Wedding in Italy? Why fly?
Discussion
Thought I’d do a quick write up of my recent euro road trip. My brother in law was getting married in Perugia, Italy and we decided to make a bit of a holiday out of it. Mrs Pizza is into her cars too so we decided to hit up a few museums and car related places along the way. I’ll break it down into a couple of posts rather than hit it all in one.
Day 1 Bedfordshire - Reims.
So, I loaded up the 340i and set off for our 1625 train. The drive down to the terminal was smooth enough for a friday afternoon but sadly there was over an hour of delays on arrival. It seems the later you travel the more chance of issues there are, with the difference in costs now compared to the ferry I’m really starting to consider trying the boat again next trip. Anyway, we had a drink, grabbed a couple of high viz vests that I’d forgot and waited it out.
Once on the train it went quickly and we eventually go off in Calais and hit the road. It was fairly quiet on the motorway, nothing exciting to see really, after 3 hours of travelling through France we arrived at our exit for our first hotel. £18 in tolls which isn’t cheap but we were on there for most of the 3 hours. Our hotel was a cheap Ibis for the night, I’ve used the chain a few times and it always offers good value, this was no exception. In fact, I reckon it’s hard to beat for £64! Car safely parked up with a fellow British BMW, we went for a quick bite to eat before some kip ready for a long day in the morning.
Day 2 Reims - Goschenen
Up bright and early, the B58 in my BMW it pretty frugal on a run but I decided to go for a fuel stop first thing, 2.04 euros a litre was surprising, first time I’ve found it to be more expensive than the UK! We also noticed most of the stations on the smaller roads were just self service pumps now, the shops were shut, so no morning pastry & coffee on this occasion. We headed east across the top of France, mostly dual carriageways and mostly clear. I settled into european driving and spotting all the older, more unusual cars that France has to offer. We had hoped to stop before the border for a break and a swiss toll thing but there was a lack of service for some reason. Arriving in Switzerland in the early afternoon we stopped just south of Basel and the first foreign services of the trip.
I was reminded how well they do services, quality food, decent places to have a break. Picked up the swiss toll sticker and carried on south. It quickly changes from built up cities to open stunning mountain landscapes, we pulled off the motorway and onto a few twisty roads, within a few minutes arrived for our next night stopping over in Goschenen at the Hotel Weisses. We’d gone from 20 degree heat to 3 degrees, very chilly! Dumped our stuff and went for a wonder, quickly realising everywhere was shut, I’m guessing it’s off season there now. It was nice to have a look about though and Mrs Pizza loved spotting the cows with bells dinging round their necks. We ate at our hotel, decent home cooked food NS the room was lovely and homely, plus I could see the car out the window. Bonus!
Day 3 Goschenen - Maranello
Up in the morning and straight onto the Gotthard Pass. Literally straight from the hotel we were into the twisty bits, within a few minutes I had a queue of M cars chasing me down. While I wasn’t going to go mad, it was great to give the car a bit of a workout. We stopped a couple of times to take in the views, it’s one of them places you see on TV but can’t appreciate it until you’re there. we grabbed a coffee on the way back down.
Switzerland have some tidy cars kicking about too, your usual M/AMG cars plus some unusual stuff, saw a random convoy of new 7 series, a few super cars knocking about etc. We dropped down into Italy, the boarder is a bit odd. We queued for ages to find there was just a chicane of cones and everyone being waved through. I was instantly reminded how mental the Italians are on the road. I find you have to get into the swing of driving in Europe, the french and swiss like to get on with it, they dont have time for people holding them up but the Italians take it to a new level, they have very little regard for speed limits or road safety in general.
We headed over to the Alfa museum on the outskirts of Milan, made it in one piece! The museum was decent and worth a visit if you’re in the area for sure. Spent a good hour and a half there, plus a nice little cafe to eat/drink at afterwards.
