PRODUCE MORE CO2 THAT IT'S REALLY NEEDED! 

France 2009: the Atlantic coast – the security test.

This summer we decided to drive to the west coast of France – Bretagne. Why Bretagne? I had seen great pictures of the Atlantic and cliffs in a traveler’s magazine.  That is, guys! Ocean, sun, cliffs and French cuisine with sea food – you can’t expect more!

Two or three hours later we found our destination – peninsular Quiberon in the district of Morbihan.  Information, that we got, promises picturesque landscapes, unbelievable restaurants and bars, and some historical places to visit: like “Stonehanges” of french druids.

So, we’d prepared us for 1,200 km travel through Germany and France. Last but not least – don’t forget, that almost always on French highways you have to pay to pass through.

About 200 km after the French border I saw behind us a “security” wagon. WOW!!!! Top speed on their highways is about 130 km/h.  And till that time I really tried to drive not faster, as 140 km/h! Also I mentioned that our Pursuer’s car was in yellow! But no usual police blue lights! Just silent following! Hell! We decided to make a small stop on a highway parking lot. Damn! Yellow deamon followed us!

We were surprised to see, that “security” guys from “security” wagon were just a cleaning team for parking lots on highways. :-) So, after 2 cigarettes we continued our trip.

about the car

we'll talk about places I've visited with the MB C280. so we have to mention a couple of words about this beautiful car. So, let's start:

The name: Mercedes Benz C-Class 280 T

Tech-specs:
Engine: V6, 3.0 liters (2.996 cm3), 24 valves
Power: 231 hp at 6,000 rpm
Drivetrain: rear wheel drive
Transmission: 7G-TRONIC (7-speed automatic transmission with Touch Shift)
0-100 km: 7,5 s
Number of passengers: 5
Fuel requirement: premium unleaded gasoline. Ethanol (E85) or E85/premium gasoline for vehicles with rear-wheel drive and automatic transmission
Fuel efficiency:

• 7 l/100 km (highway)
• 13,6 l/100 km (city)
• 9,4 l/100 km (mixed)
  

and the first visual of this animal :-) :

Optional equipment:

• Bi-Xenon headlamps with Active Curve Illumination
• Speed-sensitive steering
  
• 18" AMG twin 5-spoke alloy wheels
• Sport front seats
  
• Universal Media Interface
• Auto-dimming driver's side and rearview mirrors
  

welcome to c280 pilgrim photo blog!

Hello world!

Welcome to my new photo blog. I'm going to post my (photo-) travel reports with my brand new Mercedes Benz C280T baby!

To be continued...