This
morning we packed up and drove from Tours to Bayeux (288 k's)
via
Le Mans. On such a wet and gloomy day
we were very happy to stop and visit
the
Musée des 24 Heures, which houses
over
150 racing vehicles.
Andrew
was in his element
and
I found the fun facts on the descriptive cards
about
each exhibit very interesting.
Two
hours disappeared very quickly!
In
1923 this Bentley was the lap record holder
in
1924, it was the winning car of the Le Mans 24 hour race.
….......................................................................................................
This
little Bugatti, Type 40 featured a female team in 1928
and
achieved a most commendable result.
…........................................................................................................
The
red car was one of the first Ferrari's to enter the race
and
was the 1949 winner.
….........................................................................................................
For
Downton Abbey fans...Talbot sports cars with hemi engines and
the
Wilson preselector gearbox always performed well
and
took the chequered flag at le Mans in 1950.
….........................................................................................................
This
1959 Citroen was designed for use on rough country roads
by
farmers or workmen and proved its worth
by
taking two young French students
around
the world 1958 – 59.
….........................................................................................................
Electric
Vehicles are nothing new.
Early
in 1908 Krieger built electric 4WD buses
that
were used as ambulances during WW1.
…..........................................................................................................
1929
Packard Convertible Coupe
Packard
was the symbol of luxury and quality
in
American automotive engineering.
The
advertising said ask the man who owns one...
Hollywood
legend Clark Gable owned several!
…...........................................................................................................
Socema
Gregoire 1952 Prototype Turbine.
The
aircraft gas turbine and efficient
aerodynamic
aluminium body marked out
Gregoire
as a great designer.
The
project was shelved due to cost and braking problems.
….............................................................................................................
1958
Cadillac Fleetwood Eldorado Brougham
Featuring...automatic
transmission, power steering,
electric
windows (all six of them), air conditioning,
powered
adjustable seats, with memory,
automatic
eye headlamps, vanity case etc!
…..........................................................................................................
Andrew's
first car was a 1963 - 64 white Mini 850,
not
quite as glamorous as this one!
............................................................................................
............................................................................................
Andrew
took over one hundred photos today
I
need to draw the line somewhere,
this
last one shows Andrew in the early Formula One exhibit.
Andrew is standing
between a display featuring
Jack
Brabham and Jackie Stewart
These
cars are not theirs...but they were on display.
Jack Brabham's car
Jackie Stewart's car.
I
love the tartan upholstery.
…..............................................................................................................
There
is another interesting place to visit in Le Mans,
Cite
Plantagenet, the ancient fortified centre,
is
surrounded by the greatest Roman Walls in France.
They feature complex
geometric patterns
attributable
to the late 3rd century.
Once
abandoned, the area has been restored,
and
is often used as a film set...
like
Leonardo di Caprio’s “Man in the Iron Mask”,
Gerard
Depardieu’s “Cyrano de Bergerac”
and
Al Pacino’s “Bobby Deerfield”.
The
area is a maze of narrow cobbled ways,
overhung
with 14th century timber framed houses.
We arrived in Bayeux late this afternoon and it will be our base
to
explore this corner of Normandy
for
the next four days.
Today
we walked 6.22 k's
