# xspeedy's fourth ED - pics enclosed



## xspeedy (Apr 10, 2003)

Stopped in London for 2.5 days on the way to MUC.

1) London Bridge - wtf? What is the big deal?
2) Harrods
3) London Eye
4) Big Ben with double decker bus streaking past.
5) House of Parliament
6) London Eye
7) View of Thames
8) Tower Bridge


----------



## xspeedy (Apr 10, 2003)

More...

1) Bangers and Mash
2) Market
3) Market
4) Market
5) London Eye
6) Buckingham Palace
7) Buckingham Palace
8) Wife walking instead of taking the bus.


----------



## xspeedy (Apr 10, 2003)

More pics....

1) Traditionanl English breakfast - Eggs, tomato, sausage, ham, beans.
2) Speaker's Corner of Hyde Park.
3) Same.
4) Great Indian food and Cobra beer at Ravi Shankar's on Drummond Street.
5) Red phone booths at Leicester Square.
6) Piccadilly Circus.
7) Tower Bridge at night.


----------



## xspeedy (Apr 10, 2003)

At Stansted now, waiting for Easyjet flight to MUC. Luckily they have good WiFi for only 3GP per half hour. Oktoberfest, here I come!


----------



## LDV330i (May 24, 2003)

Sounds like you had fun in London. :thumbup: 

Looks like you are keeping up with ED tradition. Look at the sights and eat all you can.


----------



## mdsbuc (Mar 17, 2005)

xspeedy, Nice pics. Anything cool happening in Munich besides Oktoberfest? 







............


----------



## X3 Skier (Aug 21, 2005)

Nice pics, we will be in London in two weeks and they bring back memories to be renewed. (But no ED  )

I can't believe anybody form the USA would order bangers and Mash! :yikes: 

Cheers


----------



## kyyuan (Jul 14, 2002)

Welcome home... you trip certainly makes me want to do another ED.


----------



## afshawnt (May 1, 2004)

Wow...I'm jealous. BTW, I've already booke tickets for us to return in the middle of January. Is that good for you?


----------



## icemanjs4 (Dec 1, 2004)

Sweet you found me the low-carb options in England.... Pigs heads!!!!

Man that Indian food looked amazing too. What kind of bread was that on the left, Naan, or some sort of uthappam?

Did you go on the London Eye or is it crazy expensive to take a ride? And dang, all those sausages and you haven't even hit Munchen yet 

enjoy O'fest and enjoy ein prosit der gemutlichkeit!!!!


----------



## afshawnt (May 1, 2004)

icemanjs4 said:


> Sweet you found me the low-carb options in England.... Pigs heads!!!!
> 
> Man that Indian food looked amazing too. What kind of bread was that on the left, Naan, or some sort of uthappam?
> 
> ...


"Hobb's Healthy Option" Did you catch that?:rofl:


----------



## afshawnt (May 1, 2004)

xspeedy.....see you made it to harrod's in the evening. Looks amazing. Have fun.


----------



## icemanjs4 (Dec 1, 2004)

afshawnt said:


> "Hobb's Healthy Option" Did you catch that?:rofl:


That's what prompted me to write: "Hey you found the low carb option with pigs heads" :-D


----------



## Double Vanos (Aug 20, 2003)

Looks good so far xSpeedy cant wait for a pic of the new wheels, anyways have a safe trip and post more pics!!


----------



## xspeedy (Apr 10, 2003)

Checked into our hotel at Kempinski and took the Metro to Oktoberfest. Could not get into the beer tents as the lines were too long. We waited for two hours before calling it quits. Will meet up with a local friend and head over earlier when seats are still available. Apparently, reservations help. Or a big rack. 

Working off an Inet cafe computer in Flughafen, so can´t post pics right now. Hope to have better ones tomorrow.

I´m off to the hotel bar for a good hefe now.


----------



## xspeedy (Apr 10, 2003)

kyyuan said:


> Welcome home... you trip certainly makes me want to do another ED.


I´m not home yet. Just getting warmed up! I pick up the car on Wednesday and head to Italy for two weeks.


