The Oldest Ls400 In Italy Then ................

Malc · April 4, 2015

OK guys, just about made up my mind to do a tour of Italy, probably starting next week ..... after the 15th April.

Never been to Italy before....... might have seen it from Zermatt tho'.

15th April is the cut-off date after which you don't legally need to have winter tyres or carry snow chains so the rule book says !

Warning triangle .......... and hi viz jacket in my door pocket then.

Anything else I need to know ?

Route66 seems to have passed me by this year ( I had some heart beat trouble, well blood pressure collapsed in February, all OK now they tell me ) and the euro is a tad weaker than last year with my 6000 mile trip round Spain and Portugal...............seems a euro trip is called for.

Been a bit dogged these past weeks so starting my trip a bit later than thought ....... also new gas boiler this week ( old one conked out / died Monday ) and drains blocked today .......... nothing else to go wrong at home then .............. hahahahaha ( hopes ) ................ fate has kept me here so far.

Any good tips guys ?

Malc

cleverdick · April 4, 2015

1. Drive on the right :)

2. Preview your route on Streetview before you go.

3. Take lots of photos and put them up where we can see them.

Malc · April 4, 2015

,, Streetview ,,,,, well, I'll only have a rough idea of how to get there .. probably head for Turin over a couple of days and then let Lexii decide the best route to take .. that's how she worked it out in Spain and Portugal .... an adventure ................... never let's me down ,............. life's full of great surprises and happy times eh

Malc

LexusCT200H · April 5, 2015

Make sure you get your headlights converted or get them stickers on the lights! Oh yeah, dont forget ya drink level tester for how much you've had to drink, last time I checked it was mandatory.

Malc · April 5, 2015

breathalyzer test kit compulsion was abolished in France end 2013 ............ I didn't need them for last trip thru France.

yes, the headlight stickers, kept the cut-outs from last year ............... thanks

Malc

LexusCT200H · April 5, 2015

breathalyzer test kit compulsion was abolished in France end 2013 ............ I didn't need them for last trip thru France.

yes, the headlight stickers, kept the cut-outs from last year ............... thanks

Malc

Oh, that explains, we went France 2012 had to take the kit with us. Good thing they got rid of it, waste of money, especially when you dont drink!!!

runsgrateasanut · April 7, 2015

Just covered 600 miles back from France. Lovely drive, especially as seat fixed. Easter Sunday great day to travel in France - no lorries and barely any traffic. Mind you, had to test the brakes forty miles from Calaisat 11pm as could see what could have been roadworks up ahead and for some reason a guy on opposite of motorway with hazzardss going, only to find storming up to the last car in a small queue WITHOUT its hazzards on, and a people carrier upside down in the fast lane and a dead Deer by the side of the road. Stopped having had to cross onto fast lane to avoid guys rear. Person in the road with no high viz, no triangles,

OK it must have just happened but those things we carry just don't come into our thoughts when the situation arises. Guy beckoned me to detour through "Allee" and not stop, so as Ferry to catch, did so. Hope people OK but didn't get a chance to look.

Driving in italy? Its a brave man to take that on, from what I've heard. Especially if you are going near the Lakes. Don't think I'm competent enough to come out unscathed and only been driving for fifty years. Rather use a Hire Car with added insurance. Those italians don't take prisoners on the bends.

Malc · April 7, 2015

Booked my ferry for next Tuesday and back 12th May ........... . used my Avios points, didn't know I had so many tbh ........... gone are the days when 1 Airmile point was 1 mile. Avios are 10 to 1 and it cost me 18,000 points + £4 to cross on the P&O ferry ( equiv of the old 1800 airmiles ) so it's not great value anymore.

Ho hum ..... yep, I'll take great care driving, I'm in no rush to go or get anywhere .................. I heard that the boot of Italy is a bit of a " no-no " for tourists .... is that so ???

My afternoon ferry back from Calais is 16.40 . afternoon and in the daylight, so I'll leave plenty of time in the day ( hopes ) to absorb any challenges on the journey.

