[DrivenByE30]

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Well let's make this as easy and as straight forward as possible...
you are about to ride along with me on my Euro Delivery, and relive what i did last month.

It's has been over a month now since i picked up my car on the 12th of April!

This is the route as i had planned it before the trip:



And this is the route as we ended doing:



I will separate the photos by groups. Each post will represent a day of the trip.

I will have at least one picture for each day of my Euro Trip for/and with the F30

Each photos will have an id, so that if you are to make a comments about one, it would be easier for others so follow.

One of the reason i wanted to do this thread is:
because up until now, we keep on hearing that the photos of F30 do not do it justice;
and i agree, the car looks much better in real life.

In fact, i am liking it more and more every time i see one in the street.
I am starting to see about a couple per week now.

With the pictures presented here,
i hope to be able to capture the beauty of the car just like we would see it irl.
I want to show you its real beauty, in everyday life situation...

it will not be a post of quality or artistic in nature,
but rather a post of quantity... i just wanted to dump a whole avalanche of photos to you guys right here...

(because each post will be rather long)
Here are the links (and place holders) to each day: 


Day 0 (Point A on the map above): getting to Munich
Day 1 (Point A to B): In Munich, the day of the Delivery !!
Day 2 (Point B to E): Trying to reach Stevio... but unsuccessfully
Day 3 (Point E to G): Milan is not that great, especially if sick <<< On this page at the very bottom! (if you browser can finish loading )
Day 4 (Point G to H): From Genova, going up the Italian Coast <<< Starts @ the bottom of the page
Day 5 (Point H to I): From Monte Carlo, Coasting the French Riviera <<< Starts @ the second half of the page
Day 6 (Point I to K): From St Tropez, to Toulouse via Avignon
Day 7 (Point K to L): From Toulouse to the Island "Re"
Day 8 (Point L to M): Heading to the Mont St Michel <<< starts @ the very bottom of the page
Day 9 (Point M to O): Going to Paris <<< starts @ the second half of the page
Day 10 (Point O): Pit Stop in Paris
Day 11 (Point O to P): We are going to the Nurb <<< starts @ the second half of the page
Day 12 (Point P to Q): Do we really have to leave the Ring ?
Day 13: Around town in Paris
Day 14: Around town in Paris <<< starts @ the second half of the page
Day 15: Around town in Paris without a car
Day 16: Last day in Paris <<< starts @ mid page
Day 17: going back to SoCal

Enjoy

[DrivenByE30]

Here's how it started:

Day 0

From California to Paris (Post to be completed later)

[DrivenByE30]

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On the day of the delivery, we had to catch a flight from Paris to Munich, very early in the morning... so early it was still dark!

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As we go down in altitude, getting close to Munich, we can see the tip of Europe highest mountain chains:

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after landing, and as we taxi the runway, the first bmw i saw in Munich is:

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waiting to pick up luggages:

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guess who picked us up?

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very professionally and very welcoming of him, he wanted to make sure we knew exactly what to do during our stay in Munich:

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his car:

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his other wheels:

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only 6000km ??


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exiting the airport;

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en route vers Munchen:

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picking up the pace:
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until the limits are signaled... approaching city streets:

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Are we late for the delivery...?? nope,

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AS we exit the tunnel:

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right away we see the BMW towers

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From the Airport, it would seem the route is direct to the Welt

i dont remember there be a single light
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and there is my first sight of the welt:

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i wish we have the time to go up there... we didn't so it would have to be next time:

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we didn't have time to go to the museum !!!

fortunately for you guys, or else i would have another hundreds of shots to post:
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closer than ever:

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great service this gentleman:

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Having given them our luggages, we got this

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as we walk toward the premium / prestige elevator, what do i see: despite being overwhelmed:
is this the same color as mine:



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with Mom:

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finally the moment of truth! are they gonna give me an automatic when i am asking for manual ?

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having completed our paperwork and rescheduled the delivery time to the afternoon, after our factory tour
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we are now free to move about, but first getting to know the place:

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having corrected my white balance (it wasn't in auto mode)

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time to relax from our early flight and the none-stop action since this morning...

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we have the factory tour coming up very shortly! so better fill ourselves up, this is going to be our breakfast and lunch!


YES i unknowingly ate the skin of it the entire day!! nobody told us!

Got this:

now i am just missing the car


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Once our belly filled up:
let's go explore downstairs where all the mere common mortals aire about...
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I am very attracted to this color:

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inside the shop, we gotta use the 10 euros somehow?!

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Let's not forget, that BMW IS first and foremost: a GREAT engines builder!

and it would seem they have also mastered the suspension and dynamics of the driving!

Starting the Factory tour:


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No camera beyond this point:

(remember the gates where the 3 series drove out during the first world official reveal last November 2011?!

Right after the factory tour, we return immediately to the welt, which is accross the street,
and yet my feet are all in pain!! we've walked for close to two hours!

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i can still remember the days i used to dream of owning a brand new BMW, let a alone a brand new car... just like those young folks here!

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For me, today, my dream ends, and becomes reality!


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limited to only 7 characters, i decided to engrave the damn keychain... not my taste of keychain... but oh well, it's free!

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by far the prettiest sales person there:

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WELL TIME TO HEAD UP AND GET INTO MY CAR GUYS:

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barely have we walked into the premium lounge for some refreshments and help our feet rest,
i already see my baby waiting for me down below behind the glass:

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We made him wait for us for probably at least 5 min!! Our feet couldn't walk no more!

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But now here comes the moment i have been waiting all life! (it true! at least one of them)

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Spinning;

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on its second round of spinning:

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c'mon Down !

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first look @ eye to eye level.... i meant eye to rear level...