----------



## smytheee (Jun 13, 2006)

awesome! keep it up and don't forget those pics


----------



## JayK330 (Feb 11, 2006)

Great pics!

Look forward to seeing the car and pictures from Italy.


----------



## jackie (May 11, 2005)

My British husband thinks the bangers and mash look awful...but he's dying to get his hands on the glass of London Pride in the background!!!


----------



## icemanjs4 (Dec 1, 2004)

xspeedy said:


> Checked into our hotel at Kempinski and took the Metro to Oktoberfest. Could not get into the beer tents as the lines were too long. We waited for two hours before calling it quits. Will meet up with a local friend and head over earlier when seats are still available. Apparently, reservations help. Or a big rack.
> 
> Working off an Inet cafe computer in Flughafen, so can´t post pics right now. Hope to have better ones tomorrow.
> 
> I´m off to the hotel bar for a good hefe now.


That sucks that you couldn't get into the tents. Once you get in, do you get to stay there and hang out for a while? How's the music and the girls in dirndls? Make sure you post LOTS of pics  Anyway, I'll bet there's plenty of good beer flowing, even if you're not in the tent. Enjoy :thumbup:


----------



## xspeedy (Apr 10, 2003)

More Venice...


----------



## xspeedy (Apr 10, 2003)

Yet more Venice...


----------



## xspeedy (Apr 10, 2003)

More Videos:

Speakers Corner






BMW pickup






Drive to Venice


----------



## mdsbuc (Mar 17, 2005)

xspeedy, Thanks for bringing back some great memories with those great pics of delivery and trip to Venice. They bring back some great memories for me. Today is the day, one year ago, that we arrived in Munich for our ED trip. Dang, I wish I were there now.


----------



## LDV330i (May 24, 2003)

xspeedy said:


> Okay, now for the delivery and car pics...
> 
> 3) Breakfast


The ED center offers beer for breaksfast. :yikes: I must have missed that one.


----------



## zengravy (Sep 12, 2006)

Beer for breakfast... AWESOME!

Thanks for the great pics and videos, xspeedy. Venice is gorgeous!

Enjoy the rest of your trip!


----------



## dencoop (Aug 17, 2005)

All I have to say is: Nice:thumbup:


----------



## mullman (Jan 5, 2006)

Now THAT is the breakfast of champions!










I LOVE salted cured meats and cheeses for breakfast.

Congrats xspeedy, us slaving away at our jobs salute you- looks like a great trip!


----------



## adc (Apr 1, 2003)

Hey this has got to be one of the most complete ED reports I've ever seen - pictures, videos, I'm half expecting to start smelling the sausage any time now... :thumbup: 

How's the 335, we need some driving impressions... (or was it the wife who drive the car after that interesting breakfast?).

Best wishes!


----------



## Asteroid (Aug 17, 2005)

Except for the split dual exhaust and badge, it looks just like mine. Maybe yours is a little faster. :thumbup:



adc said:


> How's the 335, we need some driving impressions...


This is my request, too.


----------



## killerdeck (Dec 21, 2001)

WOW! Dont know how I missed this thread. Fantastic pictures and updates. Have fun and maybe I can come see your 335 sometime.


----------



## mh5 (Aug 11, 2006)

xspeedy -- awesome pics -- thanks for sharing. Which camera are you using? 

Enjoy the rest of your trip.


----------



## icemanjs4 (Dec 1, 2004)

Wow xSpeedy, the red in the seats really brings out the purple in your paint :rofl:  
J/K It turns out, that combo looks fantastic! All that worrying for nothing.

In fact, the shots where there aren't a lot of light look incredible. Particularly the shots of the rear of the car looking at the rear-seat headrests. I think it's a great look. And the SG looks darker and richer in that pic too.

Man, seeing those pics makes me miss Venezia! Did you make it out to Murano too?

Ciao


----------



## afshawnt (May 1, 2004)

icemanjs4 said:


> Wow xSpeedy, the red in the seats really brings out the purple in your paint :rofl:
> J/K It turns out, that combo looks fantastic! All that worrying for nothing.
> 
> In fact, the shots where there aren't a lot of light look incredible. Particularly the shots of the rear of the car looking at the rear-seat headrests. I think it's a great look. And the SG looks darker and richer in that pic too.
> ...


