The GT4 Round-The-World Trip - by nitro_2005

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nitro_2005

nitro_2005

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Well, here is the first part of the journey. there will be updates as soon as i upload the pictures i take.


Chapter 1 - The Beginning

My life was boring. No, really it was. there was nothing exciting in my life. I was single, had a job in a high-payed I.T firm and had a best friend called Rob. That's about it. Nothing special. I was sat at home on a beautiful Saturday afternoon, playing Gran Turismo 4 (as you do!!!), thinking about which car to drive next from my enourmous garage. Rob was coming over later that night and then we would be going out for a drink in a nearby bar. The reason I call it a bar is because i am English, but had moved to Beacon Hill, Boston, Massachusetts, USA (i think that's how you spell the state, not sure!!!). I'd been here for about 3 years and owned a nice 2-bedroom house at the end of my street. It wasn't that special, but it was home.
Onto the subject of what I drive...and, well, it's not all that special. it's just a rubbish Mitsubishi Eclipse from 1995. Nothing fancy, but it get's me from A to B. Heh, listen to me, I'm rambling on about nothing! Ok, let's cut to the chase.
Well, let's pick up from the night out with Rob, my best friend. Oh, by the way, Rob came over from England as well, and he lives in the house next to me, you know, for privacy and that. Anyway, i was in the bar, sipping my bottle of Budwieser, watching the NASCAR night race from Bristol on the T.V. Rob was reading up on photography, since he is into that sort of thing, and I have to say, he is very good at it. But, then while I was thinking to myself, I had a thought. I decided it was time to get out there and do something life-changing. I wanted to do something amazing. I wanted to see the world. I suggested this to Rob and he got interested. "But how the hell are we gonna do it?", he said. "I'm not going by boat, you know I get seasick. Remember Barbados?" I just chuckled and said "No, I think we should do it different. I think we should do it by car".
"By car?"
"Yeah, come on. Be different"
"But your Eclipse would never make it past New York, never mind the world!"
"Hmm, your right". I said, wondering what to do. But then I thought, "Hey, I've got loads of money. Why don't I just buy a cool new car?" I liked the idea. "I'm getting a new car", I announced. "Wow, that was quick!", Rob exclaimed. "What ya thinking of buying?" he pondered. I had already decided. "You'll see", I said with a big smirk on my face as I turned to focus back on the NASCAR.
Sunday morning, and I was on my way to get my new car. I had decided to get a 4WD, but not a big 4X4. Something more sportier. We drove for about 3/4 hour until we arrived at a Mitsubishi garage. "Wait here", I said to Rob, who had come with me. And he did as he was told! I went in to the showroom, leaving Rob wondering. About 3/4 hour later, I came out, shaking the showroom manager's hand with a big grin on my face. I walked round the back of the building into the car lot and found my purchase. Rob was gonna be so suprised when he saw this!
I turned the corner of the building and revealed to Rob that I had bought a white Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VIII MR. He was gobsmacked as he got out of the Eclipse. He just couldn't believe it!!!
With my new car mow parked outside my house, I decided to book a flight. Looking at my atlas, I had decided to go in an easternly direction. But I wouldn't be starting in Britain, because I had already been there via living there! Instead, i decided to start in France, then Monaco, Germany, Switzerland and Italy, before flying to Asia to explore Japan, Hong Kong and South Korea. I also decide to visit Tahiti, for a bit of sun!!! Then a flight back into America, starting in California, then Arizona and Las Vegas, before taking a long drive to explore New York, where i would then make the journey home to relax and look over my experience.
So, I booked the flights and got myself prepared. But then I realised something: how was I going to get my car across to France? I decided to have it transported via a cargo plane. It would cost me, but i hade a decent amount of money in the back, and with high interest these days, I was quids in!
The day of the beginning of the trip arrived. I got up early, got washed, dressed and called round at Rob's to see how he was doing with his packing. I had to help him since he had left everything until the last minute. We double-checked for the essentials and then told him to wait in the Lancer while I finished up in my house. I double-checked as well, then left my house, locked the front door and left my keys with my neighbour across the street, a nice old lady who I had helped with her shopping a few times! Before we left, I decided to take some pictures of the Lancer in front of my house.

http://img50.imageshack.us/my.php?image=img01756jr.jpghttp://imageshack.us/

I loaded my things into the boot, got into the driver's seat, belted up and started the engine. "Well, it begins here", I said to Rob. I turned the car around and stopped to look at my house. I wouldn't be seeing this place for a while! As i turned out of our road, I knew that we were on our way. A world of adventures awaited us, and I knew that we would love every minute of it!!!

