Audi Owners Mille Miglia Spring Trip

[John Shost]

Audi Owners Mille Miglia Spring Trip 

TTinGables (Paul Simoni) on the TT Forum has worked out a great trip this
Spring for us Forum members.  We need one dozen couples to make a go of it. 


Mille Miglia Tour Itinerary, May 13-21, 2001

Day 1 - Sunday, May 13  Depart the USA on your overnight flight to Milano,
Italy.   

Day 2 - Monday, May 14  You will be met outside customs and transferred to
your hotel. Transfer time  from Malpensa to Milano is about 1 hour. Your
hotel in Milano is the  splendid De La Ville, a 4-star superior first class
hotel located within a  couple blocks of the Duomo, La Scala, the Galleria,
and other sights as well  as shops and restaurants. The balance of the day
is free to rest after  checking in. Lunch is on your own. This evening there
will be a cocktail  reception in the hotel followed by dinner at an
excellent local restaurant,  Don Lisander, within walking distance of the
hotel.

Day 3 - Tuesday, May 15  Buffet breakfast in the hotel. This morning, along
with an expert local  guide and aboard a deluxe coach, we embark on a half
day tour of the city.  Sights include the Duomo, Milano's magnificent gothic
cathedral, the  Galleria, a 19th century arcade, La Scala Opera House, and
Sforza Castle,  among others. At the tours conclusion we will enjoy lunch at
a local  restaurant. In the afternoon, we will transfer to Malpensa Airport
to pick  up our rental cars, and then head to the headquarters of Alfa Romeo
for a  tour of their museum. Dinner this evening is on your own.   

Day 4 - Wednesday, May 16  Early morning breakfast. We then check-out, and
from there, it's off to  Monza race track. Here, we have rented the entire
track for the day.  Imagine, Monza, one of the most famous tracks in the
world, just for us. If  that weren't enough, we will spend our day doing
laps and enjoying a high  speed driving school using TT's! Civirossi, a
highly respected and  accredited driving school has 6 TT's in their all-Audi
fleet, and they will  be bringing a few along. We will divide into two
groups each, and have some  classroom time discussing techniques, followed
by laps and excercises in  TT's and A4's. We will also enjoy a picnic lunch
in the vast park inside the  Monza track. After lunch it's time for more
lessons and laps. Time  permitting, we can even do some laps in our rental
cars. At the conclusion,  we hop into our cars, and our caravan heads east,
towards Brescia, and the  beautiful Franciacorta region. Here we are staying
in the town of Erbusco,  at L'Albereta, a Relais & Chateaux hotel and
restaurant nestled in the  countryside. On the premises is the new
restaurant of Gualtiero Marchesi,  whose eponymous restaurant outside of
Milano was for many years Italy's only  3-star Michelin restaurant. Tonight,
we dine at his restaurant, and relive  our day at Monza over stunning
cuisine and wine.   

Day 5 - Thursday, May 17  Buffet breakfast. This morning, we drive the short
distance to Brescia,  park, and take the morning to explore this charming
town on our own, and  view the historic Mille Miglia cars which are on
display. Lunch and the  balance of the day is on your own in Brescia. In the
evening, we will meet  at a local restaurant for dinner. Then, we will go to
the main square to see  the start of the Mille Miglia race, which begins at
night. Return to the  hotel.   

Day 6 - Friday, May 18  Buffet breakfast. We depart the hotel heading east
and south to the tiny  republic of San Marino. Here we will explore the town
on our own, and see  the Mille Miglia cars as they pass through. Lunch in
San Marino will be at  Taverna Righi. Time permitting, we will visit the
Maranello Rosso  Collection, a private collection of Ferraris near San
Marino. We drive south  and west towards Florence, a little past to the spa
town of Montecatini  Terme. Our hotel is the 5-star Grand Hotel La Pace, a
famous hotel whose  guest list included regulars like Churchill, Cary Grant,
Orson Wells, Enrico  Caruso, and others. Dinner this evening is on your own.


Day 7 - Saturday, May 19  Buffet breakfast. Transfer into Florence by coach
for a tour of the city,  and then to see the Mille Miglia cars as the pass
through (the tour will  work around the viewing of the cars, depending on
their timing, as they will  be coming up from Rome). Lunch and the afternoon
are on your own. We will  convene for dinner at Cantinetta Antinori
Restaurant, owned by the famous  Antinori wine family. Return to
Montecatini.   

