It's All About the Italian Cars

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Now for the very serious business of the cars. There are 2 Ferrari museums; one in Modena and one in Maranello. I’d gotten tickets to the Maranello museum so that we could try to get into the factory as we can get in free as Ferrari owners.

We hopped in a cab and got to Maranello; we had the driver leave us off at the factory. Dale was so impressed as there is a driveway that is in many photos and there he was, walking on the driveway. We asked about going into the factory and were told we had to ask at the museum so we walked there.

As it turns out, we could not take the boys into the factory as there is an age limit of 16. We were disappointed but at least we tried.

The museum in Maranello features the later cars mostly. But they are all so beautiful. And Dale loved looking at the motors displayed, although, he was disappointed by the fact that they were not put together as well as those in the actual cars.

After a lunch in the café, we wanted to go back to Modena, but it was just easier to give the cab driver the name of the Ferrari Museum. I thought we’d try to find the balsamic vinegar store and could find it from the museum. When we got to the Ferrari Museum, we thought, well why not see this one too.

The Ferrari Museum in Modena wasn’t as crowded as the one in Maranello, and didn’t have the people strutting around, trying to impress everyone with what they know and who they know, while wearing Ferrari gear.

In Maranello, the boys had wanted to drive a simulator, but the people running the photos and simulators were too busy to take any time to really help. In Modena, the woman running the simulators said “lets see if the boys can drive the simulators” brought some cushions to assist them and helped when they got stuck behind a fence. They were so funny to watch, driving across fields and landscaping, making U-turns on the track. But they did well for 10-year-olds.

The cars at the Ferrari Museum in Modena are older, for the most part. Some are from our car’s era, including a couple similar in shape to ours. A wonderful film was shown that included music from some operas. One included music from Pavarotti, music that we have enjoyed hearing at night at home. When we were visiting the Pavarotti house, a couple of years ago, we saw a photo of Enzo and Pavarotti so the whole presentation came together.

After walking back to our apartment, we found some dinner and ended the evening with nice wine.

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