We carried on down to Maranello where our overnight stop was, but first we visited the Ferrari museum. Bit of a let down tbh, small, expensive and seemed like a cash cow. Full of people streaming, taking selfies and just going for instagram posts it seemed. I did like seeing the F1 trophies though, just a shame the cars on display were a bit odd, 2020 car with Carlos' number on it etc, just a bit lazy.
We headed to our apartment for the night, it was clean and new but the parking left me a little on edge, tight spaces outside a row of shops. Luckily the car was fine, it was just a very noisy place all night!
Day 4 Maranello - Perugia
Ready for our final outbound leg, we headed south again down to Perugia. I’d planned this day to be a bit shorter as we had partying to do that evening. First part was along some questionable Italian B roads, before making it onto a decent A road for a large chunk of the run. We arrived in the village of the venue, I’d street viewed it before we left to make sure it would be alright. It was for the most part but I didn’t realise how steep it was, I could have done with a LSD on the hairpin! We made it to the top thankfully!
Just about to have a cold beer and I found out that half the family needed transport from the airport! I and everyone who had a car hired headed down to collect all 18 of them. Driven all the way to Italy and now on taxi duties, I’ve said how it’s a do everything car and this just proves the point! Once I’d got back from the airport I could finally park the car up for a few days! Another stunning view too.
I'll write up part 2 shortly!
Day 1 Bedfordshire - Reims.
So, I loaded up the 340i and set off for our 1625 train. The drive down to the terminal was smooth enough for a friday afternoon but sadly there was over an hour of delays on arrival. It seems the later you travel the more chance of issues there are, with the difference in costs now compared to the ferry I’m really starting to consider trying the boat again next trip. Anyway, we had a drink, grabbed a couple of high viz vests that I’d forgot and waited it out.
Once on the train it went quickly and we eventually go off in Calais and hit the road. It was fairly quiet on the motorway, nothing exciting to see really, after 3 hours of travelling through France we arrived at our exit for our first hotel. £18 in tolls which isn’t cheap but we were on there for most of the 3 hours. Our hotel was a cheap Ibis for the night, I’ve used the chain a few times and it always offers good value, this was no exception. In fact, I reckon it’s hard to beat for £64! Car safely parked up with a fellow British BMW, we went for a quick bite to eat before some kip ready for a long day in the morning.
Day 2 Reims - Goschenen
Up bright and early, the B58 in my BMW it pretty frugal on a run but I decided to go for a fuel stop first thing, 2.04 euros a litre was surprising, first time I’ve found it to be more expensive than the UK! We also noticed most of the stations on the smaller roads were just self service pumps now, the shops were shut, so no morning pastry & coffee on this occasion. We headed east across the top of France, mostly dual carriageways and mostly clear. I settled into european driving and spotting all the older, more unusual cars that France has to offer. We had hoped to stop before the border for a break and a swiss toll thing but there was a lack of service for some reason. Arriving in Switzerland in the early afternoon we stopped just south of Basel and the first foreign services of the trip.
I was reminded how well they do services, quality food, decent places to have a break. Picked up the swiss toll sticker and carried on south. It quickly changes from built up cities to open stunning mountain landscapes, we pulled off the motorway and onto a few twisty roads, within a few minutes arrived for our next night stopping over in Goschenen at the Hotel Weisses. We’d gone from 20 degree heat to 3 degrees, very chilly! Dumped our stuff and went for a wonder, quickly realising everywhere was shut, I’m guessing it’s off season there now. It was nice to have a look about though and Mrs Pizza loved spotting the cows with bells dinging round their necks. We ate at our hotel, decent home cooked food NS the room was lovely and homely, plus I could see the car out the window. Bonus!
Day 3 Goschenen - Maranello
Up in the morning and straight onto the Gotthard Pass. Literally straight from the hotel we were into the twisty bits, within a few minutes I had a queue of M cars chasing me down. While I wasn’t going to go mad, it was great to give the car a bit of a workout. We stopped a couple of times to take in the views, it’s one of them places you see on TV but can’t appreciate it until you’re there. we grabbed a coffee on the way back down.