Malc

Calders · April 7, 2015

Hired a Renault espace at Geneva airport a few years back, toured the whole of Switzerland and the lakes, didn't find it a problem at all.

The lakes are very beautiful but Switzerland for me is another level, stunning!!

Slobbo · April 7, 2015

Don't forget your insurance and registration docs. You need them in France. I broke down near Paris a few years ago and got away with it but could easily ended up with a fine or worse.

runsgrateasanut · April 7, 2015

Don't forget your insurance and registration docs. You need them in France. I broke down near Paris a few years ago and got away with it but could easily ended up with a fine or worse.

Always take originals and a copy set of both Car Insurance and MOT just in case taken by Gendarmss/Polizi whoever.

Have a great trip!

Malc · April 8, 2015

............. thank you for your advices guys, much appreciated.

Switzerland ............ ah ..... so lucky in the early '90s to have a buddy then living and working in swissieland. Visited a few times and drove around quite a bit ...... . in my Vauxhall Carlton, brilliant car..............., had never heard of a Lexus then !!

Stunning scenery and the crystal clear waters of the lakes too, just astonishing.

Malc

Malc · May 13, 2015

hi guys just got back

Rupert Dubreaux · May 13, 2015

Good tour of Italy Malc ? at least you missed all the political crap that was going on here .

Malc · May 13, 2015

.... 5343 miles door to door .... an amazing and wonderfully scenic trip that I never dreamed Italy would provide for me.

Up in the Dolomites and around much of the ( total ) coastal length from top to toe ................... if you suffer from vertigo then don't drive, the hanging off cliff edges is for real and if you suffer from claustrophobia likewise ... some of the tunnels are so long, airless, badly lit and tbh quite dangerous.

Never complain about our UK Highways Agency again ... the Italian roads are just unbelievable ..... starved of funding and literally almost 100% falling dangerously apart.

BUT wow, what scenic marvels, never dreamed the journeying and adventure would be so astonishingly beautiful ...................

I avoided Rome Naples and Venice .............. we can do these by train later in the year maybe....... I doubt there is a single Italian car in Italy without battlescars.

Now for my annual service and MOT next week and to get my cracked windscreen replaced pronto ....... I heard a few creaks and groans in the mountain goat mode but these vanished the last week of my journeying .............. so here's hoping !

Now the cars I saw ........ NOT a single Lexus Ls ( neither old nor new ) ........... so mine is the only Ls in Europe I guess ! ( travelled through France Belgium Switzerland and Italy )

One CT200 ( new ) one old Is200 and a handful of RXs of allsorts and an unbelievable spaceship type Lexus chasing down the autostrada outside Naples ...... no idea what it was, looked very expensive and the guy probably traded in his Ferrari for it.

A wonderful 1960's Morris 1000 Traveller in BRG ...... looked in showroom condition, a Mazda 323f ( old one like mine but in white ). One Rolls Royce, 3 Bentleys ( one on a garage forecourt for sale in Switzerland )

One Maserati and half a dozen Ferraris.

The speed limits seem to be vigorously enforced everywhere ( maybe a source of income ) and to hear the roar of the Maserati doing max 130kmph was ridiculous, it should have been doing 130mph for the noise it was making.

the rest were just ordinary cars tbh .......... mostly Fiats, Lancias ( wow, I was really impressed with some of the beautiful Lancias around ) Alfa Romeos. masses of Toyotas, BMWs, Audis, VWs, Opels and a few Mazdas and a couple of old Jaguars.

Testing driving conditions in Italy when comparing the driving on Belgian roads, akin to driving on Axminster carpet with the occasional loose floorboard ! ............ guess it's the state of the economy maybe.

Malc

Malc · May 13, 2015

............... forgot to mention, they don't sell 95 octane unleaded in Italy, just 98 octane but Lexus drove wonderfully on it ( as it does every day I use it anyway )

Malc

steve2006 · May 13, 2015

Sounds great although you clocked up twice my annual mileage in one trip :)

How does the fuel prices compare to the UK in Euroland, I notice our prices are creeping back up a penny a week, government will never stop it as it means more fuel duty and VAT returns, the greed of the oil companies!