The Italian Job Trip
The History
As a child I was in to all things mechanical, bikes and cars and couldn’t wait to be old enough to own my own car. In fact my father worried so much that I might kill myself on a motorbike, he bought me my first car, a Mk 2 Ford Cortina at the age of 16, so I could spend my spare time restoring it, ready for my 17th Birthday. My favourite television programme was Magnum and I would dream of owning a Ferrari like Magnum’s 308GTS. What a beautiful car, would I ever be able to get a car like this! So obsessed with Ferrari’s I even got a Ferrari badge and put it on the back of my Cortina, hoping some person who knew nothing about cars would think it was a Ferrari!!!!
My favourite film of all time must be ‘The Italian Job’, the original one with Michael Caine. The stunts were fantastic, but what has really stuck in my mind is the start of the film when a Red Lamborghini Miura sweeps through the Italian Alps to the voice of Matt Munroe singing ‘On days like these’. From all these childhood impressions I have always dreamt of driving a Red Ferrari through the Alps, the wind whistling through my hair, whilst Matt Munroe blares out from the stereo.
Unfortunately in 2005 my Mother died quite suddenly, which was a real shock for the whole family and she will be always missed. Mum left me a large inheritance, and from her sudden unexpected passing, made me realise that you never know what is around the corner and you should enjoy every day, and make the most of life. I decided to split the inheritance with my wife so we could both follow our dreams. My wife left the job she hated, and has gone back to University to study to become an Acupuncturist, and I went and bought my dream car, a Red Ferrari 328 GTS.
On owning the car, the first CD I bought was the sound track from the Italian Job, which I play at every opportunity, how sad am I. There was just one more thing to do, plan the trip to the Italian Alps. During the winter of 2007, I decided that 2008 was going to be the year for my dream trip. My wife being at University, said she would not have the time with studies to come, so I asked my father, who jumped at the chance. The plans then began.
The Planning
In April I went along to our monthly Wessex Ferrari owners club meet, and on speaking to my good friend Geoff Lowe, a fellow 328GTS owner, he told me that he was planning to go to the Alps three days earlier than I planned with 5 other Ferrari’s. On looking at his plans and mine, the routes were similar, and I agreed to change my plans so that we could join him for the first three days down to The Alps in a convoy of 6 Ferrari’s. Who could resist!
Having planned the trip and route it was just necessary to get the car serviced and fully checked out as the last thing I wanted was to break down. I booked the Car in with Emblem Sports Cars in Poole. They always do an excellent job, and look after the car as if it is their own. I decided to push the boat out and decided to have all the hoses replaced and the engine soundproofing replaced. The soundproofing over the last year has just fallen to pieces with bits of foam and dust all over the engine bay. Emblem has managed to find a way to replace it all without removing the engine, and wow does it look so much better now.
Over the next few weeks Geoff and I went over an itinerary. I would join him and the others for the first few nights, and then I would go off to Maranello and leave them to continue their trip to Lake Orta. The planning became almost to military precision, but it was great fun and certainly got us in the mood.
Departure Day - Friday 23rd May 2008
The day of departure soon came around quickly, everything was packed and the car was checked, and double-checked. I didn’t want any problems. We agreed to meet Geoff and the others at the car park at Eurotunnel at about 06.30am on Saturday 24th May, so we could all cross together. Although Geoff lives close to me, we had decided to travel up the night before and stay in a small hotel in Folkestone. The thought of getting up at 3.30am, and then a long day’s driving, we didn’t fancy at all. My father and I therefore left a day earlier from my house in the New Forest. My wife waved us goodbye, and after a bit of mucking around, getting my wife videoing us leaving up the road, and then turning around to collect the camera, we were on our way.
The trip had finally started. I think my wife was glad to have a break from all the stress and worries.
Saturday 24th May 2008
I woke up early all excited and apprehensive, I just hoped the trip was going to be good. As planned we met Geoff and Lyn in his 328GTS, Stewart and Helen in his 328GTS and Phil and Caroline in their 456 GTA at the tunnel car park. We had time for a quick breakfast and then on to the train. We had agreed to meet the other two cars in France at various services. The crossing went with ease and thankfully the weather was great, and we could have the roof off. The four cars created a bit of interest on the train, and one young lad managed to sit in most of the cars and get his photo taken.
