2013 Corvette roadtrip through Italy (Tuscany), day-by-day diary
05-20-2013, 03:39 AM
#41
Burning Brakes
Beginning on 5:59 you can see our start on the Racetrack in Modena
https://www.youtube.com/watch?featur...v=nA7YfnISCGA#!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?featur...v=nA7YfnISCGA#!
Last edited by Roma; 05-20-2013 at 04:24 AM.
05-20-2013, 12:45 PM
#42
Drifting
Thanks again for sharing version 2... Fantasy drives like this will come my way only through your links and threads. I'll send a northern Michigan thread later in the summer,but as beautiful as it is here, it's nothing like Italy.
enjoy your hopefully safe trip!
enjoy your hopefully safe trip!
05-20-2013, 02:56 PM
#43
Pro
Thread Starter
First of all, thank you all for the kind comments. 
. Sharing stories and pictures on this forum is a true joy. And the story continues:
Day 4 - Pisa and Lucca
Today was a day to relax. From Lucca to Pisa it’s only 15 miles so it was not a day with lots of driving.
Instead we put our tourist dress on. My personal fashion recommendation: sandals, black socks, shorts and a loud shirt. Works like a charm if you want to attract the attention of the flying salesmen in the Pisa parking lots selling genuine Ray Bans, Rolex watches and Louis Vuitton bags at a bargain.
But first, we had to parade our Corvettes through the city gates passing tourists who pointed their cameras away from the tower to our convoy.
Then it was getting out of the cars and do some walking. Pisa is of course flooded with tourists. Still, the place is majestic. The most famous building is the "Leaning Tower Of Pisa". I learned a few things about it.
It didn't tilt until somtime into its construction, because the ground was too soft on one side. Construction began in the 12th century and it took more than 300 years to complete. The angle of slant is almost 4°. In the past 15 years, the tower was gradually straightened a little bit because it threatened to tumble over. Still, when you step into it and walk the spiral stairs, you feel drunk even though its only 10 in the morning.
The view over the ancient city is simply stunning.
On the way back we visited downtown Lucca which is quiet a contrast. The old city walls are still completely intact. For a time, they were used as a race track for cars!!
We didn't do that with our Corvettes eventhough this sounded tempting. Instead we ate ice cream and enjoyed the sunny spring afternoon. Soon it was time for dinner. This time, we met at the pool of an old mansion turned restaurant. With the now traditional Aperol Sprizz in hand, we enjoyed fine food and chatted about what we had seen today.
The Corvette menu for tonight:
Desert: Mousse au chocolat with a dried orange and Prosecco.
That last glass of Prosecco must have gone to our heads. We (the C3 guys and girls) walked back to the hotel together later that night.
When we came to the parking lot, Markus found a Mercedes hub cup lying on the ground. This gave us ideas...
We all love the C6. Still, there's always room for improvment, right?
So under lot's of giggles and looking around if anybody would see us, we... well, look for yourself:
The result, mounted with great pride and workmanship:
Laughing ourselves to sleep we wondered what tomorrow would bring.
Have a great day, Martin
. Sharing stories and pictures on this forum is a true joy. And the story continues:Day 4 - Pisa and Lucca
Today was a day to relax. From Lucca to Pisa it’s only 15 miles so it was not a day with lots of driving.
Instead we put our tourist dress on. My personal fashion recommendation: sandals, black socks, shorts and a loud shirt. Works like a charm if you want to attract the attention of the flying salesmen in the Pisa parking lots selling genuine Ray Bans, Rolex watches and Louis Vuitton bags at a bargain.
But first, we had to parade our Corvettes through the city gates passing tourists who pointed their cameras away from the tower to our convoy.
Then it was getting out of the cars and do some walking. Pisa is of course flooded with tourists. Still, the place is majestic. The most famous building is the "Leaning Tower Of Pisa". I learned a few things about it.
It didn't tilt until somtime into its construction, because the ground was too soft on one side. Construction began in the 12th century and it took more than 300 years to complete. The angle of slant is almost 4°. In the past 15 years, the tower was gradually straightened a little bit because it threatened to tumble over. Still, when you step into it and walk the spiral stairs, you feel drunk even though its only 10 in the morning.
