9th Sweet Trip
21 – 22 – 23 – 24 April 2023
PRESENTATION
With pleasure I present to you the 9th SWEET TRIP. This is a gay classic car rally which will be organised from the 21 until the 24 april 2023 by Dominique De Taverny.
For 2023, the SWEET TRIP will take place in the Nord department around Valenciennes. This department of France about 200 kilometers north of Paris is very close to Belgium and easy access for all participants. For this SWEET TRIP, you will enjoy your weekend of relaxation with walks, friendly roads, friendly meals and visit the patrimony. In short, the slogan of this weekend is simple and remains the same: come, discover, enjoy and relax with your classic car!
For your convenience, the road book will be available in English as well as in French and the programme is available in 3 languages: Dutch, English and French.
Please note that this event is specifically intended for classic (older than 25 years) and/or exceptional vehicles (rare examples/produced in limited numbers).
I am counting on you to support this new event and hope to welcome you all on the 21th april 2023.
Important notice!
Upon reception of your registration form and payment (and –only for France– your cheque) you will receive a confirmation of your participation by e-mail.
ACCOMODATION
For 3 nights, you will stay at the hotel Novotel Valenciennes ****. Now known with previous events, these hotels are without surprises and offer a good quality of services. This property is located 10 kms south from the city center of Valenciennes. All spacious rooms have TV, telephone, wifi and bathroom with shower or bathtub. This hotel has a restaurant where we will eat in the evening. Also, the exclusive bar reserved for the occupants of the hotel will remain open in the evening. Important: the hotel parking is private and closed.
NOVOTEL VALENCIENNES
Parc d’activités aérodrome
Rue Maugré
59220 Rouvignies
Tél : + 33 (0)3 27 21 12 12
E-mail : h0456@accor.com
PROGRAMME
This Sweet Trip starts on Friday afternoon 21th april 2023 at Hotel Novotel Valenciennes . Everyone will take his room, then dinner will be waiting for you. For late evening, the hotel bar will be open.
Saturday 22th april, direction the town of Aniche to visit a company little known to the general public: Secma. Secma is a small French car manufacturer created by Daniel Renard in 1995. The company was built on the ERAD brand, a no-license car manufacturing company founded by Daniel Renard in the mid-seventies. In 2012, in parallel with the production of its flagship model, the Secma F16 roadster, a new model, without a licence, the Fun Lander, was launched. In 2014, the F16 EVO takes up the concept of the classic but improved F16. At the Geneva Auto Show in March 2016, the Secma F16 Turbo was officially presented. In 2017, SECMA presents the Fun Buggy, a model with more ground clearance and a Buggy look. The year 2020 marks the release of the new Turbo model, which benefits from a change of engine. This model is therefore equipped with a brand new Peugeot PureTech engine developing 225 hp. The Secma company will open its doors exclusively for our group. You will see the production site (shutdown on weekends) and also the models of the Secma range.
Then, you will take the direction of the city of Cambrai for lunch.
After the meal, You will drive direction of Guise. In this city, you will visit the “Godin familistère”. Jean-Baptisite André Godin created in 1840 a workshop manufacturing cast iron stoves. Commercial success led him to develop his business and move from artisanal production to industrial production. The success of the manufacture of heating and cooking appliances, the famous “Godin stoves”, lies in the choice of the material of manufacture: the cast iron, which diffuses the heat much better than the old models in sheet metal. Godin, of modest origin quickly made a fortune and the activity of the manufactory developed considerably to employ up to 1500 people. Godin, who had himself been a worker, had kept the memory of the terrible conditions of life and work of the employees of the industry. He therefore used his fortune to improve the lives of his employees. Sensitive to the idea of redistributing the wealth produced to the workers, he wanted to create an alternative to the capitalist industrial society in full development, and to offer the workers the comfort that only the bourgeois could then benefit. From 1859, he began to create a world around his factory in Guise: the “familistère”, whose mode of operation is comparable to that of worker cooperatives production. From 1858 to 1884, Godin built the “familistère” to house the workers and it includes several sets of buildings: the “Social Palace” for housing, consisting of a central pavilion framed by two wings, the building of storehouses (today it would be a food store), schools and theater, and finally the laundry, baths and pool. This “social palace” is a unique place in France that you visit freely.
In the late afternoon, return to the hotel Novotel Valenciennes. Dinner is served in the hotel restaurant. For the evening, the bar is at your disposal for a discussion over a drink.
Sunday 23th april 2023, direction the city of Ellezelles in Belgium. The visit of the “brasserie des légendes” (legendary brewery) will be on the agenda this morning. This brewery offers 100% natural beer by mastering the entire production chain with its unique specificity in Belgium: barley cultivation in the Beauregard area. As barley is the main ingredient of beer, the selection of raw materials is exclusively based on quality and sustainable development criteria. This brewery focuses on working directly with Belgian hops producers. The making of beer will have no secrets for you.
For the lunch, you will have meal in the brewery after the visit
For the sunday afternoon, direction to the Mahymobiles Automobile Museum in Leuze en Hainaut. Mahymobiles invites you on 6000 m² to discover the history of the automobile since 1895 to 1970 by exhibiting 300 vehicles of the famous Mahy collection. The Mahy family cars collection is unparalleled in its variety and is a real asset for Belgium and historic car enthusiasts. You can admire vintage cars, movie and comic cars, prototypes, fire trucks, cabriolets, limos, motorcycles, bicycles …
In the late afternoon, return to the hotel Novotel Valenciennes. Dinner will be served in the hotel restaurant. For the evening, the bar is at your disposal for a discussion over a drink.
Monday 24th april, get up at the time you want! The breakfast room is open until 10:00. Then everyone is free to go back to his home. For those in a hurry, they can leave early in the morning. For the others, it will be possible to keep his room until noon or to extend the stay in the region and to discover individually other curiosities.
TARIFFS
The price of €345 per person in a double room (e.g. €690 for two) or €430 per person in a single room includes:
- 3 dinners at the Novotel Valenciennes
- 3 nights at the Novotel Valenciennes ****
- 3 buffet breakfasts
- 1 meal in restaurant on Saturday lunch.
- 1 meal in restaurant on Sunday lunch.
- Guided tour of the Secma factory in Aniche.
- Free tour of the « familistère – social palace » in Guise.
- Guided tour of the brewery « la brasserie des légendes » in Ellezelles (Belgium).
- Taste of beer in the brewery « la brasserie des légendes » in Ellezelles.
- Free tour of the car museum « mahymobile » in Leuze en Hainaut (Belgium).
- Documents necessary for the smooth running of the weekend (road-book and other …).
Please note : Those travelling alone, please reserve a single room, not a double, unless you have found a roommate yourself. The organisation cannot select or find participants for you to share a room.
Important:
Every meal during this event is ‘all-inclusive’ comprising wine or beer, water and coffee. However, neither individual consumptions in bars, hotels and restaurants are not included in the price.
Your registration is final only upon receipt of the total amount of the registration and payment must be made by 15th January 2023 for the Sweet Trip 2023.
In case of cancellation, a fee will be retained on your registration:
Up to 60 days before the Sweet Trip: Your registration can be canceled free of charge
Between 59 and 30 days before the Sweet Trip: 80% of the total registration is refunded
Between 29 and 15 days before the Sweet Trip: 50% of the total registration is refunded
Between 14 and 8 days before the Sweet Trip: 20% of the total registration is refunded
Last 7 days before the Sweet Trip: No refund of registration
Attention: this document has no contractual value and can be subjected to changes deemed necessary.