On arriving in Calais it was still great weather and we sent off in convoy to meet up with the others. First we met up with Rob and Lin in their 328GTS at one service station (Yes that makes 4 Red 328GTS’s!!!). A few services later we met up with Rod and Marilyn. Rod had rented a 355GTS for the trip, as he was keen to buy one and wanted to try one out first. Unfortunately this one was a real Dog, rusted and bits falling off. On meeting Rod he told us he had serious Clutch problems. For the rest of the day we carried out lots of stops bleeding the clutch. If this wasn’t bad enough, somewhere on the trip the rear number plate fell off. I really felt for Rod as he had been looking forward to the trip so much, and this wasn’t helping.
We were now six Ferrari’s and must have looked some sight as we travelled in convoy down through France. Phil and Geoff had brought two-way radios for all of us, so we could all keep in touch, a great idea if travelling in convoy. Just after lunch we visited the Old Grand Prix circuit just outside Reims. All that has survived is the Pit straight, which has recently been restored. We spent half an hour racing up and down the straight, and posing for photos. Well worth a visit if you are passing through, and made some great photo’s and video. My poor father though at this point realised why my wife wasn’t so keen to come, his role was video cameraman, and something he would get used to on the trip! Thanks Dad.
It was then off to the Hotel. Geoff led the way and took us through miles of rural France; the roads were generally great, sweeping bends with great views. I was really impressed by how the French welcomed us, and really seemed to appreciate the cars. As we drove in convoy, lots of people tooted their horns, flashed their lights, waved and at times cheered as we woke up picturesque villages to the throb of six Ferrari’s passing through.
I mentioned that the roads picked by Geoff were generally good, well one I can only describe as appalling!!! The local council had obviously decided it was time to close some roads, and dig up the others. We struggled to find the detour, and Geoff eventually led us along a road which would have been suited better to four wheel drives, not low slung Ferrari’s. The two-way radio’s exploded with comments and expletives about how dirty the cars were getting etc. Poor Geoff, it wasn’t really his fault! Soon after that we were travelling along a country road when suddenly the local Gendarmerie appeared in a van and stopped Rod in his 355GTS. We all stopped a little further back, well there was no point in all of us getting in trouble!! It appears they were concerned that he had no rear number plate, and after a bit of advice we were on the road again.
At about 1700hrs after travelling some 269 miles in France we arrived at Hotel Le Moulin du Landion, in Dolancourt, just east of Troyes. The Hotel is 3 star and situated in an Old Mill with its own water wheel. It has its own private pool, nice safe parking and in a beautiful setting. We then had a lovely evening drinking, eating and chatting. This was going to be a great trip. Rod’s 355GTS wasn’t getting any better and we were certain it was on its last legs. Rod contacted the hire company and they agreed to replace the car overnight, unfortunately they had no Ferrari’s left, so it was agreed they would drive a TVR Tuscan down overnight to the Hotel, and collect the 355GTS in the morning. The Hotel cost £110 Euros (£87) for a double room and breakfast.
Sunday 25th May 2008
Overnight we had a torrential rainstorm, which rinsed the dust off the cars. The TVR had arrived, and thank goodness it was Red. Unfortunately it wasn’t a Ferrari, but we soon added a Ferrari sticker to disguise it. I could just see some Frenchman thinking “is that the new Ferrari V8?” The weather started sunny, so we set off with the roof off, Geoff leading the pack. We followed country roads for a while and then joined the motorway towards Geneve. France really is a pretty place when you leave the motorways and the expensive Tolls. On stopping at one services on the motorway, the service station manger came out and told us that the Police were waiting for us 16km down the road. Obviously five Ferrari’s and a TVR must mean that we are on some Cannonball run and up to no good. In fact we had stuck to the speed limit for the trip so far and just enjoyed the countryside. Sure enough 16km down the road, hidden behind a bridge the Police were waiting. We all waved as we passed them, and a short while later they caught up and overtook us.
Unfortunately as we headed south the weather deteriorated and at times we had a few rain showers. However the scenery became increasingly more and more spectacular. Snow capped mountains surrounded us as we travelled through valleys and tunnels. Dad got pretty tired of me saying video this, and video that, especially when we drove through the tunnels and every one revved their engines to hear the sound of V8’s reverberating around us. Soon we could see Mont Blanc ahead of us and knew we were close to our hotel at Chamonix-Mont-Blanc.
