A nice occassion to take the 400 out and have a good time. Jos was so kind to arrange the local hotel and I arranged the entry tickets. It had been weeks ago since I had driven the 400 so I was really looking forward to it. Although we didn't plan anything else in particular it turned out Jos had to visit two Fiat Dino Coupe's beforehand. Since this was almost en route it fitted nicely. Besides I have a huge interest in these as well. When we arrived at the shop it was closed. Apparently Jos didn't had this checked. Oh well. At least we now could have a little break at the local petrol station to fill up the car, have a coffee and sandwich - as we left early in the morning. Since there was a car wash as well we could do a quick cleaning of the car.
So on to Spa. Overthere it wasn't exactly crowded - I guess because it was Saturday. The weather was absolutely great. We got directed to the Ferrari parking place. We were the only 400 on both days.
After a round of walking we had to go back to the car as we were going to drive along with the parade on the circuit. We decided Jos would do the parade today and I would drive tomorrow.
Lining up
Eau Rouge
Cruising mode
Eau Rouge again
One of the very few classic Ferrari's
Having a good time. We were kindly greeted by him, true gentleman.
When back on the paddock again we had another walk around and decided we had seen it. As we still had plenty of time left we made a call to the shop and visited the Dino's for an inspection. For those curious people outhere: http://www.lm-classiccars.be/en
After a thorough check the potential buyer was informed about the details and we went back to Spa to check in and take a little break. A very decent and nice hotel
(http://www.hotel-de-la-source.com/en/hotel/presentation) and our room had a view on the entry lane of the circuit.
Instead of having diner at the hotel I made the suggestion to visit a nice little city nearby. For those curious people, the city is called Durbuy (http://www.durbuy.be/). When I checked it was about a hour drive. But we were not in a hurry and it would be a nice drive around in the Ardennes. On our way we passed via Spa centre which was really crowded. Judging on the cars parked outside a lot of Italia visitors. When arrived in Durbuy we could park centrally as someone just left and we could use his spot.
After a stroll around we ended up in this restaurant:
http://www.sanglier-des-ardennes.be/nl/restaurants/brasserie-fred/ As the weather was very good for the time of the year we had our superb dinner outside. You can't beat Belgium cuisine. On our way back we had almost a deere collision. Luckily it jumped back into the woods. It was a full grown male with a huge antler. Never seen that before.
The next morning we got a wake up call from some car enthusiasts
As it became crowded it was time to get the car out and pack up.
Since we were staying so close to the entry we easily could beat the queue
When driving to the Ferrari paddock we bumped into this wicked car. It was part of the Bertone exhibition
When parked we made another walk around. And today it was quite busy.
We went to Eau Rouge to see if our friend was still parked overthere. And it was. Today also
the owner was around. It was an eldery man dressed up in racing gear. I suspect he must have
been a local racing hero at the time. The car itself is sprayed in Marrone. Apparently only 10
has been delivered in this color. It's a stunning beauty:
I won't bother you would my parade drive, it was very crowded on the track and very boring. So what other beauties did I spot that day. How about this Aureliaaaaaah
Or what about this Mexicoooooh
Or the Montreal
Enough about that. As we had seen the whole lot we decided to leave and visit the Abbey in Stavelot. I was hinted by someone the abbey had a racing museum in the basement. But before doing so we had to have a nice Belgium dish: Frites!
Then we drove straight into the Abbey. Not sure if this was suppose a free parking place but nothing was parked on the inner square - I suspect this particular entrance is normally blocked. At least it was free and we could park in the shadow.
The Abbey did have multiple musea, in case you are interested: http://www.abbayedestavelot.be/en
With one entrance ticket you can visit the whole lot. I couldn't be bothered and only visited the Spa-Francorshamps racetrack museum. To see a glimpse just visit the website as I didn''t make any pictures.
Afterwards we decided it was time to go home. We drove back via the old circuit route - very cool.
Well, what can I say, a very enjoyable weekend with great weather, great food, great cars and lots of driving in the 400. Splendid!
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