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Thread: Holiday pics from France and Italy 2019

  1. #31
    Join Date: Sep 2018

    Location: Sofia, Bulgaria

    Posts: 301
    I'm Ivo.

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    Marco,

    You had a great holiday. Nice pictures too.

    BR,
    Ivo
    Pioneer:
    PLC-590, RT-909, 707, CT-F1250, 900, 750, 700, T-C3, P-D1, TX-7800,
    U-24, SR-303, SG-9800, SA-7800, SX-750, DT-400, HPM-100
    Nakamichi: DRAGON, BX300e, BX125, BX 1, CD4

  2. #32
    Join Date: Jan 2008

    Location: Wrexham, North Wales, UK

    Posts: 110,012
    I'm AudioAl'sArbiterForPISHANTO.

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    Cheers, Ivo. It was certainly a lovely holiday, and one to remember. For us, that's what life is all about: creating some nice memories, with family or friends, with which to treasure forever

    Plus, life's too short not to have some fun. Too many folks these days 'live' (and I use that term loosely) just to work!

    Marco.
    Main System

    Turntable: Heavily-modified Technics SL-1210MK5G [Mike New bearing/ETP platter/Paul Hynes SR7 PSU & reg mods]. Funk Firm APM Achromat/Nagaoka GL-601 Crystal Record Weight/Isonoe feet & boots/Ortofon RS-212D/Denon DL-103GL in Denon PCL-300 headshell with Funk Firm Houdini/Kondo SL-115 pure-silver cartridge leads.

    Paul Hynes MC head amp/SR5 PSU. Also modded Lentek head amp/Denon AU-310 SUT.

    Other Cartridges: Nippon Columbia (NOS 1987) Denon DL-103. USA-made Shure SC35C with NOS stylus. Goldring G820 with NOS stylus. Shure M55E with NOS stylus.

    CD Player: Audiocom-modified Sony X-777ES/DAS-R1 DAC.

    Tape Deck: Tandberg TCD 310, fully restored and recalibrated as new, by RDE, plus upgraded with heads from the TCD-420a. Also with matching TM4 Norway microphones.

    Preamps: Heavily-modified Croft Charisma-X. LDR Stereo Coffee. Power Amps: Tube Distinctions Copper Amp fitted with Tungsol KT-150s. Quad 306.

    Cables & Sundries: Mark Grant HDX1 interconnects and digital coaxial cable, plus Mark Grant 6mm UP-LCOFC Van Damme speaker cable. MCRU 'Ultimate' mains leads. Lehmann clone headphone amp with vintage Koss PRO-4AAA headphones.

    Tube Distinctions digital noise filter. VPI HW16.5 record cleaning machine.

    Speakers: Tannoy 15MGs in Lockwood cabinets with modified crossovers. 1967 Celestion Ditton 15.


    Protect your HUMAN RIGHTS and REFUSE ANY *MANDATORY* VACCINE FOR COVID-19!

    Also **SAY NO** to unjust 'vaccine passports' or certificates, which are totally incompatible with a FREE society!!!


  3. #33
    Join Date: Jul 2009

    Location: Hampshire, UK

    Posts: 3,662
    I'm Adam.

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    I have to say, Marco, although some of those places look stunning and I'd definitely love to vist them, this...

    Quote Originally Posted by Marco View Post
    Word of warning though, *only* do it if you're able to spend 7-8 hours a day in car driving on foreign roads,
    ...doesn't sound like my idea of a relaxing holiday and I know for a fact Ursula would absolutely hate it!

    We're off to Florence for a week in a few weeks' time and the idea of jumping on a plane and being sat in the sun with an Aperol Spritz (her)/local beer (me) whilst plannig what to do over the next few days is much more my sort of thing!
    Engineers: fixing problems you didn't know you had in ways you don't understand.

