Classic Car Wife

It seems strange that I haven't introduced you to James before now because we have owned him for almost 20 years. I guess I've been...

Our destination after Modena was Portofino so we decided to drive part of Sector16 of the Mille Miglia route (in the oppositie direction) between Parma and La Spezia. The journey takes you over the Ligurian Apennines with stunning scenery and challenging winding roads. Hmm.. it really got us thinking about whether we could actually do this in our 1953 DB2.... We stopped at a small bar in a village en-route where they rustled up some pannini with prosciutto and cheese. Local p

We drove to Modena with a mission for F to see the Ferrari and Maserati museums. See separate blog posts under the Museums category if you are interested. https://www.classiccarwife.com/post/the-umberto-panini-motor-museum and https://www.classiccarwife.com/post/the-museo-ferrari-maranello-the-enzo-ferrari-museums-in-modena-maranello We stayed at the Best Western Premier Milano Palace Hotel which was walking distance to the Enzo Ferrari Museum https://www.milanopalacehotel.it

We visited these museums in August 2025 as part of a broader road trip of Northern Italy https://www.classiccarwife.com/post/cars-opera-culture-moneypenny-goes-to-northern-italy. We were staying in Modena for two nights and purchased a combination ticket for both Ferrari museums at a cost of around 40 euros. You really need a car (or be part of a tour group) to travel between the two museums. Our first stop was the Museo Ferrari in Maranello. This museum focusses a lot on the

We visited this museum in August 2025 as part of our road trip of Northern Italy in MoneyPenny. https://www.paninimotormuseum.it It is a private collection of Maseratis that were owned by a local farmer in the 1990s who then rescued the Maserati Collection of 14 key cars when the company changed hands. The collection has recently been relocated to a new building in a new location so you need to check that you have the correct address before heading there. It's open every day

If you're thinking about including Venice on your next European road trip - do it! We pre-booked our parking online at Tronchetto and scanned our QR code on entry. The parking terminal is a short walk from the water taxis, private ferries and ACTV public ferries (vaporettos). https://actv.avmspa.it/en You can easily spend over 100 euros on the first two options. We purchased a 3-day pass on the ACTV for 45 euros each which was ideal for our needs. Line 2 will probably take yo

It was again just a short drive to Verona, our next destination, where we spent two nights at the Palazzo Monga Hotel https://palazzomonga.com We said goodbye to MoneyPenny who went off to the valet parking space beneath our hotel located in the old town. Verona is a lovely city. It was easy to walk to most of the famous sites, including the Roman Arena, the Piazzas, the churches and Juliette's balcony. We also went ot see Aida at the Arena which was a bucket-list moment for

After three glorious and restorative nights in Varenna on Lake Como, we set out for Brescia. It's a short distance to travel so we stopped off at Bergamo. We would recommend a visit to this town if you are ever in the vicinity. The old town on the hilltop was easily accessible in MoneyPenny and had an underground parking station leading through to the old town district. Alternatively, you could park at the bottom of the hill and catch the funicular up to the old town. There w

This is a museum dedicated to the early years of the famous Mille Miglia or 'Red Arrow' race between 1927 and 1957 https://www.museomillemiglia.it/en/index.php The museum has been set up in a beautiful old building complex and opened in 1996. Before the tragic accident that killed 11 people in 1957, this was a speed race that was like no other in the world. Drivers started in Brescia and drove to Rome and back in crazy average times of over 130- 150km/h over several days. The

Driving into Varenna is both beautiful and stressful. The road winds down to the village yet the scenery is truly magnificent. I had booked the cheapest room in the most lovely hotel in Varenna and we arrived to find that we had been upgraded to a lake view room with balcony. Thank you SO much to the Royal Hotel Victoria. https://www.royalvictoria.com/ (Did George and Amal put in a good word for us?) MoneyPenny rested up in the nearby public parking station. The pool at the h

This year's continental touring adventure in MoneyPenny focusses on Northern Italy. We're balancing a pilgrimage to classic car 'must-sees' with some art and culture, good food and sunshine. It's been a year since our Andalusian Adventure and there were some residual mechanical problems with MoneyPenny that needed attention before we set off. So, whilst Mr F was attending to those, I spent a couple of days with a friend, walking in the English countryside and reading novels.