We arrived at Hotel du Bois in Chamonix, this is a lovely hotel located directly under Mont Blanc and all our rooms had a view of Mont Blanc. This was going to be our base for two nights. The Hotel is a ski lodge in the winter and has an indoor swimming pool, sauna and underground car park, which was ideal for the cars. We all immediately felt at home here and after washing the day’s dirt off the cars and putting them to bed we retired to the bar for a few deserved drinks and nibbles. Geoff and I then looked at the maps and planned the next day’s drive. Unfortunately the pass (Great St. Bernard pass) where they had filmed the start sequence of ‘The Italian Job’ and a Lamborghini is seen driving through the snow capped mountains, was still shut due to the snow, however there looked to be some great other roads to explore. Dinner at this Hotel was fantastic with a Buffet of numerous dishes to tempt any discerning pallet. The price per night for a double room with breakfast was 98 Euros (£77)
Monday 26th May 2008
After a huge Buffet breakfast we set off to find Italian Job type roads and passes to explore. Unfortunately for the first 45 minutes it chucked it down, weather I would never ever normally take my car out in. However we had come this far and nothing was going to stop us. We drove up past Megeve and then took a very twisty road up to a beautiful town. Here Stewart, probably suffering from altitude sickness, was not feeling well and fancied just resting for the rest of the day. It was decided that we would split up, so Geoff and Lyn in a 328, and Rod and Marilyn in the TVR, and Dad and I set off together up towards Lac de Roselend, on the twisty valley road with hairpins and sheer drops to the sides. This was an ideal road for a thrash up the mountain, especially as the rain had stopped, just leaving damp roads.
As we set off up the mountain Geoff set his DVD camera running. This recorded a view out the front and rear of the car and really captured the sweeping roads, hairpins and views of three cars thundering up the mountain. Wow this was great and certainly the best drive I have ever had in my 328. Even though the roads were wet the Ferrari stuck to the road surface as we swooped road bends and accelerated heavily between the hairpins. This is one drive I will never forget. As we reached the Lake at the top and the road ahead was shut due to still being snowed in, we stopped and chatted about the drive. Geoff and I were buzzing about it, whereas Lyn and my father were not so impressed and looked a little green. I suppose it is better to be in the drivers seat rather than the passengers seat.
It was then time to set off down the mountain, and yes we thrashed it back down the mountain again, video still running. A must watch if you get the chance. However things came to a climax when I came around a sharp right bend with a 500 foot drop to the left, and saw Geoff’s brake lights suddenly come on. I braked a little bit too heavily and the back of the car broke out to the left, the front offside tyre then got caught in the gully on the right of the road. I had to fight to swing the car back in to a straight line. It only lasted a second, and I burst out laughing, however my father from being dead quiet, exploded and told me his life had flashed in front of him as he thought we were going over the unprotected cliff edge. Sorry Dad, but you must admit it was great fun!
As we then drove back down the valley, the weather steadily improved giving stunning views. Suddenly the others called us on the two-way radio and said they were on the other side of the valley sipping coffee. They could see and hear us coming down the valley, engines revving and rattling the mountainsides. We returned to the Hotel and set about looking for a Jet car wash to clean off all the gravel and debris from our thrash. There was then just time for a swim and sauna before pre dinner drinks. It was Stewart’s Birthday, and Stewart’s and Helen’s wedding anniversary, so we had arranged a cake and flowers and surprised them over drinks. My father even wrote an amusing ditty for the occasion. We then settled down to another fantastic Buffet dinner followed by hogging the bar’s TV to show our days exploits and video. This was our last night together with the others as tomorrow we were off to Maranello.
Tuesday 27th May 2008
As we woke up it was drizzling so the roofs remained on. We said goodbye to Rob and Lin who were returning home and set off as four Ferraris and a TVR to go through the Mont Blanc tunnel. Geoff and Lyn, who had done the trip before, said that often the weather on the other side of the tunnel was totally different, we waited to see. We entered the tunnel after paying 32 Euros each and restricted to 70 kph in the tunnel due to the numerous speed cameras so not a lot of opportunity to hear the roar of the engines in the tunnel. You have to also remain 150 meters between each other and this is marked by blue lights along the side of the tunnel. On the leaving the tunnel the weather was different - heavier rain!!!