Switzerland have some tidy cars kicking about too, your usual M/AMG cars plus some unusual stuff, saw a random convoy of new 7 series, a few super cars knocking about etc. We dropped down into Italy, the boarder is a bit odd. We queued for ages to find there was just a chicane of cones and everyone being waved through. I was instantly reminded how mental the Italians are on the road. I find you have to get into the swing of driving in Europe, the french and swiss like to get on with it, they dont have time for people holding them up but the Italians take it to a new level, they have very little regard for speed limits or road safety in general.
We headed over to the Alfa museum on the outskirts of Milan, made it in one piece! The museum was decent and worth a visit if you’re in the area for sure. Spent a good hour and a half there, plus a nice little cafe to eat/drink at afterwards.
We carried on down to Maranello where our overnight stop was, but first we visited the Ferrari museum. Bit of a let down tbh, small, expensive and seemed like a cash cow. Full of people streaming, taking selfies and just going for instagram posts it seemed. I did like seeing the F1 trophies though, just a shame the cars on display were a bit odd, 2020 car with Carlos' number on it etc, just a bit lazy.
We headed to our apartment for the night, it was clean and new but the parking left me a little on edge, tight spaces outside a row of shops. Luckily the car was fine, it was just a very noisy place all night!
Day 4 Maranello - Perugia
Ready for our final outbound leg, we headed south again down to Perugia. I’d planned this day to be a bit shorter as we had partying to do that evening. First part was along some questionable Italian B roads, before making it onto a decent A road for a large chunk of the run. We arrived in the village of the venue, I’d street viewed it before we left to make sure it would be alright. It was for the most part but I didn’t realise how steep it was, I could have done with a LSD on the hairpin! We made it to the top thankfully!
Just about to have a cold beer and I found out that half the family needed transport from the airport! I and everyone who had a car hired headed down to collect all 18 of them. Driven all the way to Italy and now on taxi duties, I’ve said how it’s a do everything car and this just proves the point! Once I’d got back from the airport I could finally park the car up for a few days! Another stunning view too.
I'll write up part 2 shortly!
toon10 said:
Nice write up and a great way to make a holiday/adventure out of the trip. I'm looking at 340i's as my next car when my camper eventually sells. What spacers and suspension are you using if you don't mind me asking? It looks great and something I'll probably do myself.
Thanks! It’s got 437m wheels from a M3/4 and Bilstein coilovers. 12/15mm spacers are often common on stock wheels to fill the arches a bit. Nice writeup and looks like you did a similar route to us as far as the Italian border when we went to Lake Como at the end of May. Had exactly the same experience with the border crossing and the manner of driving as soon as you enter Italy - quite the eye-opener after everyone was on their best behaviour in Switzerland!
Mr Tidy said:
I enjoyed reading that - can't wait for Part 2 now!
Your car looks great too - it's nice to see a BMW in a proper colour not some shade of silver/grey.
Thanks! I rewrote it 3 times trying to get the right balance of waffle and details lol. I’ll get the other half finished tomorrow. Your car looks great too - it's nice to see a BMW in a proper colour not some shade of silver/grey.
Yeah, I was going to order grey until I turned up at the dealer and changed my mind. They didn’t have any in Sunset Orange for me to see so it was a bit of a risk but it looks great in the sun. Stands out a bit too like you say.
chriscoates said:
Nice writeup and looks like you did a similar route to us as far as the Italian border when we went to Lake Como at the end of May. Had exactly the same experience with the border crossing and the manner of driving as soon as you enter Italy - quite the eye-opener after everyone was on their best behaviour in Switzerland!
Ah nice, we done Como last time. We were with the in-laws who were in a hurry so ended up doing 16 hour days! Lovely place though, I’d love to go back. Hugo Stiglitz said:
"Mrs Pizza is into her cars"..
Whereas Mrs Stiglitz gets car sickness when I drive
The trip looks great.