Day 8 - Sunday, May 20  Buffet breakfast. Today we head north to Modena, the
exotic car capital of  the world. We go there in the tracks of the Mille
Miglia cars, through the  historic Futa and Raticosa passes. Once in Modena,
we will enjoy a visit of  either Lamborghini or Maserati factories (final
decision pending). Lunch in  Maranello at the Il Cavallino Restaurant across
from the Ferrari factory  (unfortunately, tours of Ferrari are now only
available to Ferrari owners).  After lunch, we head north and west to Lake
Como. Our last night in Italy is  on the magnificent Lake Como at the Regina
Olga Hotel. Tonight, our farewell  dinner is at the Crotto dei Platani
Restaurant on the lake shore.   

Day 9 - Monday, May 21  Buffet breakfast. Drive to Malpensa Airport to drop
off cars and board  flight home. Those going on Monaco extension will turn
in their cars, then  transfer back to Como. See below for continuation of
the itinerary.    

Per person cost for the TT Mille Miglia tour only, based on a minimum of 24 
total participants, and accommodations based on 2 people sharing a double 
room: $2,525.00 per person   Anyone interested in booking this trip must
send me an e-mail confirmation  by no later than January 31st, however, in
the interest of getting more to  join, I will probably extend this deadline
by another 2 weeks, until feb.  15th. Once this is received, I will send you
an invoice, along with terms  and conditions as well as refund and
cancellation policies. Initial deposit  to reserve a space: $525.00 per
person.    

Monaco GP Extension  May 21-28, 2001   Day 9 - Monday, May 21 - continued. 
Upon returning to Como, enjoy a cruise on the lake to Bellagio, where you 
can enjoy this painfully picturesque town on a promontory where the lake 
splits. Bellagio is filled with quaint shops and boutiques selling the 
locally produced silks, and replete with charming outdoor cafes. Lunch on 
own. Return to Como in the late afternoon. Dinner this evening is on your 
own.   

Day 10 - Tuesday, May 22  Buffet breakfast. Transfer from Como to Alba, in
the southern half of the  Piemonte region. Alba is one of the few places in
the world where white  truffles are found. It is also at the center of
several of Italy's top wine  varieties: Barolo, Barbareso, and Gattinara,
among others. Lunch on own in  Alba. Dinner this evening will be at a local
restaurant near Alba, preceded  by a wine tasting and visit at Contratto.
Overnight at the first class hotel  I Castelli in Alba.   

Day 11 - Wednesday, May 23  Buffet breakfast. This morning, we visit a
truffle hunter, and see how they  train the dogs to find the elusive tuber.
Market price on white truffles is  around $6000 per kilo. We will enjoy a
truffle-based lunch at a local  restaurant. In the afternoon we will visit
another winery with a tour and  tasting, perhaps Fontanafredda. Dinner this
evening is on your own.   

Day 12 - Thursday, May 24  Buffet breakfast. Transfer from Alba to
Juan-les-Pins on the French Riviera,  about 45 minutes west of Nice. Lunch
on own in Juan-les-Pins. Juan-les-Pins  is a small little town on the French
Riviera, cut from the same cloth as St.  Tropez, quiet in the off-season,
rockin in the summer. Our hotel is the  beachfront, 4-star Le Meridien.
Balance of the day is free. Here you will  meet up with some people from a
car club in the US that is doing this  package as a pre-tour before they go
to Italy on their own self-drive tour.  There will be a cocktail party
followed by dinner at the hotel.  

Day 13, 14, 15 - Friday-Sunday, May 25-27  Buffet breakfast daily. Each
morning, we will transfer by coach to the Nice  harbor, where we will take
the regular ferry service to Monaco. Here we will  proceed on foot to the
grandstand. The tickets are for granstand "K", which  has a view of a good
portion of the track, in addition to the giant screen  TV, allowing you to
follow the entire race. Lunch and dinner are on your own  daily.   

Day 16 - Monday, May 28  Buffet breakfast. Transfer to Nice airport for your
return flight home.    

Cost of the Monaco extension, which includes all the above, plus the tickets
for all three days of the GP (practice, qualifying, race), based on double 
occupancy: $2,780.00 per person. Please send an e-mail as initial 
confirmation that you want to attend. A deposit of $500 is required to 
reserve a space.   
If you are interested please contact Xpaulsimoni at yahoo.com Remove the 
prepended X in address (anti-spam) before sending.  

Mille Miglia Info <http://www.millemiglia.it/>
Driving School Info <http://www.drivingcamp.it/ENG/HOME.HTM>






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