It was then my turn to lead, as I wanted to take the group up to La Thuile. This is the location where in the film ‘The Italian Job’ the Lamborghini drives into a tunnel only to explode in a ball of flames as it hits a bulldozer. The tunnel is located just as you enter La Thuile town and is marked by road marker saying 111/143. On arriving at the tunnel unfortunately it was still raining, however I insisted on my father getting out in the rain and film me driving in and out of the tunnel several times. Fortunately I never came across the bulldozer, but was certainly a tick in the box of things I wanted to achieve on the trip. We then said good-bye to the others as they set of for Lake Orta. It was great to spend time with them all, and really helped make a great trip. Thanks all for your company.
We then set off down to Maranello. We mainly stuck to the motorways, as we had a long drive ahead of us and needed to eat the miles up. What amazed me is how in France the motorways have hardly any traffic, whereas the further south you go in Italy the heavier the traffic gets especially with lorries. The drivers of these vehicles are also mad. They change lane without warning and seem to wander across the entire carriageway, including the hard shoulder. You really do have to have your wits around you when overtaking them. As we left the Alps and the spectacular mountain scenery we passed Ivrea, Alessandria and Piacenza and the weather got hotter and hotter reaching 31 degrees. Unfortunately the views became boring and at one point we seemed to be travelling on a dead straight road for nearly 2 hours with no hills or views at all, just industrial premises and factories.
We arrived at Maranello some 280 m
iles later and found Hotel Executive, located just outside Maranello, in Fiorano Modenese, this would be our base for the next two nights. There was hardly any one in the Hotel and the room did smell of tobacco, which was rather disgusting, other than that it did have an underground car park, which was good, so a safe place to park the Ferrari. Our Hotel was close to Pista di Fiorano, which is Ferrari’s private test track and we could clearly hear a F1 car racing around it. High metal fencing surrounds the track, however on examination we found a spot by a field off the main road where you could watch the various Ferrari’s racing around the track. We spent an hour there and at one point saw a two seater F1 car race around, the driver had a crash helmet identical to Kimi Raikkonen, was it him? We then drove in to Maranello to get our bearings and make our plans for the next day’s exploration of the town and Ferrari museums etc.
That evening we walked into Fiorano and found a small restaurant, we were the only customers all evening and the two waiters were brilliant. We couldn’t speak Italian and they couldn’t speak English but we got by, with us pointing to things on the menu and them bringing the uncooked items from the kitchen to show us. At one point they brought a whole side of beef out. We had a great meal and it is always good to explore little restaurants like this, they made us feel so welcome.
Wednesday 28th May 2008
Today was the day to explore Maranello and everything Ferrari. The car had come home from where it was once built and I thought the only rightful place to start the day was at the Ferrari factory gates. These are heavily guarded. I wanted a picture of the car in front of the entrance. So I parked the car up and went and spoke to the security guard. I showed him my Ferrari, even my Ferrari owner’s club card, but nothing would let him allow me to park the car in front of the gates. This called for drastic action. I positioned my father on the road with the camera outside the gates, I then drove the car up to the gates and parked and posed for pictures. The guard immediately appeared, however he soon gave in and realised the sooner I took the photos the sooner we would be gone.
Next stop was the Galleria Ferrari (Museum). This appears to have the only all day car park in the area, so we parked here and then visited the museum. Cost 12 Euros each and was very well set out. Inside are F1 cars from the past right up to modern ones. They had a dummy F1 garage and pit straight. On display were also Ferraris past and present. They even had a 328, and I will say my car was in much better condition than the one on display. By the café they have two full size F1 cars fitted with a simulators and TV screens. As you clamber in to the car, you realise how small drivers need to be. All in all it was great fun and I will say the museum is well worth a visit.
It was then off to get memorabilia of the trip. There are lots of Ferrari stores, one called ‘Warm up’ and one situated under the Planet Hotel which is located right opposite the factory gates. I purchased a team shirt, stickers and a large Ferrari flag. We then decided to have lunch in the Planet Hotel Café. Whilst there you can watch the many Ferrari workers coming out for lunch. They are all dressed in red, even their steel toe capped boots are red and say Ferrari. It was at this point whilst having lunch I dropped my knife, it amazingly fell through a tiny slot in the grating below my seat only to collide with the floor of the under ground car park below. Luckily no cars were parked below me, otherwise I could just see this knife sticking out of the roof of some expensive Ferrari!!! The waiter on arriving back nearly had a heart attack until we reassured him.