The view over the ancient city is simply stunning.
On the way back we visited downtown Lucca which is quiet a contrast. The old city walls are still completely intact. For a time, they were used as a race track for cars!!
We didn't do that with our Corvettes eventhough this sounded tempting. Instead we ate ice cream and enjoyed the sunny spring afternoon. Soon it was time for dinner. This time, we met at the pool of an old mansion turned restaurant. With the now traditional Aperol Sprizz in hand, we enjoyed fine food and chatted about what we had seen today.
The Corvette menu for tonight:
Desert: Mousse au chocolat with a dried orange and Prosecco.
That last glass of Prosecco must have gone to our heads. We (the C3 guys and girls) walked back to the hotel together later that night.
When we came to the parking lot, Markus found a Mercedes hub cup lying on the ground. This gave us ideas...
We all love the C6. Still, there's always room for improvment, right?
So under lot's of giggles and looking around if anybody would see us, we... well, look for yourself:
The result, mounted with great pride and workmanship:
Laughing ourselves to sleep we wondered what tomorrow would bring.
Have a great day, Martin
05-23-2013, 04:21 PM
#45
Pro
Thread Starter
Day 5 – On The Path of Twighlight
After the visits to Lucca and Pisa with its Leaning Tower it was time to pack up again and our convoy moved to a new region. Looking back, this was my favorite part of the whole trip. Bear with me and you’ll understand why. First let’s glance at the map again. The route we took was “only” about 100 miles. The average speed however was only about 20-30 mph. No, we didn’t put Valium in our gas – the scenic back roads often didn’t allow high speeds. It was great way to enjoy the landscape with its villages and rolling hills.
First the challenge of packing. Others managed this much better than we did but somehow we were always able to squeeze the top down anyway. On the luggage rack we carried two folding chairs and a sunshade we never used.
On the back lid you can see the GoPro camera. On this day we used it to make time laps pictures for a video. It’s great because it captures the “action” much better than a regular camera.
Leaving the coastal region meant also a lot less traffic, smaller villages and relaxed driving.
We reached Volterra before lunch. Does this name ring a bell? If so, you’ve probably seen Twighlight – A New Dawn. You haven’t? Then you don’t have daughters of a certain age. The town center was the location for the pivotal scenes of the movie.
We didn’t feed on blood like Twighlight vampires but rather on Chianti wine and a great lunch in a hotel overlooking the valley.
Then came (for me) the best part: The owner of the hotel was a good friend of the major. We would be allowed to drive our Corvettes right onto the historic town square which was otherwise completely closed for cars.
The Carabinieri (Italian Police) watched and directed us – we felt like V.I.P.s. As soon as we had parked the cars, locals and tourists alike stormed the place to watch.
Instead of a spare wheel I had my video drone stuffed into its space.
(Photo by Robert)
This was the perfect opportunity to finally let it fly.
(Picture by Rita and Markus)
This is a still picture of the aerial video I made with it. The unit is controlled with an iPhone and I can see with it through the video lens of the drone. I’m thinking of attaching the GoPro camera for my next flights to get better quality footage. Still, it was fun to fly it over the town square.
We took the time to explore Volterra on foot and I fell in love with the city. Looking down from the city walls there was a Roman amphitheater.
Some impressions from Volterra
Gelati (Ice Cream) is unbelievably tasty in Italy. Much better than at home.
When I got back to our car, there were about 30-40 kids aged about 9 or 10 standing around. When I walked up to the car and they realized it was mine, they started chatting me up in Italian. I threw up my arms, not understanding. They started whispering among each other and then this skinny kid walked up and asked me in English “Areh Youu Riiich Man?” I had to laugh out loud and replied “no”. To which they shook their heads in disbelieve.
The people in general were all exceptionally nice and I never got as many thumbs up as in Italy.
We finally left Volterra for the last leg to the “Hotel Belvedere in San Leonino”, near Siena. The challenge in all hotel rooms was a) getting wireless and b) finding enough power outlets for all the electronic gizmos we carried around.