Get all your looks in now J cuz this is the only time we'll get to see the doors "garbage bag" free. :rofl:


----------



## xspeedy (Apr 10, 2003)

Thanks for the comments everyone. 

I haven't driven the 335i hard, so I can't really give complete impressions. What I do notice though is that there is much more torque/power very low in the rev band. With the 330i, I couldn't use 6th until closer to 75/80 with higher revs. The 335i is content cruising at 70 with very low revs - around 2000. It took me a while to get used to the different power band/gearing. Even at high gears at high speeds with low revs, the car can really squirt forward. The power feels effortless. There isn't really any turbo lag that I can feel in easy break-in style driving.

There are two cameras being used. Most pictures were taken with a Canon 20D. Most of the night shots were taken with a pocket Canon SD630 and the shots were hand-held for the most part.

I'll try to post more pictures as I go along. I'll also try to push more videos to youTube.


----------



## xspeedy (Apr 10, 2003)

afshawnt said:


> Get all your looks in now J cuz this is the only time we'll get to see the doors "garbage bag" free. :rofl:


Did you notice the custom "garbage bag" floor mats?


----------



## LDV330i (May 24, 2003)

xspeedy said:


> Did you notice the custom "garbage bag" floor mats?


Are those the new and improved free ED floor mats? :lmao:


----------



## icemanjs4 (Dec 1, 2004)

LDV330i said:


> Are those the new and improved free ED floor mats? :lmao:


Nope, we actually saw him empty his kitchen trash can right there on the floor, remove the bag, fold it up and take it with him. I asked him if he was worried about the bags being sticky and he said "nope - it will give me better grip going through the twisties in the Alps." :dunno: :eeps:


----------



## afshawnt (May 1, 2004)

icemanjs4 said:


> Nope, we actually saw him empty his kitchen trash can right there on the floor, remove the bag, fold it up and take it with him. I asked him if he was worried about the bags being sticky and he said "nope - it will give me better grip going through the twisties in the Alps." :dunno: :eeps:


Those are the mats the car comes with from the factory. He got them from Judith. I remember him telling me to get them. Also, don't forget those handy dandy furniture pads, he's going to stick under the front bumper. Oh and the washmit and drying towels he took with him.

One thing he did forget were the English/Spanish/German "Don't Wash the car"/"Don't scrape the front bumper" signs.


----------



## LDV330i (May 24, 2003)

afshawnt said:


> Those are the mats the car comes with from the factory. He got them from Judith. I remember him telling me to get them. Also, don't forget those handy dandy furniture pads, he's going to stick under the front bumper. Oh and the washmit and drying towels he took with him.
> 
> One thing he did forget were the English/Spanish/German "Don't Wash the car"/"Don't scrape the front bumper" signs.


Y'all are bad. :rofl:


----------



## xspeedy (Apr 10, 2003)

Here is a video from Piazza San Marco.






I don't know why my wife wasn't having a good time feeding the pigeons.


----------



## xspeedy (Apr 10, 2003)

afshawnt said:


> Those are the mats the car comes with from the factory. He got them from Judith. I remember him telling me to get them. Also, don't forget those handy dandy furniture pads, he's going to stick under the front bumper. Oh and the washmit and drying towels he took with him.
> 
> One thing he did forget were the English/Spanish/German "Don't Wash the car"/"Don't scrape the front bumper" signs.


Hey, you didn't tell them that I pack my own jar of cosmoline to apply to the car at drop off :rofl:


----------



## xspeedy (Apr 10, 2003)

Here are a few last pics from Venice before we head to Roma. I'm also repeating this URL here for those that missed it just above. Relates to picture #1.


----------



## afshawnt (May 1, 2004)

That video is hilarious!


----------



## disden (Aug 1, 2006)

congrats on the new car, it is truly a beauty! I am amazed at how that SG looks in the pics, did BMW tweak the color alittle to remove the purple that was coming through on the 2006's? I was initially was going to order the SG, but the cars on the lot looked too purple, your's looks nothing like that! The chrome accents look great.