Next Time: We get to the airport, take our flight, arrive in Brest airport, and enter Le Mans, where we speed at 160+ down the Mulsanne!!!

Until next time, That's All, Folks!
 
Awesome. 👍 When can we expect updates?

You should take the WTCC out of your signature, by the way.
 
well, i'll update it ass soon as i do the pictures for the chapters. chapter 2 should be done tomorrow, and if i have time, chapter 3 as well!
 
Chapter 2: The French Connection

So, there we were, at Boston Airport (i forget the name of it, if it has one, like JFK, for example!), waiting for our flight to Brest, France, which was where our "World Tour" would begin. Rob was getting excited, and I have to admit, so was I. But then you would be, wouldn't you, if you were going to drive your brand new Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 8 across the world. Speaking of my Evo, in order to get it over to France, we had to put it onto a cargo plane to be able to drive it outside America. I helped with the double checking, even checking the handbrake was on properly! If the handbrake wasn't on, well, by the time the Lancer gets into Brest, it won't even resemble a Lancer!
We had to wait for 2 1/2 hours before our flight was called. We got over to departure, boarded the plane and settled down for a relaxing flight to Europe. We managed to get exit seats, so we had the pleasure of extra legroom! Fantastic! The food was...well...ok, and I provided my own entertainment. I had brought my portable DVD player and a load of Initial D DVDs. That tided me over for the whole flight. Rob, meanwhile, just snored in my ear for about 3 hours, which obviously showed he was cream-crackered!
6:30pm, French time, and our plane lands. After getting into Brest Airport and collecting our luggage, all we had to do was wait for the cargo plane, which, as far as I knew, had taken off about 3/4 hour after we did. The cargo plane eventually landed 1 hour after we did. We rushed over to the collection point to pickup the keys, and rushed over to where they were unloading. One by one, the crates filed out, until eventually on of the unloading guys came up to us. "Err, excuse moi", he said in a strong French accent, "but arr u ze men oo ad ze white carr ob board? "Yes, we are", I replied. " How long will it take to unload it?" "Well, we can take eet out of ze crate now, if you like and 'ave eet driven out ouf ze plane. I will need ze keys, of caourse!" I humbly agreed, and watched him trundle off back towards the plane to get my prized possession. 10 minutes later, I heard a familiar engine start up, and my beloved Lancer rolled out of the plane, in the same tip-top condition as when I had left it. "Thank you very much, kind sir", I quoted happily, as he got out of the car. And with that, I loaded our things back into the car, got back into the driver's seat and drove off to find the exit.

8:30am, somewhere in Brest. We had found a small hotel about an hopur away from the airport, where we could stay the night and get a decent dinner, which is what it was. We had a busy day ahead us, with our main objective being to get to Paris by this evening. We once again loaded our things up and got back onto the road. Travelling down the motorways, I managed to get a look at France's beautiful countryside. The rolling hills and green fields really did make France a tranquil place to be.

more later...
 
thought i'd bring this back to life again :)

Chapter 3 - A Night in Paris

With ourselves still feeling a little tired from the long journey, we grabbed a cup of coffee at breakfast. We weren't feeling all that hungry, so we decided to get going immeadietly. We worked our way out of the car park and ,ade our way along the B-roads, with our next landmark being Le Mans, and then Paris, where we would spend the night, and leave the next afternoon to get to Monaco.

"Are you sure this is the way to Le Mans?" Rob questioned as we flew through the country back roads.
"Yes of course I'm sure, just check the map." I said impatiently. "You just can't read the map properly. Probably still thinking about photography."
"Oi, watch it, you!" Rob answered back. "Anyway, just keep your eyes on the road".

