Polish team goes beyond borders

[Rolf-Dieter ✝︎]

Peter,

 I thought about this last night and wanted to post a destination as

-------> Barcelona, Spain

Air travel with one connection change is approximately 4 hours and the distance is just short of 2,200 KM as the crow flies.

Anyway it would make a fantastic return trip Let us see how close I am with that prediction.

Hope your foot heals quickly!

PS. The return trip (if I would do it) would look something like the map below

[Flyair]

Peter and R-D,
you gave a direction that is about right... however you are overly optimistic as to the distance...

I have indicated it not as a radius but as actual road that our 10 Pagodas were transported on.
So now we can disclose that we arrived this morning in a country that is Spain's neighbour by the North . The wether is fantastic, simply Pagoda weather.
For two nights we are staying in a vineyard, in an old cloister. Period rooms, good food, excellent wine and 10 Pagodas and their owners and SOs. What better can one expect
Pictures about this day will be attached tomorrow.

Tomorrow is our celebration day, so..... stay tuned 


 

[Flyair]

So, yesterday we arrived to.... Bordeaux... does its ring the bell already?

Well... yes indeed: the ultimate reason for every Pagoda owner to be in Bordeaux is to meet ALICE and PAUL BRACQ!

OK, now, since you know the most important, I can pass onto more detailed information...

This morning we woke up early: the D Day has arrived to start celebrations.
First we aligned our cars in the tropical garden surrounding the hotel. This bucolic place serves as the decorum for our event. Alice and Paul accepted to join our group for what became soon a true family reunion. Our ten Pagodas sining in  the sun made visibly a good impression, because after a more official introduction, we started to feel as it was a natural get together with longtime friends. Paul gave us a very interesting outline of his philosophy that exceeds the car design context.
We were all very pleased to see Maitre Paul in a fantastic form, always seconded by Alice, his muse and inspiration in every aspect of his creative acts.
I felt very pleased as well as honoured to respond in the name of our group and raise a champagne toast to celebrate this exceptional moment.

Then followed the lunch based on local specialities, but the most important was that during that time we had Paul giving us a very interesting lecture of his experience, ideas and values, which was like a music for every decent Pagoda owner.

I brought the album "Carrosserie Passion" that constitutes a rich yet short review of Paul Bracq's achievements in the car design and in general in his artistic life. Paul, after marking some warm words for the owner of the album, went through it page by page, patiently explaining many details, background of each project and some amusing stories that accompanied his work illustrated in the book.

Suffice is to say that the time passed by without none of us noticing it. 6 PM arrived so quickly and nearly 8 hours spent together seemed like a short while. Alice and Paul where gone while we stayed by our Pagodas, still absolutely charmed by this lovely couple.

At the end, let me share a confidence made by Paul: commenting on his current way of life, he said that he is a very happy and satisfied man as he still is able to make love to Alice and drive a car... and he showed to us that his is a fast driver  

I could go on, but let me spare some very interesting stories from today for an article that I plan to write. We have obviously taken many pictures and made some hie videos, which we will share very soon.

Meantime... our French journey continues. Tomorrow we go to Arles, the city famous for having been the headquarters of French impressionists. On our way we well pass by the Millau Viaduct, the tallest bridge in the world with one mast's summit at 343.0 metres (1,125 ft) above the base of the structure. It is the 12th highest bridge deck in the world, being 270 metres (890 ft) between the road deck and the ground below.

So... stay tuned

[Rolf-Dieter ✝︎]

Stan,

What a brilliant project! It must have taken some planning and organization to pull it off and to keep it all quiet as you did I’m sure some of the board members knew about it since you handed over a copy of Pagoda world to Paul.

I cannot wait to read more about your trip and the final article that I am sure will make a super special edition in the next issue of Pagoda World.

Thank you for sharing. Meanwhile happy and safe trails back in the direction to HomeBase!

[Aligator]

The next few pictures from our meeting with Paul.

[Garry]

Can you give us the names against the photo of the group please?

[kampala]

Dear Polish Team,

Nicely done!  Historical --- big congrats.


Arles is amazing. Photos of your pagodas set against this ancient city especially next to the "coliseum" will be fabulous. 

Enjoy.

[Jonny B]

Absolutely great shots. Love the signed glove box!!

[Aligator]

Veni, vidi, vici!!!!

Martin and Polish Team.

[JamesL]

Millau is on my bucket list - which given a) I'm not a huge fan of heights and b) it's just a bridge, is a bit stupid

Looks fabulous. How was Arles? Lovely town

[Flyair]

James,
The Millau is just a bridge but what a bridge... it is probably more impressive when seen from below, where also an information center is located. Also the approach is a memorable experience as you get to it from the left side and you can see it perfectly well waiting for you and your Pagoda to cross it at full speed:)

Arles was fabulous. We were lodged at the hotel d'Arlatan that is located in the very heart of the old town. A place worth seeing on its own account. To get there by car is a challenge as some streets are very narrow, just leaving a few inches both sides of a Pagoda size car. The garage arranged on the ground floor of historical buildings at it was a miracle we could squeeze 10 Pagodas inside it.
But the city is absolutely worth a tour. Roman era arenas and theatre as well as all other vestiges were incredible. There is also an ambiance that is unique: laid back, artist-friendly, but vibrant and full of attractions.

[Flyair]

Going back to the beginning of our trip and to the main reason and essence of it, here are some pictures documenting our Big Day with Paul Bracq. Some similar pics were shown in Aligator's post, but here there are with explicative captions.


- The first shows Alice and Paul with our Pagoda Club Members with our cars aligned behind for Paul's review. As Garry requested the names of the culprits, here there are:
Besides Alice and Paul Bracq, from left to right there are (members’ akas in brackets):
Standing behind: Maryla and Andrzej, Marcin (Aligator), Renata, my wife Ketty and Stan (Flyair), Pawel G., Jola, Ania and Wiesiek
In front: Beata, Zuza, Marcin, Renata, and Pawel M.
The missing links are Artur (Artur) and Michal (Samamer) who were behind their cameras, and Jerzy and his son, also Jerzy, who are not around;

- Then the next one illustrates the moment Paul accepted being our Honorary Member. Alice holds the certificate, while Paul has other memorabilia, both wearing our club hat
- Next one shows Paul with the event souvenir being a Pagoda mirror affixed to a socle. On the glass there is our logo with an inscription in French: "en visite chez Paul Bracq, le 3 septembre 2014"
- The last one shows Paul seating in one of his creations.