----------



## xspeedy (Apr 10, 2003)

Sorry it has been so long. Just found an Inet cafe in Colle di Val D'este (something like that!)

This is Roma.


----------



## xspeedy (Apr 10, 2003)

More Roma. We met up with an awesome Belgian couple while at the train station near our hotel on our first morning outside of Rome. The ticket machine at the station wasn't working, so we sold them two extra tickets we had. We wound up hanging out with them for our entire stay in Rome. They are a blast and we enjoyed their company immensely.


----------



## xspeedy (Apr 10, 2003)

More Roma and surround. Does anyone recognize where the last two were taken? If you are a Raymond dork like we are, you will.


----------



## xspeedy (Apr 10, 2003)

Last of Roma area. This isn't Rome, but areas towards the coast. Picnicing with our new friends and fresh calamari.


----------



## xspeedy (Apr 10, 2003)

These are from the Tuscany/Umbria area. We are staying just NW of Siena. We visited Siena at night, so no pics. We also saw Florence and Maranello. Drove Chianti road to Florence (Firenza).

The first two pics here are of Orvietto on our drive from Rome to Siena. The rest are off Chianti Road.


----------



## xspeedy (Apr 10, 2003)

First is Chanti road, the third is a wine museum/store, and the rest are Florence.


----------



## xspeedy (Apr 10, 2003)

More...

First two are Florence, the rest are from the Ferrari museum in Maranello.


----------



## xspeedy (Apr 10, 2003)

1) Outside of the Ferrari factory. 
2) Problem with new car on the way to Venice. Foreign debris between rotor and pad did this. No part in Italia for the new 335, so ED sent me a loaner 330i, seen in the above posts. Drove back to Venice from Siena yesterday to retrieve my car and leave loaner at the dealer. 

3) Mauro, the extremely helpful English speaking SA at Motorsport BMW/Mini in Mestre (last town on mainland before swimming to Venice). This was taken when I picked up my car.


----------



## mdsbuc (Mar 17, 2005)

xspeedy, Words can't express the appreciation we have for the work you have put into your ED report. What an excellent job you have done. We've enjoyed every word and pic. Thanks! :thumbup:


----------



## JSpira (Oct 21, 2002)

Ja, excellent reportage!


----------



## Me530 (Feb 17, 2005)

Jspira said:


> Ja, excellent reportage!


+1:thumbup:


----------



## afshawnt (May 1, 2004)

nice pictures....looks like you guys are having a great time. See you next week sometime.


----------



## mullman (Jan 5, 2006)

xspeedy-

You rock, brother! :thumbup:


----------



## xspeedy (Apr 10, 2003)

Thanks all for the positive comments. Afshawnt, I still have to find you sweet mustard. 

More from today. Love fast and cheap Internet access. We took the 335 to San Gimignano. This town is known to have had the first "skyscrapers" and is known as the Manhattan of Tuscany. I'd have to say that this is my favorite of the towns in this region. Very relaxing atmosphere and very clean as well.


----------



## xspeedy (Apr 10, 2003)

More...


----------



## xspeedy (Apr 10, 2003)

More pics


----------



## xspeedy (Apr 10, 2003)

Last few... You can see the towers of the town in the top left of the last pic.


----------



## JayK330 (Feb 11, 2006)

Great write up's and pics. :thumbup:


----------



## want_a_7 (Apr 4, 2006)

dencoop said:


> All I have to say is: Nice:thumbup:


+1


----------



## icemanjs4 (Dec 1, 2004)

Xspeedy, nice pics! The Tuscany region really is one of the most beautiful places on earth. How was it drinking the wine directly from the source? 

And speaking of sweet mustard - did you guys get to try the locally made olive oil? 

Also, did you make it to the Vatican while you were in Roma?


----------



## mullman (Jan 5, 2006)

Even captured a BMW Cruiser...