After winding our way out of the country, we eventually ended up just 5 miles outside Le Mans. And then......there it was: the world-famous Hunaudieres, or the Mulsanne Straight as it was more commonly known. We waited until the road was clear, and then I booted it! The acceleration on this Evo is astonishing! The suspension absorbed the bumps beaultifully as the car glided down the carriageway which so many famous cars and drivers had used over the years. It would be one of the key moments of our trip.

After enjoying the "flight" down the Mulsanne, we headed off in search of Paris, the jewel of France as somebody had described it. Our goal was to reach it by evening. But now we were feeling hungry, So we stopped off at a road-side cafe for a sandwich and a beer. It also gave me and Rob a chance to plan out where to head after Monaco.
"So, have you decided where we're going after we leave Monte-Carlo?" Rob asked"
Hmm, I was thinking maybe somewhere like Chamonix, or somewhere around that area, you know, of the Alps and Switzerland."
"Sounds good. You'll have to watch out for the snow there. It's pretty much winter conditions all year round".
"You're right. I'll have to see if I can pick up some snow tyres for that leg of the trip. But we'll deal with that when the time comes."
"Cool. Hey, look at the time, we gotta get going."
And with that we were back in the Evo, heading to Paris, where we would be greeted by the Arc de Triomphe, the Champs-Elyssee, and the Eiffel Tower. I'd heard that the Arc de Triomphe looks great when it's lit up at night.

After another couple of hours speeding down the motorway, we finally reached the city lights of the capital - Paris, in all it's glory! And what they'd said was true - the Arc de Triomphe DID look as beautiful when lit up at night. We decided to drive around and see the nightlife before checking into our hotel. We travelled around the Arc, and straight into HORRIFIC traffic. Seriously, the French have no respect for anyone when it comes to driving. Anyway, we turned off into the back streets and took in the beauty of this majestic city. After about an hour or so of night-time sight-seeing, we found our hotel and rested up.

Morning came and we checked out. We decided to see the Opera district of Paris, famous for the Louvre, but known to us as the sight of a former French street circuit. We'd seen the DTM on TV race here. I decided we should drive the course and take in the sights we could see along the way. We found the Louvre and also the large Opera Wheel. The sign from it's racing days was still there. After another 2 hours or so, including a stop for a late breakfast, we decided it was high time to continue our tour. Onwards to Monte-Carlo!
 
Any pictures? It looks like a good report so far, but you're confusing me with all this "Rob" stuff. If he likes photography so much, how come he isn't taking pictures? ;)

Good report otherwise, I think you've got it down. 👍

Also, I live in Massachusetts. I think you said you came from Britain and moved here because there's no places in Britain to visit in GT4, so you used it as an excuse not to write about it. ;)
 
i did have a flash drive, but i lost it, so i can't take pictures atm. but as soon as i get another one, i will take some pictures and post them as often as possible, ok?

oh and mini, i don't really live in boston, that's just part of the story :lol:
 
Chapter 4 - Glitz and Glamour

So, we'd just been France, and were now heading to the suntrap of the South - Monte-Carlo. The playground of the rich and famous, and home to various racing drivers such as David Coulthard, Jenson Button and also once home to Mika Hakkinen. I'm not sure if he still lives there, but I remember watching the Monaco leg of Jeremy Clarkson's Motorworld before and he was talking to Mika about how good he thought living there was.

Anyway, we had a long journey from Paris. If we were on a train, we could have taken a train to Nice and then caught a connection to just outside Monte-Carlo. But we were in our own Oriental Express - our Evo. After passing through Dijon, Lyon and Marseille, we made it, finally, to Monaco. And what a place it is! Just think - this place comes alive once a year to the sound of 22 howling F1 cars as they speed through the streets. We managed to follow the course round and do a lap, which was cool because you got so see the little backstreets and roads around this tiny principality. It's a country in itself, though how they managed that I don't know.

Rob was keen to take some moving shots of the car, so we decided to shoot at various spots around the circuit. I can't upload pictures now, but once Rob gets his camera sorted out, he'll wing 'em over to me. We enjoyed a great evening, with food, drinks and the great nightlife, before heading to a hotel to get some rest for the next day. We couldn't spend much more time in Monaco, since the Alps and Switzerland were ahead of us. Or so we thought.....
 

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