It was then off to get the required photos of the car in front of various Ferrari locations. We parked outside the main entrance of Pista di Fiorano, then The Scuderia – Gestione Sportiva, this is the entrance to Ferrari’s racing department and is guarded like Fort Knox. I was amazed that throughout the day we only saw one other Ferrari other than mine on the road. It was also not at all full of tourists, just factory workers. We must have looked very sad and nerdy to the factory workers. In the afternoon we drove up to Modena for a look around, we forgot the Sat Nav and soon got lost, and eventually found the central park and got a nice cool beer and water as it was still in the 30’s. We drove back to the Hotel where I dropped dad off to chill and then went off to watch the Test track again. This time I found at the end of a road off Via Ascari a better vantage point. I could climb up on top of a gate and watch the action clearly. I spent the next couple of hours watching what looked like track days. Then the sprinklers came on and soaked the track, a few minutes later an Enzo came out and raced around the track, hanging its back end out round the corners. Whilst watching this two other people arrived to watch the action, one was a business man from Australia, Craig, who was at a conference in Germany and had rented a car and driven down especially on his two days off to Maranello as he was a big Ferrari fan. The other was a man from Texas who had travelled to Italy just to come to Maranello. How sad are we Ferrari fans, we come from all parts of the world just to watch Ferraris race around a track!!!
That evening we had planned to eat at Enzo Ferraris favourite restaurant opposite the factory, ‘Il Cavalino’, however when we had explored earlier in the day it looked nothing special. However on speaking to Craig he had suggested Restaurant Montana, situated on the outskirts of Maranello, this apparently was Michael Schumacher and other drivers’ favourite restaurant. We met up with Craig and joined him for Dinner. There were no menus, and the waiter said it changed daily so he just told people the choice of the day. The meal was gorgeous and I had a cheese, garlic and spinach pasta starter, which was simply the best pasta dish, I have ever had. This restaurant gets busy and is well worth a visit, the walls are full of signed napkins of drivers, large pictures of Schumacher, and racing suits and helmets from lots of racing drivers.
Thursday 29th May 2008
We left Maranello and set off towards Switzerland via Verona and Lake Garda. Luckily the weather was still good so we could have the roof off and enjoy the sunny weather. We came off the motorway and followed the eastern side of Lake Garda. It was extremely pretty and obviously a popular tourist destination with lots of Hotels, restaurants and wind surfing rental. Unfortunately the good weather brought my fathers hat out, and this was a constant embarrassment for the rest of the trip.
After lunch at a surf club we left the main roads and followed what the map showed as a scenic route from Riva on the north of Lake Garda via Arche and to Dimaro. This was a wonderful drive with spectacular views through large pine forests and snow capped mountains in the distance. Unfortunately the drive was spoilt at times by the mad Italian drivers who would sit an inch off your rear bumper and then go for lunatic overtakes on blind bends. This didn’t just happen once, but many times. From this point of the trip we had not booked any hotels and thought we would just find them as we went along. We started looking once we got to Dimaro. Unfortunately most Hotels were shut, as it was the end of the Ski season and the summer season had not started so most hotels were on holiday themselves. After looking for an hour we decided to try my Tom Tom Sat Nav to direct us to a hotel. The first one we got directed too was still being built, however the picture of it did look nice! The second Hotel didn’t exist at all, but the Sat Nav on telling us ‘You have reached your destination’, delivered us to the end of a dead end road in the middle of nowhere at the top of a mountain!!!! We thought we would give it one more chance as we were running out of time and getting desperate. Luckily The Hotel Royal in Fondo existed and they had a room and were open, success.
We were the only visitors apart from a coach load of old age pensioners, and the Hotel manager said we were welcome to join in with the coach parties event. We were told to come down for dinner for 8pm and on doing so realised that every one had obviously been eating for some time. We were sat on a table for two in this huge room and served by two very friendly eastern European girls, who spoke excellent English. Again there was no menu, so we just waited to see what arrived. In fact we ended up with an 8-course meal, each serving was big enough to be a main meal. We ended up well and truly stuffed. Afterwards a live band played whilst OAP’s sat around the edge of the dance floor watching a couple who obviously used to be professional dancers in their younger days prior to hip replacements and heart by-passes!!!!
