I am married to a car (and bike) nut.
So when Mr Travellling Pantaloni heard I was planning a trip to northern Italy he jumped at the chance to go to Maranello, home of Ferrari.
Getting into the Ferrari Museum was easy, but to peek inside the factory you need to prove you’re a Ferrari owner. We do own several classic cars (one working, the others in pieces stashed inside ours and other people’s garages), but sadly a Ferrari is not amongst them.
However Mr Travelling Pantaloni is Italian, and a bit of a scammer (sorry amore but you know it’s true) and so proof came via a friend of a friend who owns a Ferrari. And just like that, we were in!
After all that effort we nearly didn’t make it thanks to Trenitalia when the train we were on broke down twice and we thought we were going to miss the tour. Thankfully we made it in the nick of time thanks to a speedy local taxi driver and a few frantic phone calls to the tour organiser, who said she’d wait for us.
Photos aren’t allowed inside the factory unfortunately, but what I saw amazed me.
The factory is really, really clean and quiet and has plants growing inside it! We saw robots making things and people building engines and cutting out leather for upholstery. We stared longingly at the train of partially built Ferraris moving overhead, and chortled when the guide dismissed the Maseratis being built over in the corner, like they were second-class citizens….
And then there were the classic Ferraris on display… sigh …
I did manage to take this sneaky shot of the Ferrari ‘garage’ where wealthy customers store their cars. (Ferrari, if you’re reading this I’m sorry, the temptation was just too great)
Our tour also took us to the Ferrari museum where we saw all sorts of wonderful things. Unlike the factory, it’s open to the public. Check it out here.
But the motoring fun didn’t stop there!
About a week before we were due to leave Australia, our friend Walter mentioned there was a car show on close to where we’d be. “Look it up he said, I think you’ll like it.” It wasn’t just any old car show, it was the Concorso d’Eleganza on the shores of Lake Como! At this late stage in trip planning I had to move heaven and earth to reorganise things so we could go, but go we did.
It was breathtaking – the estate, the lake …
And of course the cars – many of which Mr Travellingpantaloni had never seen before in the flesh. There were constant whispers of “Do you know how much this car is WORTH?!” and “I’ve only ever seen this one in a book”.
I thought this side-car was hilarious so I’m popping it in the midst of the gorgeous cars for a bit of a break…
Even the coffee was fancy!
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Until next time, safe travels,
The Travelling Pantaloni
Hi Robyn – Mary-Anne sent me your email to her re the Italian magazine search for nominees and I have been enjoying your website. It has brought back happy memories – especially the car show on the banks of Lake Como. We walked along that exact place. My husband is a “old car” nut! Would you please put me on your mailing list for future “gems”.
You probably heard that I had a stroke scare in October, but I hope to make it back to Italian classes for the first term, before we go overseas.
Will send in my nomination now and will have my husband fill it out as well.
Thanks for your efforts with your blog. They sure bring a lot of joy.
Judith Saville
Hi Judith, lovely to hear from you and I really hope you’re recovering well. We’ve missed you in class!
Thank you, I’m really glad to hear you like it! And thanks so much for the nomination too. If you log onto the blog again you can sign up there (just click on the email icon that pops up) to have new posts emailed to you.