----------



## xspeedy (Apr 10, 2003)

icemanjs4 said:


> Xspeedy, nice pics! The Tuscany region really is one of the most beautiful places on earth. How was it drinking the wine directly from the source?
> 
> And speaking of sweet mustard - did you guys get to try the locally made olive oil?
> 
> Also, did you make it to the Vatican while you were in Roma?


Icemanjs, we picked up the smallest finest cheapest bottle of olive oil from the wannabe HEB for here in Siena for you. Hope you like the rosemary stuff. Nicole did some taste testing of olive oils while at the wine museum/store on Chianti road, and she wasn't impressed. Nicole did buy herself a really good bottle of balsamic vinagrette.

Tuscany is very nice and relaxing. We definitely want to come back for another trip. Staying here in Colle Di Val D'Esta. There is also a nice villa in the country not far from here that looks very relaxing. We have a postcard with the address. The weather has been fantastic. Clear blue skies with highs in the mid 70's.

We did go to the Vatican to see the Basilica and the museum. Look at pics 2-6 on post 68. Cameras weren't allowed in the Sisteen Chapel section with the Michelangelo (sp?) works. I have plenty of pics of other stuff though.

BTW, thanks for getting me the phone number for the delivery center. It was much helpful!


----------



## LDV330i (May 24, 2003)

xspeedy said:


> Icemanjs, we picked up the smallest finest cheapest bottle of olive oil from the wannabe HEB for here in Siena for you.


:rofl:

Sounds like you're are having a great time. Are you sure you want to come back home? :dunno:


----------



## xspeedy (Apr 10, 2003)

LDV330i said:


> :rofl:
> 
> Sounds like you're are having a great time. Are you sure you want to come back home? :dunno:


Hah! I'm thinking about changing my citizenship. Would help if I could speak a European language (other than English)


----------



## xspeedy (Apr 10, 2003)

A few closing pictures. We drove all the way from our hotel outside Siena to Pinswang, Austria. 

Luckily the weather was better than our visit here two years ago. We couldn't see more than twenty feet then. Unfortunately, the fog came back on our morning drive to Munich. So the castles have once again eluded us. We stayed at the great Gutshof Zum Schluxen for a night. Great rooms and even better food.


----------



## adc (Apr 1, 2003)

xspeedy said:


> We stayed at the great Gutshof Zum Schluxen for a night. Great rooms and even better food.


Man, I can practically taste the crisp, fresh morning air from your Gasthof balcony...

Now I'm really depressed here at work...


----------



## xspeedy (Apr 10, 2003)

adc said:


> Now I'm really depressed here at work...


Don't sweat it. I'll be right there in the trenches with you day after tomorrow - waiting for my next vacation


----------



## afshawnt (May 1, 2004)

xspeedy said:


> Don't sweat it. I'll be right there in the trenches with you day after tomorrow - waiting for my next vacation


Waiting? I thought we were leaving Saturday for London?


----------



## xspeedy (Apr 10, 2003)

afshawnt said:


> Waiting? I thought we were leaving Saturday for London?


I guess I won't need to unpack when I get home 

I picked you up a small bottle of sweet mustard from Dallmayr. I also picked myself up a jar to see what all the fuss is about.

I guess I'll turn in now since it is a long walk from the Kempinski to Terminal 1 in the morning. Have a 7:00 plane to catch.


----------



## coppertone (Jun 5, 2006)

Nice report and great pictures. Good to see you had a great time.

It looks like you parked right next to those two Porshes that I saw at Harms when I dropped off last monday. Did the 2nd one on the right just out of the picture have electric lime green trim with arabian plates?


----------



## Rmart (Feb 20, 2002)

I have been to this co-op in Greve too. I really enjoyed the wine (and olive oil) machines.

It is cool that you made friends with those people in Roma. That is one of the great things about traveling. I had a similar experience in Madrid. Great memories.

Thanks for the excellent report!


----------



## icemanjs4 (Dec 1, 2004)

That hotel in Tyrol, Austria is just fantastic. Afshawnt and I stayed there on Xspeedy's recommendation. The owners are friendly, the view is fantastic sitting in the shadow of a mountain, and the food was wonderful. 