That being the case when we left the next morning we were only charged 50 Euros (£39) for the room, dinners and breakfast, what a bargain.
Friday 30th May 2008
Overnight we had a spectacular thunder and lighting storm, the car was safe as I had put its cover on. Before we left the sun came out so we managed to take the roof off again. Today’s task was to head for Davos via the Stelvio Pass. This pass has been described by ‘Top Gear’ as the best driving road in Europe and was my reason for going up to Switzerland. Unfortunately I had learnt that the pass had not been opened yet after winter, but was due to open any day. We set off from Fondo to Merano and these were lovely roads, fantastic views and sweeping bends. Unfortunately as we approached Stelvio Park the weather deteriorated and the rain returned. This didn’t dampen our spirits though even when we reached Stelvio village at the base of the pass, where a large signboard stated that the pass was shut. We decided we had come this far and we would continue as far as we could. On arriving at Trafoi a barrier crossed half of the road, and again said the road ahead was shut. We decided we would continue around the barrier and see how far we got!!!!
We soon caught up with an Audi who was obviously doing the same thing. We zig-zagged up the pass slowly negotiating 48 hairpins, all which required first gear. Very few had barriers and one wrong move would send you over thousand foot drops. Whose idea was this, it was not for the faint hearted. We passed a workman sweeping the road, we expected for him to stop us but he just continued his work. We stopped several times to take photos and video and lost the Audi. As we continued up the pass we reached the snow line, with 8-foot snow drifts on the side of the road and the odd snow patch crushed across the road. However we carried on thinking how far can we get.
Then we reached the top, 2758m where a Hotel and restaurant were located. A number of cars were there and amazingly and to our surprise the restaurant was open. We soon learnt that they had just opened the pass in the last hour. How lucky we were, and I am really pleased we decided to push on and not turn back on finding the road-closed signs. We decided to get something to eat however had to finish up quickly when the drizzle turned to heavy snow. The last thing we wanted was to get stuck up there.
The Southern side of the pass is more open with fewer hairpins (12 in fact) and more sweeping bends, we were able to go a lot quicker down, even in the snow. This pass would be fantastic on a sunny day.
On leaving the pass we headed for Livigo and the weather improved. We then turned right along Passo del Ferro, which passes by a dried up lake, on reaching the end of the lake you drive over a Dam. This dam is the border crossing between Italy and Switzerland. At then end of the Dam you queue to drive through a single lane 4km tunnel into Switzerland. The tunnel reminded me of the mini’s driving in the sewer in ‘The Italian job’. From here we drove along the Fluelapass, which is a mini Stelvio and well worth a visit. This took us to Davos and a search for a Hotel.
Again a lot of the hotels were shut and we were limited to only a few. We ended up staying at the Sunstar Park Hotel, a four star hotel with its own spa, indoor pool, steam room and essential underground parking. We got upgraded to probably the best room in the Hotel on the top floor with fantastic panoramic views. I think they saw the Ferrari!!! A very nice Hotel, but very expensive at 234 Swiss francs for double room with breakfast (£114)
Saturday 31st May 2008
We woke up and had a fantastic breakfast everything and more that a hungry traveller might want. We headed out of Davos towards the San Bernardino Pass, apparently another excellent driving road. This pass can normally be crossed either by going through a tunnel on the main road or by crossing over the top of the pass on a twisty narrow road. For some reason the tunnel was shut, so everything was crossing the pass, caravans and lorries of all shapes and sizes. This made the hairpins difficult and you would often have to wait for oncoming vehicles to negotiate the tight and narrow roads. Again we went up in to the snowfields, with large snow banks on either side of the road.
On reaching the top was a frozen lake, which allowed me to get some great photos of the Ferrari. We then wound our way down the pass to Lake Maggiore where the weather was completely different, warm, dry and sunny. We had lunch on the edge of the Lake and soaked up the sun.
We then followed the lake side for a while, leaving Switzerland back in to Italy again and took a road which dad said would be a short cut! This road was single track and at times made up of gravel. Yet again it was a mountain pass, but this time the hairpins were so tight you had to reverse in places to get round. We drove through villagers where I am sure they have never seen a Ferrari, let alone outside civilisation. Not a road I would recommend is the P631, which joins the S337 towards Malesco. Certainly an experience though.
