I wasn’t sure I would make this one as I was flying with Alitalia who a few days earlier said they would be cancelling flights. Fortunately for me that didn’t include mine.
I arrived in Milan on the day of the race and luckily for me the bus / metro and train tickets appeared to be free (well actually I never bought a ticket and nobody stopped me). I had tried for a helicopter to the track from the airport (that at £60 was a bargain) but unfortunately because you landed inside the track had to have your ticket with you and I was meeting my Kiwi mate at the track to grab it. Nevertheless I managed to leg it there and arrived a couple of hours before the start. Once I met the Kiwi we entered the track and had to walk near on 20 mins to our seats – in misty rain and boggy mud.
For those that know the track we were situated on the right hand side of the first chicane after the main straight. I would like to say ‘seats’ but alas it was just a bench.
I was a little dubious at how the F1 would pan out at Monza - the home of Ferrari. It is a very fast track and the field usually spreads out with little overtaking. It was rather exciting that Vettel was on pole, and even more amazing he had done it in a Toro Rosso. The fans were mainly for Ferrari but there was a strong contingent of Brits there barracking for Hamilton.
The weather was a light drizzle that kept the track saturated and extreme weather tyres were compulsory. This made for better viewing as there was more overtaking and spins than usual – a fair few in front of us.
I think we were the only ones on the track that were cheering for the leader, Vettel the whole race. The majority of fans came around by races end and applauded the achievement of his win. It was good to have a walk around the track after the race and feel the closeness of the atmosphere. We watched the presentation and walked half the track before bailing to the pub.
Unfortunately the next day I could not get an early flight home so endured a day around the city. I rather liked the place and can certainly say it was probably a shoppers paradise (which was confirmed by the girls excited reaction after I showed her some pictures I had taken of the Prada store).
I toured the city anyway taking in the sites. A lot of the monuments and buildings were covered in scaffolding for repairs but in true Milan style (I presume) they had giant billboards covering them with the latest fashion.
At the end of the day I found my way to the Ferrari store. Admittedly I felt a slight chill entering (kid in a candy store style) at the range. You could pretty much buy everything and anything with a Ferrari logo (although I didn’t see a kitchen sink). A few of the noted Ferrari items were: Key chain (€45), golf balls (€40), snow skis (€2600) and a replica F1 steering wheel (€12,000). I picked up a pair of green leather shoes for €80 which I thought was a bargain.
I arrived in Milan on the day of the race and luckily for me the bus / metro and train tickets appeared to be free (well actually I never bought a ticket and nobody stopped me). I had tried for a helicopter to the track from the airport (that at £60 was a bargain) but unfortunately because you landed inside the track had to have your ticket with you and I was meeting my Kiwi mate at the track to grab it. Nevertheless I managed to leg it there and arrived a couple of hours before the start. Once I met the Kiwi we entered the track and had to walk near on 20 mins to our seats – in misty rain and boggy mud.
For those that know the track we were situated on the right hand side of the first chicane after the main straight. I would like to say ‘seats’ but alas it was just a bench.
I was a little dubious at how the F1 would pan out at Monza - the home of Ferrari. It is a very fast track and the field usually spreads out with little overtaking. It was rather exciting that Vettel was on pole, and even more amazing he had done it in a Toro Rosso. The fans were mainly for Ferrari but there was a strong contingent of Brits there barracking for Hamilton.
The weather was a light drizzle that kept the track saturated and extreme weather tyres were compulsory. This made for better viewing as there was more overtaking and spins than usual – a fair few in front of us.
I think we were the only ones on the track that were cheering for the leader, Vettel the whole race. The majority of fans came around by races end and applauded the achievement of his win. It was good to have a walk around the track after the race and feel the closeness of the atmosphere. We watched the presentation and walked half the track before bailing to the pub.
Unfortunately the next day I could not get an early flight home so endured a day around the city. I rather liked the place and can certainly say it was probably a shoppers paradise (which was confirmed by the girls excited reaction after I showed her some pictures I had taken of the Prada store).
I toured the city anyway taking in the sites. A lot of the monuments and buildings were covered in scaffolding for repairs but in true Milan style (I presume) they had giant billboards covering them with the latest fashion.
At the end of the day I found my way to the Ferrari store. Admittedly I felt a slight chill entering (kid in a candy store style) at the range. You could pretty much buy everything and anything with a Ferrari logo (although I didn’t see a kitchen sink). A few of the noted Ferrari items were: Key chain (€45), golf balls (€40), snow skis (€2600) and a replica F1 steering wheel (€12,000). I picked up a pair of green leather shoes for €80 which I thought was a bargain.
A final thought on Milan: While the city contained some rather ridiculously attractive women (discounting the quality boney models), the men seemed rather old and certainly didn’t bathe.
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