Beer and Aperol Sprizz in hand we met on the patio and enjoyed a great evening. The next morning would meet one of us with a technical challenge – Robert’s 69 would shift only in 3rd and 4th gear just before we had arrived in the hotel. Would we be able to fix it?
Next episode coming soon…
Martin
After the visits to Lucca and Pisa with its Leaning Tower it was time to pack up again and our convoy moved to a new region. Looking back, this was my favorite part of the whole trip. Bear with me and you’ll understand why. First let’s glance at the map again. The route we took was “only” about 100 miles. The average speed however was only about 20-30 mph. No, we didn’t put Valium in our gas – the scenic back roads often didn’t allow high speeds. It was great way to enjoy the landscape with its villages and rolling hills.
First the challenge of packing. Others managed this much better than we did but somehow we were always able to squeeze the top down anyway. On the luggage rack we carried two folding chairs and a sunshade we never used.
On the back lid you can see the GoPro camera. On this day we used it to make time laps pictures for a video. It’s great because it captures the “action” much better than a regular camera.
Leaving the coastal region meant also a lot less traffic, smaller villages and relaxed driving.
We reached Volterra before lunch. Does this name ring a bell? If so, you’ve probably seen Twighlight – A New Dawn. You haven’t? Then you don’t have daughters of a certain age. The town center was the location for the pivotal scenes of the movie.
We didn’t feed on blood like Twighlight vampires but rather on Chianti wine and a great lunch in a hotel overlooking the valley.
Then came (for me) the best part: The owner of the hotel was a good friend of the major. We would be allowed to drive our Corvettes right onto the historic town square which was otherwise completely closed for cars.
The Carabinieri (Italian Police) watched and directed us – we felt like V.I.P.s. As soon as we had parked the cars, locals and tourists alike stormed the place to watch.
Instead of a spare wheel I had my video drone stuffed into its space.
(Photo by Robert)
This was the perfect opportunity to finally let it fly.
(Picture by Rita and Markus)
This is a still picture of the aerial video I made with it. The unit is controlled with an iPhone and I can see with it through the video lens of the drone. I’m thinking of attaching the GoPro camera for my next flights to get better quality footage. Still, it was fun to fly it over the town square.
We took the time to explore Volterra on foot and I fell in love with the city. Looking down from the city walls there was a Roman amphitheater.
Some impressions from Volterra
Gelati (Ice Cream) is unbelievably tasty in Italy. Much better than at home.
When I got back to our car, there were about 30-40 kids aged about 9 or 10 standing around. When I walked up to the car and they realized it was mine, they started chatting me up in Italian. I threw up my arms, not understanding. They started whispering among each other and then this skinny kid walked up and asked me in English “Areh Youu Riiich Man?” I had to laugh out loud and replied “no”. To which they shook their heads in disbelieve.
The people in general were all exceptionally nice and I never got as many thumbs up as in Italy.
We finally left Volterra for the last leg to the “Hotel Belvedere in San Leonino”, near Siena. The challenge in all hotel rooms was a) getting wireless and b) finding enough power outlets for all the electronic gizmos we carried around.
Beer and Aperol Sprizz in hand we met on the patio and enjoyed a great evening. The next morning would meet one of us with a technical challenge – Robert’s 69 would shift only in 3rd and 4th gear just before we had arrived in the hotel. Would we be able to fix it?
Next episode coming soon…
Martin
05-25-2013, 09:02 AM
#52
Cruising
Member Since: Nov 2009
Location: Soyen Bavaria
Posts: 14
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You´re welcome .... it was a great trip, hope next time we will start to hungary to Budapest ( hungaroring) with an stopp in vienna 
And I will have an Hero3 camera with me, they take amazing pictures !!!
And I will have an Hero3 camera with me, they take amazing pictures !!!
Last edited by minesweeper; 05-25-2013 at 09:04 AM.
06-02-2013, 08:10 PM
#54
Melting Slicks
Member Since: Dec 2008
Location: N.Richland Hills Texas
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New Swiss friends on the "Hot Rod Magazine Power Tour" Arlington Texas to Concord , N.Carolina I'm wearing my Switzerland lanyard holding my ID for the trip now...