Leaving Seville we endured a very hot 40 degree drive to Madrid, stopping at Merida en route to see some amazing Roman ruins there. At this time of year they have nightly performances in the Teatro - currently it's Medusa. Madrid reminded us a little of Paris, but smaller. The buildings are very grand, there are beautiful fountains, art galleries. lots of parkland and wide boulevards. We stayed at the 'Only YOU Boutique Hotel' https://www.onlyyouhotels.com/en/hotels/only-you-

Next we headed for the mountainous heart of Andalusia driving through the Grazalema National Park to Ronda. MoneyPenny did well on the tight turns and hill climbs, despite the extreme heat. The landscape is spectacular with rugged rocky peaks rising up and graceful kestrels and eagles riding the warm currents above. We took a leisurely pace and there wasn't much traffic (no-one else would be crazy enough to be out on these roads at this time of year) so it took us around 3-4

We left Malaga and drove along the coast road of the Cost del Sol. There were miles and miles and miles of apartment developments across the beachfront. It seemed to stretch on forever and ever. We headed to Tarifa - the southern-most point in Spain. As you leave the Costa del Sol, it is like a breath of fresh air driving through the National Park and then arriving on the Atlantic Coast. MoneyPenny cruised into Tarifa with views of Morocco and we enjoyed the kitesurfing, surf

After leaving Granada, we drove through an impressive mountain range and down to the coast. Mr F had read a guide in our hotel and thought we should try a beach called 'Cantarrijan' on the eastern end of the Costa del Sol. There was free parking at the top and a bus for only a few Euros took you down to a beautiful cove for swimming and snorkelling. There were mostly locals on the beach which was a little stoney but we rented two sun-beds with comfy mattresses for only 12 Eur

We started our real Andalusian Adventure in Granada - a beautiful town nestled in the mountains of the Sierra Nevada and home to one of the most beautifully preserved and restored palaces from the times when the Moors ruled that part of Spain, dating back to 1238. It's now quite rightly a UNESCO World Heritage site. The drive from Alicante took us through some very arid countryside with magnificent rocky mountainous outcrops and ranges. I had booked us into the Hotel Casa Mor

After the roadside repairs, we made it to Valencia. The Hotel Palacio Santa Clara https://www.marriott.com/es/hotels/vlcak-palacio-santa-clara-autograph-collection/overview/ has the most beautiful rooftop pool and bar - just perfect after a long, hot drive. MoneyPenny was happily taken care of by the valet parking guy - they always love her :) We had a delicious meal of grilled octopus followed by the best-ever paella. What a great stopover! With our mission to reach Andalu

We arrived in beautiful Girona after the long drive from Saint Tropez. We had visited Girona in 2019 BCCW (Before Classic Car Wife) and really loved it. This is a stunning city with magnificent buildings, art, museums and culture. I had booked us into the Hotel Historic in the old town - a beautiful conversion of on old building and our room was stunning! It's a family owned and run hotel and very friendly. Being an old town there was no parking but we lucked it with a free s

We are about to start an amazing road trip around Spain over the next few weeks. We've already been on the road for a few weeks. I've been to a conference in Lausanne and we've had some time in the south of France relaxing and working remotely. While I was at the conference, Mr F stopped off at Mulhouse to view the Schlumpf Collection. https://www.musee-automobile.fr/en/ . What a shame that I missed out on that (not!). He says the best thing was seeing over 130 Bugattis in th

Sorry readers for the silence. While we were in Ireland, my mother-in-law took ill back in Australia and we had to cut short our journey and head back early. She has recovered well since. We managed to spend a great night in Derry then a couple of castle stops in County Galway which were fantastic. We will just have to return! My Irish heritage beckons!