  4. #34
    Join Date: Jan 2008

    Location: Wrexham, North Wales, UK

    Posts: 110,012
    I'm AudioAl'sArbiterForPISHANTO.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Beobloke View Post
    I have to say, Marco, although some of those places look stunning and I'd definitely love to vist them, this...



    ...doesn't sound like my idea of a relaxing holiday and I know for a fact Ursula would absolutely hate it!

    We're off to Florence for a week in a few weeks' time and the idea of jumping on a plane and being sat in the sun with an Aperol Spritz (her)/local beer (me) whilst plannig what to do over the next few days is much more my sort of thing!
    Lol.... In terms of the first bit, it's not 7-8 hours solid - jeez, that would be a nightmare. No, here's how it generally goes:

    Have breakfast in the hotel we've stopped at for the night around 8am. Leave hotel approx 9,15am. Drive for approx three hours on planned route. Then stop for lunch at a nice restaurant en-route. After lunch (approx 2pm). Drive for another couple of hours. Stop at a bar somewhere in a small town for refreshments. Stretch our legs for a bit and have a look round the town/shops. Then drive a further 2-3 hours max to our destination hotel that evening (all pre-booked).

    So... We're never in the car for any more than 3 hours at a time, and in the Brabster the drive is comfy and effortless, so not really that tiring. Next day, repeat (total 3 stops in France). Last day, en-route to Italy, do the same thing until we reach our intended location. Repeat process on the return journey home. And at any time if we feel tired, we just stop somewhere and chill out for a bit. There's no rush

    Of course you have to like driving, and I love it, especially doing it fairly leisurely, as described, on great, largely deserted roads. and seeing lots of interesting things/picturesque scenery en-route, as the pics portray!

    The worst drive is from Wrexham to Dover, and encountering all the traffic congestion down south, especially on the journey home, as it's usually mid afternoon/early evening, and very busy... This time, with closures to the M20 and major roadworks on the M25 and M1, it took us over 4 hours to reach the bloody M6!!

    You can keep that sort of stressful shit... How anyone can stand that sort of continual congestion, when driving on roads down south, I've no idea. Only when we left the M6 and joined the M54 at Telford, did we encounter the serenity we're used to around Wrexham! And driving on the long and winding, beautifully-surfaced, largely empty roads in France, is a joy!

    Marco.

    P.S And you can also keep yer stressful and overcrowded airports/security checks, especially at Heathrow and Gatwick at this time of the year!
    Main System

    Turntable: Heavily-modified Technics SL-1210MK5G [Mike New bearing/ETP platter/Paul Hynes SR7 PSU & reg mods]. Funk Firm APM Achromat/Nagaoka GL-601 Crystal Record Weight/Isonoe feet & boots/Ortofon RS-212D/Denon DL-103GL in Denon PCL-300 headshell with Funk Firm Houdini/Kondo SL-115 pure-silver cartridge leads.

    Paul Hynes MC head amp/SR5 PSU. Also modded Lentek head amp/Denon AU-310 SUT.

    Other Cartridges: Nippon Columbia (NOS 1987) Denon DL-103. USA-made Shure SC35C with NOS stylus. Goldring G820 with NOS stylus. Shure M55E with NOS stylus.

    CD Player: Audiocom-modified Sony X-777ES/DAS-R1 DAC.

    Tape Deck: Tandberg TCD 310, fully restored and recalibrated as new, by RDE, plus upgraded with heads from the TCD-420a. Also with matching TM4 Norway microphones.

    Preamps: Heavily-modified Croft Charisma-X. LDR Stereo Coffee. Power Amps: Tube Distinctions Copper Amp fitted with Tungsol KT-150s. Quad 306.

    Cables & Sundries: Mark Grant HDX1 interconnects and digital coaxial cable, plus Mark Grant 6mm UP-LCOFC Van Damme speaker cable. MCRU 'Ultimate' mains leads. Lehmann clone headphone amp with vintage Koss PRO-4AAA headphones.