Did you guys get to try the Garlic Chive soup? Mmm to die for. 

Xspeedy, do you mean to tell me, the whole time you were in Germany, with all the sausages, you never got to try suss senf? (aka sweet mustard)?!?! If you ask for it at most any restuarant, they bring you what looks like a honey pot or crock filled with the stuff. I think Afshawnt and I must have gone through half a gallon of the stuff on the last trip. 

So sad, I know tons of people in Europe now. One guy's in Greece on Sabbatical, another's in London, and you guys are all over Italy/Austria/Munich. I'm dying to go back!!!


----------



## afshawnt (May 1, 2004)

They're back!


----------



## jammat (Jul 26, 2006)

Xspeedy, this is the most comprehensive ED report I've ever seen. Thank you very much!


----------



## LDV330i (May 24, 2003)

afshawnt said:


> They're back!


I am glad they came in today. Yesterday we had a nightmare with the rainstorms and flooding here in Houston. International flights were running up to 5 hours late.:yikes:


----------



## xspeedy (Apr 10, 2003)

LDV330i said:


> I am glad they came in today. Yesterday we had a nightmare with the rainstorms and flooding here in Houston. International flights were running up to 5 hours late.:yikes:


What was that you said about flooding? This is what I came back to. At least it was my beater. My Valentine was on the floor under the seat and got wet, but luckily none penetrated the case. I stopped off at a car wash on the way home to suck as much of the water out of the car as I could.

On the positive side, we had unlimited legroom in coach


----------



## xspeedy (Apr 10, 2003)

coppertone said:


> Nice report and great pictures. Good to see you had a great time.
> 
> It looks like you parked right next to those two Porshes that I saw at Harms when I dropped off last monday. Did the 2nd one on the right just out of the picture have electric lime green trim with arabian plates?


Yep, both were still there. I was wondering what the story was behind those cars.


----------



## LDV330i (May 24, 2003)

xspeedy said:


> What was that you said about flooding? This is what I came back to. At least it was my beater. My Valentine was on the floor under the seat and got wet, but luckily none penetrated the case. I stopped off at a car wash on the way home to suck as much of the water out of the car as I could.
> 
> On the positive side, we had unlimited legroom in coach


Isn't your ECU under the driver's seat? :yikes:

My neighbor had an Acura Integra that water got inside the car while the car was parked in the garage during T.S. Allison (4" of water inside our houses) in June 2001. He drove the car for a block before the motor cr*pped out. The car was totaled because the ECU got wet and the motor was ruined.  Meanwhile my 318ti stayed hermetically sealed with absolutely not water getting into it.


----------



## xspeedy (Apr 10, 2003)

LDV330i said:


> Isn't your ECU under the driver's seat? :yikes:
> 
> My neighbor had an Acura Integra that water got inside the car while the car was parked in the garage during T.S. Allison (4" of water inside our houses) in June 2001. He drove the car for a block before the motor cr*pped out. The car was totaled because the ECU got wet and the motor was ruined.  Meanwhile my 318ti stayed hermetically sealed with absolutely not water getting into it.


Really? I don't think there is anything under my driver's seat other than an errant french fry. I would think the ECU is under the hood.

The car ran just fine - drove it all the way to Austin. I may need to have the carpets cleaned, fluids changed, and lower components inspected.

What gets done depends on what they pay me


----------



## LDV330i (May 24, 2003)

xspeedy said:


> Really? I don't think there is anything under my driver's seat other than an errant french fry. I would think the ECU is under the hood.


You would think so but not necessarily.


> <TABLE borderColor=#666666 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=2 width="85%" border=0 si>*******>*******>[TR][TD]Integra '90-'93[/TD][TD]Located Under the Carpet on the Passenger Side Floor, Access Panel Under Carpet[/TD][/TR][TR][TD]Integra '94-up[/TD][TD]Located Under Passenger Side Kick Panel[/TD][/TR][TR][TD]'93-'94Vigor [/TD][TD]Same as '90-'93 Integra[/TD][/TR]********>********>[/TABLE]


----------

