My Portofino journey

Fun day out to get the car Service number 5 .early again (ahead of a road trip). Only small things raised - tyre goo past date. And Smeary wiper blades (which they ain’t to my eye).
I’ve only had to replace one busted tyre and extend the factory warranty in near 5 years of ownership.

I’m replacing the tyres as they are coming due.

Smiles per pound spent sill the best deal around for cars in the Porto class for me.

The journey continues……

 

Couple of interesting spec cars in the dealership today.

Biscuits and coffee were great…but as a shareholder they should not be free !

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Lovely euro tour to the beautiful city of Haarlem and visit Keukenhof bulb gardens for the weekend. https://keukenhof.nl/en/

Amazing display of colours.

slight issue with the car causing a visit to Ferrari Monza NV Ghent but nothing serious and well looked after by the team and on our way within a hour including car being scanned and test driven.

Even fitted in a short F1 related stop on a flower seeing trip.

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Air pressure sensor triggered: yes it’s on warranty.

 

Mini heatwave in the UK. Some great scenic roads in and around the reservoirs at https://elanvalley.org.uk/visit/visitor-centre/

Water was like glass.

Retirement means not having to wait for the weekend to get the top down.

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Car displayed the ECU return to dealer warning again on Monday. Car notably down on power this time.
Recovered to Ferrari solihull Tuesday (excellent communication from them), turns out both Turbo solenoids were faulty. replaced and car collected (lunchtime Thursday) for a short road trip this weekend.

cool dealership spot. 499p livery on an SF90…maybe the yellow livery would be more topical with the Le Mans win

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No corrosion that I’ve seen. Have you asked about warranty for it?

no plans to change but will review that when the car gets out of extended factory warranty sept 2026. But I am interested to see the new Roma replacement (being released at goodwood in July apparently).

 

Forgot to mention front tyres replaced at dealer after 22794 miles down to 2.5mm tread and 5 years not bad.. Noticeably quieter tyre noise on motorways after the fit. Michelin pilot sports again.

Dealership kindly fully valeted the Wife’s daily euro box car that we left with them whilst we went on the road trip (to aid logistics around the two bits of warranty work) Great service again from super nice people. Mrs is telling everyone it’s now a partial Ferrari.

Car dropped back into GrayPaul Ferrari Solihull after our road trip up to the north east coast during a heatwave. I’ve noticed a grumbling around the trans tunnel / rear so guessing gearbox bearing or otherwise.

 

Warranty work completed with flawless service by GrayPaul Ferrari Birmingham (special thanks to Hayley and Warren). Really great representatives of the brand (I’m saying that as an owner and a Ferrari shareholder). Plenty of calls to update and confirm timings etc.

warranty work was a gearbox housing bearing. Apparently it’s the whole housing replaced (not the gearbox itself). Circa £2k but didn’t bother asking for the itemised detail.

Car collected in the sunshine so an excuse to test drive via a run to the sun for fish and chips in Aberaeron Wales though some excellent deserted roads before the tourists start for school hols.

The small touches are what makes great service. I love it here floor mat artwork…
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Road trip time. Spain and Portugal in the next few weeks.

Placeholder reminder for myself. The left screen instrument display of navigation is controlled by the roller wheel on the back left of the steering wheel. Spent 2 summer trips and an hour today swearing about where that was. Doh!

 

That would have been great fun. Our cars were produced quite close together back in 2020. We might head over again for the bulbs next year.

 

Right then. Car is 5 years old…time for another euro road trip. Northern Spain and Portugal. Some absolute treats on this one.

 

Day one: overnight Ferry to Santander in northern Spain. Millpond smooth crossing.

Day two: ferry docks and we are straight out to head across northern Spain in the Picos mountains. We overnight on the coast at Ribadeo. Lots of mileage and twisters ahead of the weather breaking as ex hurricane heads into the bay of biscay behind us. Cloudy but no rain yet.

 

Day 3: nice run into the north western corner of Spain for 3 days at a hotel that would make a great James Bond set. https://paradores.es/en/parador-costa-da-morte
Upside down and built into the hillside overlooking the bay. We especially liked the funicular railway/elevator contraption.
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Day 6; fun coastal run down to the town of Cambados. Laid back fishing port famous white wine Albariño.

 

Day 7: coastal cruise into Portugal and headed to the spectacular views from https://www.pousadas.pt/en/hotel/pousada-viana?utm_campaign=pousada-viana-partoo&utm_medium=organicsearch

one of best hotel views I’ve witnessed. Hopefully the panoramic photo portrays this well. It’s breathtaking

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Day 8; across Northern Portugal to an overnight in Braganca.

I chose to take the national routes after a short run on the motorway. We found ourselves on the N103 from Chaves to Braganca. Think empty virgin race track winding tarmac with zero road markings and a few road gangs starting the edging work. Otherwise empty. Like driving COTA or SPA when they were band new.

Checked into Posada Braganca a slightly tired mid century modern hotel (a bit like a mid level US motel) but with a secret…the restaurant is a Michelin Stared culinary gem. We booked it with little planning just a stop in roughly the right driving time. I love road trip surprises like this.
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Day 9: long Motorway section today heading towards our final destination in Red wine county.

We stopped at Segovia. It’s central location works well for many routes in Spain. The Paradore here is a brutalist design. But great as a road trip accommodation. And the suckling pig is so good I had it lunch and dinner.

Great surprise of a balloon festival over the historic town while we enjoyed breakfast.


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Day10. Segovia to Calahorra, La Rioja. Uneventful long motorway miles. Comforting lamb dinner with a bottle of the local Rioja on the bustling Plaza Ayuntamiento.

 

Day 11. Did someone say folding metal roof.
Image Unavailable, Please Login Frank O Gehry’s creation meets some more stunning metalwork. I cannot help but think the hotel would look rubbish with a cloth roof.

Thanks to the tourist bus for taking an age and causing me to set the roof failure warning off setting this picture up. First time that’s happened.

This day stated with a near miss. We watched a massive bird of prey fly in and drop onto our lane like a stone. These cars really can change direction lightning quick with amazing stability. I was expecting a bang and a cloud of brown feathers and blood. We must have missed it by a very close amount. It just flapped on its way in the rear view.

Dinner in the hotel and use of the spa was a great way to cap the trip.

Day 12: head to the ferry terminal for a long ferry ride with enough time to post on this thread.

Great trip meeting friendly happy people and eating great food. Fantastic roads and a few surprises on route.

2000km, great weather. Roof down all the time and just enough room in the car for some Iberico and Truffles. Who says Ferrari’s are impractical.

Enjoy your autumn road trips everyone…winter is coming.