Ah, while she’s into her cars (she knew I was a petrol head from the off so had no choice I guess) she isn’t a fantastic passenger. Better in the car than flying though so she copes with it as best she can. Whereas Mrs Stiglitz gets car sickness when I drive
The trip looks great.
chriscoates said:
Nice writeup and looks like you did a similar route to us as far as the Italian border when we went to Lake Como at the end of May. Had exactly the same experience with the border crossing and the manner of driving as soon as you enter Italy - quite the eye-opener after everyone was on their best behaviour in Switzerland!
Ha! Sounds very familiar. We did the run from Geneva to Lake Maggiore and back a few weeks ago, albeit in a rental Astra and as mentioned just as you get to the border the Italian cars start their overtakes. Blind bends, trucks coming the other way, who cares! Gotta get on. The Italian border control could hardly be more Italian. Five guards all leaning on the roof of one car chatting to the pretty driver with all other cars streaming slowly past. Brilliant.Pizzaeatingking said:
Yeah, I was going to order grey until I turned up at the dealer and changed my mind. They didn’t have any in Sunset Orange for me to see so it was a bit of a risk but it looks great in the sun. Stands out a bit too like you say.
I think Sunset Orange looks stunning. I had an Imola Red E46 325ti and loved it. Sadly my current E90 is Sparkling Graphite.
Day 7 Perugia - Innsbruck
Woke up to another stunning view and the wedding was fantastic. This was our longest day, plus we left later than we would normally to do the usual goodbyes etc. I’d had my fun drinking on the Monday night but Mrs Pizza decided to have a few drinks the night before we leave, she never drinks so she was a little delicate!
We travelled north up past Bolognia, before heading east towards the Austrian border. The road from Modena was mainly just dual carriageway, the A22. Along here we saw the Italian driving style often resulted in carnage with 3 separate accidents along this road. They don’t shut roads it seems, just send out a guy with a flag to direct traffic into one lane.As the road headed further north it became nice and quiet, plus all the lorries were forced into the nearside lane so we covered ground nicely.
We stopped for a quick bite and drink and kept on going, as we headed towards Austria we were again surrounded by stunning mountains, views to die for. The houses started looking more ‘Austrian’ and the end of a long old drive was near. Shortly after crossing the border we left the motorway and found our hotel for the night nestled in a little back road. This was one of the hotels I was unsure on from the pictures but it was amazing, cozy, warm and typically Austrian. We ate at the restaurant, the food was very good, Mrs Pizza really enjoyed the homemade strudel. There was a spa and pool to enjoy but we didn’t have the energy for those, off to bed for another early night.
Day 8 Innsbruck - BMW World & Motorworld
We hit the road early it was a nice short day ahead of us, just 2 hour drive to Munich. Some nice twisty roads over the border, mainly held up by slow lorries but once past that we were greeted by an empty, derestricted autobahn. With the wife having one eye on the speedo I didn’t go mad but the car happily sitting at reasonable speeds for a decent length of time, it felt rock steady, quiet and comfortable. Getting into the swing of being on the Autobahns took no time, basically keep your wits about you and dont get in anyone's way. Not often I’m the slowest car on the road but it happens a fair bit in Germany.
Now, I’ve been a BMW nut since I was a kid, so I’m not going to lie, I was very excited to finally make it to BMW World and Munich in general. As we got closer I could see the huge BMW tower, we dropped down into the underground parking and I found a space tucked out the way. I could have probably spent a hour wondering about the car parks tbh, some lovely cars before we’d even entered the building.
We headed to the museum first and it was fantastic. From the first BMW car and the plane engines right through to current race cars. There was some quite moving displays regarding the war and the companies part in that too.
We spent a good couple of hours there before heading over to the BMW World part. This was basically a huge showroom, Rollers, Minis and BMWs, along with lots of bikes. The middle was raised up with cars on, after trying to find a way up there we realised it was the collection point for factory car collections. Looked cool, maybe one day!
We made a move and headed across town to our digs for the night, Motorworld, which as It turns out the place is pretty much surrounded on all sides by more BMW buildings! We checked in and was shown to our room. Mrs Pizza had found this place on Tik Tok, we had a room that had a parking space inside, separated from us by a glass wall. We also had direct access to the museum via our hotel room all night if we wanted. The actual room was a little on the small side but hey, my car was in there too so I couldn’t moan too much.
