'La Locomotion' - the biennial car meet

Every second year the AUVL (Association d'Utilitaires de la Vallée de la Loire) organises a huge rendez-vous of old vehilcles that fills the cardinal duc's parc for a weekend.  This time, for 2010, it also hosted the GREC (Grande Rassemblement Européene Cadillac) with the Cadillac LaSalle Club France as specialist hosts.

The highlight really is the Sunday morning run that cruised 50 km around the various cantons of the pays de Richelieu followed by a communal motorist's luncheon under the trees of the park.

We must briefly mention those plucky motorists from the Bristol Austin Seven Club who managed to wobble their way from their home to this distant parc.  A 1930's radiator was replaced at the roadside by their mechanical wizards from Birmingham hidden (allegedly) in the club's only-too-Gallic corrugated Citroën H support van.

Below a collection of images of the meeting.

Les Caves Painctes in Chinon and the Entonneurs Rabelaisiens

Here is a short movie of a gala dinner held in the underground 'Caves Painctes' in the ancient Plantagenet town of Chinon, located deep within the castle rock itself.  Allegedly, this is the location of the cellars owned by the father of the 16th century Humanist writer François Rabelais, and referred to directly in the 1534 adventures of the giant Gargantua and his own son Pantagruel.  A ritual ceremony installed a few of the 300-strong Cadillac Lasalle Club France party into the society of 'Entonneurs Rabelaisiens - the funnelers/barrel fillers(?) of Rabelais', a dinner club started in 1962 that celebrates the famous red wine of Chinon and its most fervent admirer, François Rabelais himself.

Your blog's author, the Abbé Henri Proust, was elevated to the rank of Chevalier of the Entonneurs Rabelaisiens on the 3rd of September 2010 (for services rendered etc.....).  What an honor, and frankly what a responsibility!; to act as advocate for the Humanist and gourmand world-view of Rabelais and as an ambassador for the gorgeous cabernet franc wines of AOC Chinon.

HARD work; but someone has to do it!

Readers, friends, if you turn these pages

Put your prejudice aside,

For, really, there's nothing here that's outrageous,

Nothing sick, or bad — or contagious.

Not that I sit here glowing with pride

For my book: all you'll find is laughter:

That's all the glory my heart is after,

Seeing how sorrow eats you, defeats you.

I'd rather write about laughing than crying,

For laughter makes men human, and courageous.

BE HAPPY!

***

< Beuvez tousjours, vous ne mourrez jamais >

Try the new Cadillac LaSalle Club France blogsite

 CLICK HERE  

Car clubs like to visit Richelieu

Many international car clubs are attracted by the cité idéale de Richelieu.  It is surrounded by pretty and sparsely use roads and the walled town makes a splendid mid-day arrival destination. In August 2009 the Grand Prix d'Automobiles Rétro de Le Puy Notre-Dame - a small town just south of Saumur in neighbouring département of Vienne - passed through at lunchtime and parked up in the place du marché.  Lunch was taken for all involved under the 1630s chesnut beams of la halle de Richelieu.

We feature two cars from the splendid old machines, which had to pre-date 1950.  A pre-war Delahaye 135 MS (they taught the Führer's Nazi-financed Mercedes-Benz team a lesson in 1938) and a dinky little racing MG with Belgian numberplates.  The weekend rally comprised a ballade on the Saturday and a race round the le Puy streets on the Sunday to win the Grand Prix 2009.

The cardinal himself is thought to have favoured Lotus cars - Light is Right!

or maybe even a Cadillac.......

CADILLAC LASALLE CLUB FRANCE

This site will now on feature the communications of this illustrious club, operated and run from the drop-dead-gorgeous 17th century 'ideal town' of Richelieu, 20 kms south of Chinon, in France's lovely valley of the mighty river LOIRE.

Empty roads, beautiful destinations, gastronomy, hardly any wine (when motoring), supreme ELEGANCE and COMFORT all in  America's finest!!

- Cadillac Lasalle Club France -

21 Grande Rue

37120 RICHELIEU

France

00 33 2 47 58 18 64

Pierre Gravel

gravel.not@wanadoo.fr

Use the special button on the column on the right to filter all the 'posts' that concern those suave and magnificent bagnolles !

Citoyenne! Citoyen! Do YOU own a Cadillac?

In 2008 the notary of the cité idéale of Richelieu, Maître Pierre Gravel, founded a car enthusiasts club for Cadillac & LaSalle cars, made in that 'city of the rapids', Detroit, Michigan USA. He has already attracted more than 20 members and looks forward to further expansion of the club this year. While mighty General Motors is wobbly in the US at present, the subject of a huge 'bale-out' in the 2008 Credit Crunch, the older grandiose cars of this marque certainly have their following in France.

Below a member's car - a 1937 Fleetwood ‘Convertible Sedan’

Below in Scribd is the second annual report which shows how to register your own vast automobile and join in the club's activities.  In French - get used to it!

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Bulletin CLC Fr Vol 2