    Tube Distinctions digital noise filter. VPI HW16.5 record cleaning machine.

    Speakers: Tannoy 15MGs in Lockwood cabinets with modified crossovers. 1967 Celestion Ditton 15.


    Protect your HUMAN RIGHTS and REFUSE ANY *MANDATORY* VACCINE FOR COVID-19!

    Also **SAY NO** to unjust 'vaccine passports' or certificates, which are totally incompatible with a FREE society!!!


  5. #35
    Join Date: Mar 2017

    Location: West Sūžsēaxe

    Posts: 2,015
    I'm Edward.

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    Great pictures and write up there Boss.

    Pics of Tuscany and esp. Lucca brings back lots of memories. Lucca is the place we would live at if we ever made the move abroad. Stayed just outside Lucca for 2 weeks, most enjoyable. Even though Lucca is a tourist destination it has a great 'settled' feel to it with many people living within and outside the walls. Hope you did the bike trip around the walls.

    I agree the roads from Kent and around London are the pits. I avoid driving as much as possible. The M25 is just a glorified car park.
    Current: [P20] Roon/Tidal > Custom PC> Chevron Paradox NDF16 > Phast Pre > Neuro. 686 > Tannoy Berkley (RFC tweaks)


  6. #36
    Join Date: Jan 2008

    Location: Wrexham, North Wales, UK

    Posts: 110,012
    I'm AudioAl'sArbiterForPISHANTO.

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    Cheers, Edward. Lucca is just lovely, and somewhere we always go when visiting Tuscany. The shopping is superb, and full of high-quality privately owned shops and boutiques, which my wife loves, so she always gets something nice there, frequently clothes and leather goods.

    And there are some lovely bars, cafes and eateries... Just a cool place to hang out, and full of history

    Yup, the traffic in the south of England, around the areas mentioned, is just horrendous, and I wouldn't live there if you paid me!

    Marco.
    Main System

    Turntable: Heavily-modified Technics SL-1210MK5G [Mike New bearing/ETP platter/Paul Hynes SR7 PSU & reg mods]. Funk Firm APM Achromat/Nagaoka GL-601 Crystal Record Weight/Isonoe feet & boots/Ortofon RS-212D/Denon DL-103GL in Denon PCL-300 headshell with Funk Firm Houdini/Kondo SL-115 pure-silver cartridge leads.

    Paul Hynes MC head amp/SR5 PSU. Also modded Lentek head amp/Denon AU-310 SUT.

    Other Cartridges: Nippon Columbia (NOS 1987) Denon DL-103. USA-made Shure SC35C with NOS stylus. Goldring G820 with NOS stylus. Shure M55E with NOS stylus.

    CD Player: Audiocom-modified Sony X-777ES/DAS-R1 DAC.

    Tape Deck: Tandberg TCD 310, fully restored and recalibrated as new, by RDE, plus upgraded with heads from the TCD-420a. Also with matching TM4 Norway microphones.

    Preamps: Heavily-modified Croft Charisma-X. LDR Stereo Coffee. Power Amps: Tube Distinctions Copper Amp fitted with Tungsol KT-150s. Quad 306.

    Cables & Sundries: Mark Grant HDX1 interconnects and digital coaxial cable, plus Mark Grant 6mm UP-LCOFC Van Damme speaker cable. MCRU 'Ultimate' mains leads. Lehmann clone headphone amp with vintage Koss PRO-4AAA headphones.

    Tube Distinctions digital noise filter. VPI HW16.5 record cleaning machine.

    Speakers: Tannoy 15MGs in Lockwood cabinets with modified crossovers. 1967 Celestion Ditton 15.


    Protect your HUMAN RIGHTS and REFUSE ANY *MANDATORY* VACCINE FOR COVID-19!

    Also **SAY NO** to unjust 'vaccine passports' or certificates, which are totally incompatible with a FREE society!!!


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