Maranello bet........................

It's not a financially reasonable projection; you're talking about just 15 months away... A trip to Italy isn't something you squeeze into a weekend... Hotel, transportation rentals, airfare, food, drinks, souveneirs, more food, more drinks, etcetera... It's just not a reasonable goal in such short a time span... Just send me the $100 now and i'll forget you ever made such a silly bet...

 

DES, you have gotta go. Once you get there and hear the V-10 ringing off the factory walls with tears of joy in your eyes you'll say "why have I deprived myself until now?"

 

Here's a preview including pics of an Enzo being built...

http://www.roadandtrack.com/article.asp?section_id=9&article_id=1355

 

Nice link. Thanks for posting.

 

Dude, I was just telling you on the gas thread about my trip to Europe last summer that was planned in 4.5 days! Sunday afternoon I saw the flight in the paper, made some phone calls and Friday morning I was flying to Munich.

Biggest thing is to establish connections there to find people to crash with (er*cough*Europeforum*cough!Hack). That or people like Darth who will let you crash at their condo on the riviera . That saves a ton of $$ and makes it practical. Once you're there you just eat cheap (in Italy, 1lb jar of Nutella = 4 Euros, bag of croissants for 1,50 and you're set!). If you can't charm anyone into lending you a car, take the train (you're young!) And I did the whole two week trip for about $730 USD total. When your younger and not staying 4 star, it's possible.

Don't say never!

 

That 612 luggage sure is... interesting

 

Ryalex is spot on. if you go off season, air fare is virtually nothing; unlike the US, train service is quite useable and there is something special about travelling Europe on the cheap when you are young and can just throw stuff in a bag and go. You may find it addicting, especially since the distances between countries are, by US standards, more like short or long day trips between states. Highly recommended, particularly if you haven't made the trip over yet. (I found that once i started going, it was easy to go back, and each trip brought new adventures:- you assimilate quickly, and can easily become a "pro" at international travel without alot of fanfare, especially if, as you are, you are inquisitive and open-minded).

 

Don't you have to have proof of ownership to visit the factory?? could have sworn I saw that in some thread....

-R

 

I'm not sure... my friend has a Boxster and he went...

 

LOL. I did!

I mean, I didn't eat it in one sitting, but I carried the jar around for 10 days and had many meals of Nutella on bread/pastries. That, a jumbo box of a cheap German version of Cinnamon Toast Crunch (bought at a discount store in Austria) and tomatos with fresh mozzarella/vinegar/oil/salt/pepper, kept me going for the two weeks. And a daily gelato .

WHart - totally agree. And backpacking in Europe is the classic "young person finding themselves adventure" thing to do.

Robin: yes. Unless you're an owner or a journalist, you can't actually get in to the factory. You can still walk around the town, see the museum (lots of old F1 cars) and all the little stores selling Ferrari stuff (I recommend Warm Up Maranello, next to the Museum). There's the cafe across the street where the execs eat, and the Fiorano track.

Fortunately for NNO/DES though, he is now in the journalist category and I'm sure his boss, Gerald Roush, can call and arrange something on behalf of FML.

As a side note, the Lambo factory is only about 60-90mins away too, so you might want to see that too. I didn't get to, as we had to head back to Zurich that night. Next time (hopefully by then I'll be able to get in to the Ferrari factory ).

 

Heh heh... took me a minute to get that, but it was good.

 

ROFLMAO..... you've obviously not spend much time in the UK recently.

I'm envious of your Amtrak.

 

Fair enough. I remember taking a train from Paris/channel crossing/train to London, and the difference in equipment once we got on the UK side was startling; the car looked like it had remained in continuous service since the Great War and had probably had the windows cleaned and floors swept about that long ago. But, apart from the NE corridor here, Boston, NY, Phila, DC, Amtrak cannot get you everywhere. The train service on the continent is pretty impressive, in my estimation, especially in those countries with a Germanic/Swiss bent. I once took the Orient Express from Paris to Venice, and still fondly remember that trip, dinner at midnight, the bar car rocking and rolling well after that, everybody looking like they belonged in a black and white movie. The TGV is pretty impressive, too.