The setup of the ‘Museum’ is similar to classic rimes for those that have been there. Lots of glass boxes with individually owned cars stored inside, along with dealers and workshops around the edge too. This place also had a few places to eat and drink and it’s probably the only time I’ll eat a meal next to an F1 car. After a good wonder about we turned in for the night, it was very cool having the car at the end of the bed, no need to worry about it in the night!
Day 9 Munich to Frankfurt
We had breakfast and a lazy start to the day, after hearing next door leave in their RS3 we decided to get going ourselves. Jumped onto the autobahn and over to Stuttgart to visit Mercedes. This was up there with BMW for me, I’m not a big Merc fan but it was still fantastic. Up 8 floors in an elevator then you walk down in a big spiral. They had the cars of course but I enjoyed the trucks, vans and buses more. Again, we spent a couple of hours there.
I had planned to visit Porsche afterwards but the slow start to the day and the traffic we got stuck in leaving Stuttgart meant we ran out of time unfortunately. This was probably the worst traffic we’d hit all trip and I made full use of the active cruise, made my life a little easier in the stop start traffic. 7pm we finally arrived at the B’Mine hotel, Frankfurt Airport. It has 2 car lifts serving 32 rooms where you use one to take your car to your room with you, parking its on the balcony. We booked a plane spotting room so we were on the 8th floor. The room itself was fantastic, large, light, huge bed, huge TV, his and hers sinks and 5 layers of glass making sure you can see the planes but get a great night's sleep too. This was my second visit here and favorite hotel of the trip. We grabbed dinner, the top floor restaurant was fantastic then headed off to bed.
Day 10 Frankfurt to Bedfordshire
Final day! In my head I was thinking it’s not that far, I do the ‘ring in a day all the time, but it was a bit further than I thought. Still we got going, splash of fuel at the most expensive station yet (2.49 euros!) and I got settled in. The driving gets steadily worse after leaving Germany, hitting a low in Belgium before we finally arrive at the terminal for our train home. Thankfully the trains were on time and we actually made it onto a slightly earlier one. Slight hitch going through the UK boarder control, the officer was suggesting my wife needed settled status (she’s got an Italian passport but is a British citizen) but after offering to kick her out the car and leave her with them he waved us through.
The drive back in the UK was horrendous, I’m soon reminded why I enjoy driving in Europe so much more than the UK and quickly start thinking about the next trip......well....I did miss out on the Porsche museum?
Woke up to another stunning view and the wedding was fantastic. This was our longest day, plus we left later than we would normally to do the usual goodbyes etc. I’d had my fun drinking on the Monday night but Mrs Pizza decided to have a few drinks the night before we leave, she never drinks so she was a little delicate!
We travelled north up past Bolognia, before heading east towards the Austrian border. The road from Modena was mainly just dual carriageway, the A22. Along here we saw the Italian driving style often resulted in carnage with 3 separate accidents along this road. They don’t shut roads it seems, just send out a guy with a flag to direct traffic into one lane.As the road headed further north it became nice and quiet, plus all the lorries were forced into the nearside lane so we covered ground nicely.
We stopped for a quick bite and drink and kept on going, as we headed towards Austria we were again surrounded by stunning mountains, views to die for. The houses started looking more ‘Austrian’ and the end of a long old drive was near. Shortly after crossing the border we left the motorway and found our hotel for the night nestled in a little back road. This was one of the hotels I was unsure on from the pictures but it was amazing, cozy, warm and typically Austrian. We ate at the restaurant, the food was very good, Mrs Pizza really enjoyed the homemade strudel. There was a spa and pool to enjoy but we didn’t have the energy for those, off to bed for another early night.