We then travelled back in to Switzerland and up the Simplon Pass. Unfortunately the weather deteriorated again and we ended up driving through heavy rain most of the way. This road is made up of more sweeping bends and was a welcome break from the tight hairpins we had been used to over the last few days. When we did reach more tight sections we both decided we had had enough of the tight bendy roads and wanted more sweeping bends for our remaining days travel. We headed down to Sierre and decided to trust the Sat Nav to find us a Hotel again. Luckily it came up trumps and led us to Hotel Le Terminus, another 4 star hotel in ultra modern design and very minimalist. Not my cup of tea but very nice all the same, with the added bonus of a secure garage. The price for a double room with breakfast was 130 Euros (£102).
Sunday 1st June 2008
Prior to leaving Hotel Le Terminus we were subjected to a minimalist breakfast, where everything had its place on the plate and looked very pouncy, a complete contrast to the day before. We decided we had had enough of passes and could do with a day off, so we drove up by Motorway to Lake Geneve and stopped at Montreax. Montreax claim to fame is it hosted the Eurovision song contest some years ago. The lake was extremely pretty and by the lake we came across the Switzerland Young Firemen of the year competition in full flight. We sat and watched this for a couple of hours and had great fun watching the young children competing. The strange thing was a large bronze statue of Freddy Mercury looking out over the lake, flowers had been placed around its base and lots of people were queuing up to have their photo taken by it!!
It was then time to make tracks so we headed up through Switzerland into France sticking to the main roads and motorways. We decided to do some number crunching and averaged 100mph for several hours. This was bound to sting us in the tale, and sure enough on the A36 just west of Besancon, a French Gendarme appeared from behind the bushes of the hard shoulder with Blue lights flashing and set off after us. I immediately slowed down, knowing it was a fair cop. They overtook and escorted me to a rest stop, where one of the Police officers identified I was English and then spoke extremely good English. He pointed out I was doing 163kph (101mph) in a 130kph limit and the fine was 90 Euros. I paid up immediately and the two officers were extremely friendly and allowed me to photograph them.
We then continued at a more sedate pace, but having made so much time up, we decided to continue up to Bar-sur-Aube and look for a Hotel rather than stop at Dijon, which was our original plan. This was some hours further up the road.
We decided that we had spent so much on the last two hotels that the next one had to be a lot cheaper. On driving through the town we saw a small Hotel, and on making enquiries they agreed to let us park the Ferrari in their locked court yard away from prying eyes. This ended up being a lovely hotel (Hotel Le Saint-Nicholas) and recently refurbished. The Hotel cost for a double room with breakfast 89 Euros (£70)
Monday 2nd May 2008
We had planned to spend another night in France prior to returning home, however we decided that we had done what we had come to do, and to save on more Hotel bills we would endeavour to get home on this day. We rose early and were on the road for 9am. We stuck to Motorways and paid a fortune in Tolls, but at least they were straight and had little traffic on. I had put my father on the insurance for the trip, but up to now he hadn’t fancied driving up all those twisty roads. So today I let him drive for a while. I think he enjoyed it, but was happy to relinquish the driving back to me after half an hour.
As we travelled up towards Calais the heavens opened and supplied us with such a downpour that I decided it was too dangerous to continue. The roads were one big river so we stopped at a service area, had lunch and let the storm pass. We got to Calais for 1.30pm and had to pay £20 extra to get on a crossing 24 hrs earlier, but it was worth it. The funny thing is that we ended up being loaded with the coaches, as they hadn’t wanted us to go on the top deck of the train due to the fear of us grounding out on the ramp, so the next best thing was load us with the coaches and lorries. We certainly felt dwarfed on this train.
We had a quick crossing back to grey English weather and got home for 4.30pm where we bored my wife with 3 ½ hours of video. She told me she was glad she hadn’t come, as she would have hated all the photos and videoing my father had had to do.
Conclusion
In total we travelled 2622 miles in 11 days,
and averaged 22.09 mpg.
We spent £139.02 on toll charges
We spent £595.02 on petrol
We spent £871.49 on Hotels
But best of all we had a great time and I achieved a child hood ambition. The car never missed a beat, even though it went through boiling hot sunny weather, freezing snow and torrential rain. Not bad for a 1989 Ferrari, what a great car.