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brand spanking NEW:

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hop i am IN:

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switching over to metrics:

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Before we do the winning lap: a few pics...because we are never going to come back here with the car... its now or never... and
there is no turning back!

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Last set of photos INside the Welt with the car:

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the crowd gathering on the platform accross:

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truly a dream coming true, i have always been on their side, accross watching people getting their new car,
and finaly today i am standing here, on the right side, with a dream i have been nurturing for decades, and realizing it.

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I took so long to complete my delivery! :P
Together with his wife and his newborn, The guy next to me, who was taking delivery of his M5, came after me.
but is now even leaving before me!

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DID everyone leave ??!

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time to go:

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so clean:

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and shiny:

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Having parked the car in the Welt parking, we are going back inside the Welt:

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taking advantage of the premium lounge for a third and last time before we leave Munich to head for Fussen where our Hotel's at:

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because the car was delivered with minimal gas:
at the nearby gas station:

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And hop inside we go to Fussen !

[DrivenByE30]

I lost my pictures of the car with the Castle i Fussen!!

after that, we drove to Lindau :

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show your boots:

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AS we left Macdonalds, to my surprise we see this:

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A BMW dealership was across the street from MCDo, so we decided to pay a visit, trying to buy wheels locks!

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Heading out of Switzerland and toward Davos and Stelvio Pass!

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Getting close to Davos:

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Look at what is chasing me:

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Look at what i will be chasing:

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The weather doesn't look too happy:

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Look at what i give up to:

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those little thing a popping up everywhere:

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Snow ??!! at this time of the year?? this is getting me a bit worried... Didn't expect this at all..

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(and no i dont have pictures of that blue car behind me)
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while we were short on time, and getting tired, and bored of a boring looking Davos...
we decided to head out and start going to Stelvio Pass, well at least trying to get to our Hotel which is on the way through Stelvio Pass:

what i didn't know at that moment, was that Stelvio Pass was closed all winter long !
how conveninent...

look like we might have to drive the very very long way:

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not even a light of hope:

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practically the only reassurance we have:

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or was it this:

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The only way is to go back where we came from and try to take another route via the train... hopefully we will make it to the hotel
before lights out:

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it didn't too promising because light was getting dim..
especially with those clouds:

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and the sight of a frozen lake is in no help either:

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Well after driving for a few hours:
pretty much all our attempts at finding a route to go to Stelvio Pass, and to reach Bormio where i have a reserved hotel waiting...
they were all closed!

Looks like we are going to have a long night before us!
seeing how late and how dark it is, and unabled to access Bormio, we gave up going there!

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So what did we do ??!! >>> just that, we stopped!

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we found a rest area, and slept in the bimmer!

[bmwm311]

Great pics! Wish I did ED now. I plan to do it for my next BMW

How many miles did you put on?

[LAnderson23]

Dude, epic post. Looks awesome, thanks for sharing.

[Save Bluth]

what's that thing in the background of picture #57?

[Maz335i]

Great job man!

ED is the way to go!!!

Good luck and hope you enjoy this beast in good health!!!

[RASHID007]

Excellent post. Thank you for taking the time to do that.

[DrivenByE30]

Originally Posted by Save Bluth

what's that thing in the background of picture #57?

are you being sacarstic ??!

i know i know: i havent numbered my photos yet....
it's the next step here... i didn't have time, but i will edit my previous two posts to include the numbers...

more photos are coming right after this...

it has been taking a lot of my time, but i wanted to do it properly.


PS:
i put on around 3100 miles (5000 kms)

[Save Bluth]

I'm sorry - I couldn't help myself... In truth, I'm completely jealous of your incredible trip. And, thank you for documenting for us - very cool to see.

Enjoy your new car.

[zeezz]

thanks for your photos so far, they are really great. two more months waiting for me...

[live4wknds]

Living vicariously through your great pictures. Can't wait to see more. Thanks.

[svache]

Omg so much pictures.. totally awesome man

Soooo jealous of you right now.. I miss Europe so much

[DrivenByE30]

this is only the tip of the iceberg... as you can see, there are still a dozen of days from my trip left to be posted...

it's coming within the next few days

I wish you all a great safe fun long Memorial weekend together with your close ones!

[Redztone]

Wonderful post... You rock for sharing every step of your journey. Savor it!

[PrazVT]

Congrats! Beautiful car and beautiful photos! Thanks for sharing!

[uter]

Nice write up and pics! I appreciate all the detail.

[matt_435xi]

Originally Posted by DrivenByE30

I wish you all a great safe fun long Memorial weekend together with your close ones!

best post on F30post.com to date, awesome job and congrats on your F30!

[DrivenByE30]

On the third day of our ED trip,
and having slept in the car overnight

We are Starting the day very early due to last night's adventure:
(recalling that we could not access Stelvio Pass in April, and thus were not able to arrived to our reserved hotel in Bormio)

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Our route today will be as followed:


and since Munchen

[DrivenByE30]

by this time, i was still dead tired and was getting very sick by mid-day!
So my Dad ended being the main driver most of the day... Props to him
because i dont know how he did it, knowing that we didn't have a proper night sleep.


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finally Arriving at the outskirt of Milan:

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Having put that much mileage (or should i say kilometers) since the car's birth place: Munich!

a few pictures of the baby putting into use right away:

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looking good!

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especially next to a crappy car:

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Having cleaned up a bit the car before we make our entrance into Milan:
we wanted to follow the Welt's suggestion of not leaving anything in the car,
and we didn't want to risk tempting thief in the city.
so we tidy up the interior of the car, and put everything out of sight into the trunk:

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Off we go:

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[DrivenByE30]

DAy 3 part 3

Entering Milan:

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a cheerful welcome:

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