Day 8 Innsbruck - BMW World & Motorworld
We hit the road early it was a nice short day ahead of us, just 2 hour drive to Munich. Some nice twisty roads over the border, mainly held up by slow lorries but once past that we were greeted by an empty, derestricted autobahn. With the wife having one eye on the speedo I didn’t go mad but the car happily sitting at reasonable speeds for a decent length of time, it felt rock steady, quiet and comfortable. Getting into the swing of being on the Autobahns took no time, basically keep your wits about you and dont get in anyone's way. Not often I’m the slowest car on the road but it happens a fair bit in Germany.
Now, I’ve been a BMW nut since I was a kid, so I’m not going to lie, I was very excited to finally make it to BMW World and Munich in general. As we got closer I could see the huge BMW tower, we dropped down into the underground parking and I found a space tucked out the way. I could have probably spent a hour wondering about the car parks tbh, some lovely cars before we’d even entered the building.
We headed to the museum first and it was fantastic. From the first BMW car and the plane engines right through to current race cars. There was some quite moving displays regarding the war and the companies part in that too.
We spent a good couple of hours there before heading over to the BMW World part. This was basically a huge showroom, Rollers, Minis and BMWs, along with lots of bikes. The middle was raised up with cars on, after trying to find a way up there we realised it was the collection point for factory car collections. Looked cool, maybe one day!
We made a move and headed across town to our digs for the night, Motorworld, which as It turns out the place is pretty much surrounded on all sides by more BMW buildings! We checked in and was shown to our room. Mrs Pizza had found this place on Tik Tok, we had a room that had a parking space inside, separated from us by a glass wall. We also had direct access to the museum via our hotel room all night if we wanted. The actual room was a little on the small side but hey, my car was in there too so I couldn’t moan too much.
The setup of the ‘Museum’ is similar to classic rimes for those that have been there. Lots of glass boxes with individually owned cars stored inside, along with dealers and workshops around the edge too. This place also had a few places to eat and drink and it’s probably the only time I’ll eat a meal next to an F1 car. After a good wonder about we turned in for the night, it was very cool having the car at the end of the bed, no need to worry about it in the night!
Day 9 Munich to Frankfurt
We had breakfast and a lazy start to the day, after hearing next door leave in their RS3 we decided to get going ourselves. Jumped onto the autobahn and over to Stuttgart to visit Mercedes. This was up there with BMW for me, I’m not a big Merc fan but it was still fantastic. Up 8 floors in an elevator then you walk down in a big spiral. They had the cars of course but I enjoyed the trucks, vans and buses more. Again, we spent a couple of hours there.
I had planned to visit Porsche afterwards but the slow start to the day and the traffic we got stuck in leaving Stuttgart meant we ran out of time unfortunately. This was probably the worst traffic we’d hit all trip and I made full use of the active cruise, made my life a little easier in the stop start traffic. 7pm we finally arrived at the B’Mine hotel, Frankfurt Airport. It has 2 car lifts serving 32 rooms where you use one to take your car to your room with you, parking its on the balcony. We booked a plane spotting room so we were on the 8th floor. The room itself was fantastic, large, light, huge bed, huge TV, his and hers sinks and 5 layers of glass making sure you can see the planes but get a great night's sleep too. This was my second visit here and favorite hotel of the trip. We grabbed dinner, the top floor restaurant was fantastic then headed off to bed.
Day 10 Frankfurt to Bedfordshire
Final day! In my head I was thinking it’s not that far, I do the ‘ring in a day all the time, but it was a bit further than I thought. Still we got going, splash of fuel at the most expensive station yet (2.49 euros!) and I got settled in. The driving gets steadily worse after leaving Germany, hitting a low in Belgium before we finally arrive at the terminal for our train home. Thankfully the trains were on time and we actually made it onto a slightly earlier one. Slight hitch going through the UK boarder control, the officer was suggesting my wife needed settled status (she’s got an Italian passport but is a British citizen) but after offering to kick her out the car and leave her with them he waved us through.
