Mustangs, Monuments and Minnie Mouse
9/14/06, 02:36 PM
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Mustangs, Monuments and Minnie Mouse
If I get the chance to take one of the Mustangs on a long trip, I’m in for it! And France is my favourite destination. With a little American flavour this time, because our goal is Disneyland Paris. To be more precise, Disney Hotel Cheyenne. The French Mustang Forum MustangPassion (www.mustangpassion.com) organises a meeting there; a superb setting for our cars! Being a 300 mile drive, we chose to spend the night in a hotel near Paris…
So, 8.00 AM near Rotterdam and we should gather with four Mustangs, a 65 Coupe, two 66 Coupes and my GT Convertible. Should, because the 65 suffers from brake problems and the owners decide to take their daily Citroën. So it’s a Citroën, two 66’s and one 92. In the company of those classics, my ’72 Grandé would haven been more appropriate, but it’s awaiting a new wheel bearing. And, I don’t mind taking the GT at all….
An uneventful dash through Holland and Belgium takes us to French border where we say goodbye to the Interstates and continue on scenic two lane Highways. Driving a car should always be like that: no traffic jams, beautiful landscape, nice, flowing roads and beautiful weather. At around 3.00 PM we arrive at our hotel.
Well…. if you have a part of the afternoon and the whole evening to spend and some 20 miles separate you from the centre of Paris, what do you do? That’s right, we’re off to Paris, taking the RER, a kind of super-Subway. A week would not be enough to see all of Paris, so first we head for thè symbol of the city: La Tour Eiffel…very touristy and very busy, but a must for the Paris visitor. Followed by the Arc de Triomphe and the Champs Elysées were we decide to have dinner on the pavement. A superb spot, because the Champs Elysées are an eight lane cruise boulevard where you continuously spot expensive and/or exclusive cars.
After a somewhat short night’s sleep we’re off to the start of the Disney cruise. And with the top down now (no more mercy for my daughter’s complaints about her hair getting messy ). The organisers have chosen the Chateau de Ferrières, dating back to 1859. That means it’s relatively new for a French castle, being built by Baron de Rothschild to show off his art collection and as a place for his big party’s. A beautiful building in a beautiful park and a perfect background for the more than 60 Mustangs from France, Belgium, Switzerland and Holland gathering here. The organisers have recruited a group of Harley-Davidson bikers to safely guide the cruise, but also wisely decide to start the cruise in two shifts. We’re in the second shift, so we get the chance to get a good view of the first shift leaving the castle’s park (see the video). Some 20 minutes later it’s our turn. The bikers do a fantastic job blocking intersections and roundabouts so we comfortably cruise the countryside to a stop for pictures at an old farm. And then it’s Disney territory where we can enter the normally closed Main Street of Hotel Cheyenne, a hotel in Western style.
You can hardly imagine a better background for all these Mustangs; after a while Goofy and Minnie Mouse show up and make fun around some cars. Goofy wants the keys of a red 2005 (and gets them), but he doesn’t fit in. A Convertible is a lot better….
It’s France, so the time comes for an aperitif (Kir with Champagne) and a meal in the Disney restaurant. At around 4.00 PM we start our cars for the dash home by Autoroute and manage to reach home just after 9.00 PM. A superb weekend, our three cars performing flawlessly, beautiful weather, a nice short visit of Paris and a perfect cruise and Mustang Meeting. Count us in for next year!
We also have a 15 minute video; it’s the first time I’ve used Google Video. Google opens a too large window, making the video loose sharpness. You would have to chose 100%. And a warning: the first three minutes are just touristy, but after that the Mustangs came out in numbers…
http://video.google.nl/videoplay?doc...87066662566345
9/15/06, 02:52 AM
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Hey Marc, I've read your other post on the DMFF forum too.
I wish I could have joind you guys, but a family visit changed the plans the week before.
Great post, great pics!
I wish I could have joind you guys, but a family visit changed the plans the week before.
Great post, great pics!
9/16/06, 04:16 AM
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Thanks, guys!
Louie: perhaps we meet in Didam, this sunday? You could even join us for the ride: http://mustangforum.isookzo.nl/index.php?name=PNphpBB2&file=viewtopic&t=8119&post days=0&postorder=asc&sid=4df05fe74cc26712f2014da6e 007c52c
Louie: perhaps we meet in Didam, this sunday? You could even join us for the ride: http://mustangforum.isookzo.nl/index.php?name=PNphpBB2&file=viewtopic&t=8119&post days=0&postorder=asc&sid=4df05fe74cc26712f2014da6e 007c52c
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