i'm going to post some photos of pretty red cars and then later chris will come back and tell you all about our day at Ferrari. the excitement of the day will come through loud and clear if chris writes it all - holly :)
Hey All.
Saturday morning we woke up and Holly and I decided to hit up a solo trip to the town of Maranello in the county of Modena. Can you see the theme here?!?! We left at about 12:30 in out little Italian Sports car (an Alfa Romeo MTO) to see some BETTER Italian sports cars. Off to Galeria Ferrari.
Armed with our camera and some van snacks, we headed the (not so) 2 hour journey to Maranello. Boy were we in for a treat. Maranello is about 2 hours away from where we are in Badia Al Pino, but being a saturday in the summer, it wasn't. We were told earlier in the year that saturdays are a drivers nightmare. Rental properties in Italy are rented on a weekly basis from saturday to saturday making this day particularly bad for going anywhere.. Well... We forgot. It took us almost 2 hours to get to the opposite side of Florence (normally a 40 minute drive) and another 2 hours to drive the rest of the way. We FINALLY arrived at about 4:45 and were a little worried we wouldn't have enough time to walk around the Gallery.
The Museum was a little smaller than we thought it would be and had far less cars than I thought it would but... well worth the visit. Everything there was tastefully selected and some of the best (and very exclusive) cars that Ferrari has ever produced, (with the exception of the FXX...I wish they had one of those).
Hey All.
Saturday morning we woke up and Holly and I decided to hit up a solo trip to the town of Maranello in the county of Modena. Can you see the theme here?!?! We left at about 12:30 in out little Italian Sports car (an Alfa Romeo MTO) to see some BETTER Italian sports cars. Off to Galeria Ferrari.
Armed with our camera and some van snacks, we headed the (not so) 2 hour journey to Maranello. Boy were we in for a treat. Maranello is about 2 hours away from where we are in Badia Al Pino, but being a saturday in the summer, it wasn't. We were told earlier in the year that saturdays are a drivers nightmare. Rental properties in Italy are rented on a weekly basis from saturday to saturday making this day particularly bad for going anywhere.. Well... We forgot. It took us almost 2 hours to get to the opposite side of Florence (normally a 40 minute drive) and another 2 hours to drive the rest of the way. We FINALLY arrived at about 4:45 and were a little worried we wouldn't have enough time to walk around the Gallery.
The Museum was a little smaller than we thought it would be and had far less cars than I thought it would but... well worth the visit. Everything there was tastefully selected and some of the best (and very exclusive) cars that Ferrari has ever produced, (with the exception of the FXX...I wish they had one of those).
After leaving the Gallery, we were scouted out in the parking lot again. ( I left this part out in the beginning while we were first parking) . There are 2 shops within a 2 minute walk from the gallery that allow TEST DRIVES of certain cars.
the higher end of the 2 had a F430, A few California's, and a Scuderia. They approached me as we first arrived and put the idea in my head that I could actually drive one. It was a little pricey but hey.. once in a lifetime.
On our way out, I was approached by the other outfit offering test drives. They were a little smaller of an operation. They had an older Testaross and a California. Considering that Holly was with me and she should DEFINATELY be part of the experience, we opted to drive the California since it has a back seat.
So we paid the fee and were waiting until it was our turn for the once in a lifetime experience of driving a Ferrari in Italy.
the higher end of the 2 had a F430, A few California's, and a Scuderia. They approached me as we first arrived and put the idea in my head that I could actually drive one. It was a little pricey but hey.. once in a lifetime.
On our way out, I was approached by the other outfit offering test drives. They were a little smaller of an operation. They had an older Testaross and a California. Considering that Holly was with me and she should DEFINATELY be part of the experience, we opted to drive the California since it has a back seat.
So we paid the fee and were waiting until it was our turn for the once in a lifetime experience of driving a Ferrari in Italy.
The red button on the left of the stearing wheel is the push button start. When these things start up.. man they roar. it lets out a wicked rev and shows you the power underneath the hood. It's also got a 7 speed flapper paddle gearbox so shortly after, we were on our way. Quick little 2 minute drive through town to get to the streatch of regional hiway that they take you on for your test drive and we were off. Unfortunately they take you on public streets, so you're at the mercy of other drivers. We arrived at the 2 shared lane public hiway and were off. Traffic in mind I pushed the car as far as I could and that traffic would allow. We got to a roundabout (which was teh turnatound point) and headed back, this time with nothing in front of me (other than a nice corner). A few short minutes later we were back in town and headed back to the shop to park.
Man that thing has POWER. on the straightaways I was between 5th and 7th gears barely hitting the gas pedal and accellerating with great ease.. even when we hit 140 and 150 (in the 70 zone) there was SO much power. Maybe one day will I get to experience something like that again.
(aparently Lamborghini also has facilities to test but are more expensive than the 80 euro for 10 minutes that Holly and I paid, but I doubt I'll drive a Lambo..)
Man that thing has POWER. on the straightaways I was between 5th and 7th gears barely hitting the gas pedal and accellerating with great ease.. even when we hit 140 and 150 (in the 70 zone) there was SO much power. Maybe one day will I get to experience something like that again.
(aparently Lamborghini also has facilities to test but are more expensive than the 80 euro for 10 minutes that Holly and I paid, but I doubt I'll drive a Lambo..)