The drive back in the UK was horrendous, I’m soon reminded why I enjoy driving in Europe so much more than the UK and quickly start thinking about the next trip......well....I did miss out on the Porsche museum?
sunnyb13 said:
really fond of these 340i's, especially with an mppsk kit and lsd. The b58 is a beautiful engine.
Huge tuning potential too with only £800 to get it to 480bhp. (remap, downpipe, fuel pump)
Yeah, I keep toying with an E90 M3 but this car just does everything so well. It's mapped at the moment but needs a LSD before I go any further, I think that will really bring it together tbh. Huge tuning potential too with only £800 to get it to 480bhp. (remap, downpipe, fuel pump)
Mr Tidy said:
I think Sunset Orange looks stunning.
I had an Imola Red E46 325ti and loved it. Sadly my current E90 is Sparkling Graphite.
Ahhh I miss my 325ti! (Silver of course) Had a silver E90 too! I had an Imola Red E46 325ti and loved it. Sadly my current E90 is Sparkling Graphite.
Pizzaeatingking said:
toon10 said:
Nice write up and a great way to make a holiday/adventure out of the trip. I'm looking at 340i's as my next car when my camper eventually sells. What spacers and suspension are you using if you don't mind me asking? It looks great and something I'll probably do myself.
Thanks! It’s got 437m wheels from a M3/4 and Bilstein coilovers. 12/15mm spacers are often common on stock wheels to fill the arches a bit. 
Wardy5 said:
Great write up, thanks for sharing. And some good hotel suggestions I'll note down as well 
I've done Stuttgart previously, but it's reminded me I need to get to Munich! And when you head back to Stuttgart for Porsche, get booked on a factory tour as well
Cheers! I’m 100% going back to Stuttgart next year, my mate wants to do Munich now so I’ll happily do that again too, I’ll be sure to do the factory bit too. I've done Stuttgart previously, but it's reminded me I need to get to Munich! And when you head back to Stuttgart for Porsche, get booked on a factory tour as well
toon10 said:
Well, the campervan is sold, and I've put a deposit down on a 340i shadow edition with a bit of spec. I've been inspired by the thread to start looking into road trips
Nice!! I can’t speak highly enough of mine, had it 6 years in march and I still love it. Get a readers ride up when you get it. NSNO said:
Great write up and beautiful pictures. What did you take them on out of curiosity.[/quote
Just my iPhone, 13 Pro I think it is. Quite impressed with it, they’ve come out quite nice.
Just my iPhone, 13 Pro I think it is. Quite impressed with it, they’ve come out quite nice.
I drove to a wedding in Tuscany last month - the only one of the ~70 strong party from the UK to do so. We arrived in Italy early and stayed on the Cinque Terre for a few nights before heading further South. Took the Gotthard on the way down and Mont Blanc on the way home - no time for Austria and Germany (I was there in August)
I’m not sure if the OP had the same but I thought it funny how over the course of the do, so many other guests told me how much they wished they had driven and envied my road trip, but that partners wouldn’t tolerate such a long drive etc.
It’s surprising how even in this day and age with modern cars and fast roads (over there at least) that so many people consider continental driving a big ordeal and will just jump on an easyjet.
I’m not sure if the OP had the same but I thought it funny how over the course of the do, so many other guests told me how much they wished they had driven and envied my road trip, but that partners wouldn’t tolerate such a long drive etc.
It’s surprising how even in this day and age with modern cars and fast roads (over there at least) that so many people consider continental driving a big ordeal and will just jump on an easyjet.
theboss said:
It’s surprising how even in this day and age with modern cars and fast roads (over there at least) that so many people consider continental driving a big ordeal and will just jump on an easyjet.
Quite. I’m the opposite. I’d rather attack my scrotum with 80 grit for a couple of hours than fly to Malpensa, even on BA. But needs must if I can only pop over for the weekend.I’ll even factor in a detour to enable a drive to happen: I recently volunteered to give my wife a lift from Stresa to Frankfurt on my way to Hook of Holland to provide me with a pretext to drive home to the UK (and comp a tank of fuel on her expenses).
theboss said:
I’m not sure if the OP had the same but I thought it funny how over the course of the do, so many other guests told me how much they wished they had driven and envied my road trip, but that partners wouldn’t tolerate such a long drive etc.
