On the hottest day so far (32c) it was time for a drive to Maranello to pay a visit to the Museo Ferrari (Ferrari Museum for our none Italian speaking friends).Arranged over three levels it contains some wonderful cars, although there didn't seem to be much choice of colour if you didn't like red and, as Tracey so rightly observed, not one of them had a cup holder for your cup of tea. Tiring by now of major roads and toll booths it was decided to go 'off piste' for the 100km journey back to garda. With 'we really want to pay a toll' setting turned off on the sat navs we set off into the heat. By the time we reached The Town That Time Forgot we were in need of refreshment.Slipping seamlessly into Italian we ordered drinks ,sat outside the bar and wondered if we would ever escape or be trapped for ever (like some Stephen King novel). Anyway, we did escape and have been given the latest news on the backup team who are now in France and who we look forward to seeing later on Saturday.
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Having had two quiet days it was decided that everyone needed to maintain their fitness levels and a game of football was organised. The rules were quickly explained to Roger and then he and Chris, wearing red,gave the rest of the team a motivational speech whilst Steve and Tracey pumped up the blues into a frenzy. The 'frenzy' plan proved the best, Steve and Tracey walking away the winners by 6 goals to 4. (If anyone knows if 'spinning' is allowed in table football please let us know) Culture and history were given a big tick on the list of things to do, taking the boat across lake Garda to the castle at Sirmione. Well worth the £4 (well four Euro's actually but where is the keyboard symbol) enterance fee the castle proved very interesting.(Just don't get stuck at the top with 200 school kids because it will take days to get down the stairs from the tower). News broke late in the day that the 'Backup Team' had left on their journey to Italy. Take care and we'll see you soon. XXX Day Five- the day of rest.
The human crew took a well deservered day of rest today, so here's an update on the four wheeled girls :- Chris' Lisbeth his running well even after the cow poo incident. She has only decided to give the extending aerial a rest for a while. Steve and Traceys' Bessie is reminding them occasionally that her special edition clutch may need some attention in the future but is overall in a very happy mood. She is, as usual, giving her sat nav the odd hour or so of rest. Rogers' Lightning McQueen is the happiest of the lot having had a well deserved wash in the regular rain showers. Day Four- The final ascent and descent into Italy.
The teams rigourous high altituded training at the Horseshoes in Tatenhill finally paid off. Reaching 1450m (or 'very high' in ft) it was the cars more than the people that were lacking in oxygen. Chris had reverted back from 'Poo Power' to unleaded petrol and at the next service station Steve and Roger refused to play the pump lottery game.Tracey (now fluent in three languages) slipped into Italian to find out what we were supposed to do with the parking ticket at the next services and when the exit barriers refused to open the Italian 'Barrier Controller' was soon on hand. Thanking him in Spanish (which is possibly the same in Italian) off we went again. Todays getting lost incident was saved for the campsite itself (if that can be believed) and we are worried Tracey may be coming an alchoholic dowing the beers as fast as they come. Love you all. XXX Day three was always going to be the driving day (although the rain in places made it a motorway boating day). Your favourite exploration team bravely ascended to the giddy heights of 1200 meters through at least another 1200 contraflow systems. The drop down into Australia through the tunnels and snow tipped mountains more than made up for it. Chris bravely played a game of 'petrol pump lottery' whilst Steve and Roger chose to stick to standard unleaded. (We believe his fuel may have been produced using cow waste products as driving down the motorway there was a continuous smell and strange 'mmoooo'ing noise coming from the engine. After a beer and food respite in Innsbruck the team battled on foot through the floods and torrential rain in completely the wrong direction to the hotel. Footnote for future explorists:- Bring your own kettle for the hotels and swimming caps for the rain !! Love you all and good night (or guten abend as we prefer to call it) from the MBOB team Today the team took the challenge of finding the disappearing hotel of Koblenz. Having not been found since 1921 it was a difficult and almost impossible task. Having driven the same roads of the city for several circuits it looked like we were to be defeated, however parking up and shouting a few magic words at the sat navs seemed to be the answer and if by magic the hotel appeared right infront of us. Finding the road into the hotel was another matter!
Anyway Koblenz it is tonight for a few choice wheat beers! The day we didn't get lost as we prefer to call it ! At no point in time did we get lost driving onto the channel tunnel train. At no point in time did we get lost in France. We meant to visit the road in Belgium that ended in a big hole , and Roger,Steve and Tracey definitely meant to take the extended tour of beautiful Brugge (whilst Chris parked at the top of the multi-story and attempted to guide us in by CB). One lesson from the day- sat navs without the roads loaded just make it much more exciting. Well MBOB fans, day one is over. Having to travel down the country, we hope, doesn't affect our high altitude training in preparation for Austria. Always to be a difficult day, the famed M25 traffic failed to defeat us all. Two out of three cars arrived safely on time and we keep our fingers crossed for the third. Only time will tell! |
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