Ferrari Museum and Shopping

Today was a day to keep the students happy in two completely different ways. The ladies were having a sleep in before a long day shopping and the car lovers had an early start so we could take the train to the Ferrari Museum.

The boys, Chelsea, Sierra and I started with a brisk walk to the station at 7.30am. We arrived just before 8 and had a quick brekky before taking the train to Bologna. We stayed on at Bologna and got off at Modena. Modena is home to the Museo Casa Enzo Ferrari. We had an hour or so to kill so we spent it at the museum. This museum focuses on the story of Enzo and Scuderia Ferrari as well as other people involved with the early stages of Ferrari. There are also several cars on exhibition including "Maseratis" and are changed ever 6 months. After an hour or so we jumped on the shuttle bus to Maranello, the home of the Ferrari Museum.

We arrived in Maranello about 12pm and I saw about 12 Ferraris in the main street. When we arrived in the museum car park there were another 10 at least including 4 you could test drive. Again, I had to resist because it costs about 400€ for an hour. We had a quick lunch in the cafe before going through the museum.

The museum's entry starts with Ferrari's "super car" version similar to Bugatti's Veyron. It's called the 599XX and just looks amazing. Other cars you can find in the museum are their F40, F50, F430, Dino's, F1 racing cars and the list goes on. There's also a special room dedicated to F1 racing with trophies, F1 cars and a sound room where you can hear various Ferrari sounds in full throttle. We spent a good hour or so walking around before a couple of the boys tested their driving skills on an F1 Simulator. Being completely different to any video game they've ever played they struggled initially to keep the car under control. After a warm up lap they were starting to get the hang of it but sadly they're not younger versions of Michael Schumacher.

We left the museum about 2.30 and had a quick look in the gift shops where some kids bought some great things. The shuttle bus took us back to Modena, then we caught the train to Bologna and onto Florence. Dinner was booked for 7pm, we arrived shortly after and met up with the shoppers. They had a busy day going in and out of various retail stores and the markets. By the sounds of it a few dollars were spent!

Dinner was brief as most of the kids were stuffed after a long day. We had roast chicken, pork and sausages served with green beans and potato wedges. Dessert was called "Nonna's Torta", a slither of cake made with a cheesecake style base, custard and apples in the middle and icing sugar on top. It was a good way to end the day. The kids spent their last half hour before bed doing a quiz on Florence and writing in their journals.

Tomorrow we're off to Venice in the morning so a long train ride and a few boats and we'll be there mid afternoon! Hopefully all the presents fit into their suitcases...