It’s surprising how even in this day and age with modern cars and fast roads (over there at least) that so many people consider continental driving a big ordeal and will just jump on an easyjet.
It’s surprising how even in this day and age with modern cars and fast roads (over there at least) that so many people consider continental driving a big ordeal and will just jump on an easyjet.
psi310398 said:
Quite. I’m the opposite. I’d rather attack my scrotum with 80 grit for a couple of hours than fly to Malpensa, even on BA. But needs must if I can only pop over for the weekend.
I’ll even factor in a detour to enable a drive to happen: I recently volunteered to give my wife a lift from Stresa to Frankfurt on my way to Hook of Holland to provide me with a pretext to drive home to the UK (and comp a tank of fuel on her expenses).
Yup! 60ish guests, we were the only ones to drive. I feel like a lot of them were shocked and maybe don’t realise how easy it all is tbh. A few of them were amazed we’d driven, until we explained the process and things we’d seen en route.I’ll even factor in a detour to enable a drive to happen: I recently volunteered to give my wife a lift from Stresa to Frankfurt on my way to Hook of Holland to provide me with a pretext to drive home to the UK (and comp a tank of fuel on her expenses).
When we got back I was chatting to my now sister in law and she said how she just couldn’t imagine being stuck sat in a car for 7 hours (she’s flow long distance flights plenty of times). Before I even had the chance to reply she realised compared to flying for a similar length of time, you have more room in a car, more choice of entertainment, more things to look at and you can stop when you want.
I do lots of weekends with my mate, mainly Germany & Belgium. Maybe for a city break further east it’s not practical but for me, any excuse to drive and i’ll take it. Each time I go anywhere I find more places I’d like to drive to.
Pizzaeatingking said:
Yup! 60ish guests, we were the only ones to drive. I feel like a lot of them were shocked and maybe don’t realise how easy it all is tbh. A few of them were amazed we’d driven, until we explained the process and things we’d seen en route.
When we got back I was chatting to my now sister in law and she said how she just couldn’t imagine being stuck sat in a car for 7 hours (she’s flow long distance flights plenty of times). Before I even had the chance to reply she realised compared to flying for a similar length of time, you have more room in a car, more choice of entertainment, more things to look at and you can stop when you want.
I do lots of weekends with my mate, mainly Germany & Belgium. Maybe for a city break further east it’s not practical but for me, any excuse to drive and i’ll take it. Each time I go anywhere I find more places I’d like to drive to.
Very similar approach. Makes me feel lucky as I was doing this with my wife who was 34 weeks pregnant at the time, and our 3 year old. I have friends that can't seem to drive an hour without stopping 'because the kids won't put up with it'.When we got back I was chatting to my now sister in law and she said how she just couldn’t imagine being stuck sat in a car for 7 hours (she’s flow long distance flights plenty of times). Before I even had the chance to reply she realised compared to flying for a similar length of time, you have more room in a car, more choice of entertainment, more things to look at and you can stop when you want.
I do lots of weekends with my mate, mainly Germany & Belgium. Maybe for a city break further east it’s not practical but for me, any excuse to drive and i’ll take it. Each time I go anywhere I find more places I’d like to drive to.
For us it wasn't even a long trip as we often drive to Southern Serbia and back, giving us opportunities to stop all over Central Europe, the Alps, Croatia and so on.
You know when you're getting older when your recently toilet trained 3 year old has the stronger bladder
People assume it's boring but then I point out, with the benefit of taking a little extra time, we have had overnight stops in Belgium, Switzerland and France. The car is full of Belgian beer and waffles as well as taking back as much of the local wedding Chianti as our allowances would permit, as our gift to the wedding couple.
I wouldn't do it any other way. The thought of traversing Luton airport makes me want to have a panic attack.
The novel thing about this recent trip is that we did it in an EV, which seemed to blow a few minds in its own right.
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