There are some things in life you just not say no to.  There I was at work beavering away when I got an email from Rob asking what I’m doing the following Thursday.  Just a monthly meeting at the School project I’m doing as it happens.  And what was the offer?  Well his boyfriend Graeme works for a classic car magazine and Ferrari UK had given him an F430 Spider to drive from London to Milan for a Ferrari show there that had to be covered by the magazine.  Rob was able to get out of work for a few days to do this but he could not get out of two meetings on the Thursday.  So either Graeme was going to be in the Ferrari on his own through all of Switzerland or someone could fly in to take the passenger seat…  And that is where I came in.

Quick chat to my boss to get out of the Thursday meeting and take leave and next thing I booked my tickets to Basel and back from Geneva.  I flew in around lunchtime into Basel so I could explore a bit at least.  Graeme and Rob where at this point driving through France via the Autobahns in Germany to Basel and I was to meet them at their hotel that night.

Basel is a small city of which not much else can be said…  The old town is nice and there is a lovely cathedral but that is about it.

A beautiful building in the old town

Part of the cathedral

View from cathedral (Our hotel just right of the bridge on the water)

But I was not there to see Basel.  The next morning and day was what I was there for and we had these (ugly Fiat Punto) keys: 

And yes it REALLY is from a previous generation Fiat Punto

What a sound it makes!!!  Hotel staff came down to the basement car park and sat there to listen until we left.  Amazing.  Graeme lowered the roof in the car park and it was not raised the rest of the day!  It was about 9 degrees outside and cloudy and grey that morning but thankfully the sun came out later and we had an amazing afternoon.

My first view from the passenger seat: the buildings on the opposite side of the river 

Here are some of the car’s details.  Very utilitarian inside to be honest.  But still very nice.  A full leather dashboard with contrasting (and very pink to my eyes) stitching.  But again some cheap Fiat stalks and minor buttons!  Click on the albums at the bottom to look at the full size pictures.

At first we thought we’d try to just take back roads all the way to Interlaken but the sat nav kept taking us down so terrible industrial (and slow) back roads.  So we set it back to motorway and on joining the motorway the first thing we saw was a loooooonnnggg tunnel ahead!!!  Oh bliss!  I still get goose pimples thinking of the sound that car made.  It is a normal sound below 3000rpm or so and then something opens and it just starts to scream.  And gear down a few cogs with the steering wheel paddles and it really wails at you.  So intoxicating.  Listen to it on this video:

Click here to see the video (5MB) of the first tunnel.  Listen especially at the sound at the end of the tunnel.  (I will upload this later sorry)

What a drive!  Plenty of tunnels, lovely scenery on winding roads and we were not cold either.  Party due to the Ferrari’s heating system but also because we were dressed like this:

Scarves, hats, coats… 9 degrees? Pah!

Here’s a picture of me on the lake just outside Interlaken next to the beast:

Not sure why the personalised plate reads Electricite de France but there you go…

The rest of the day was spending winding up and down the most amazing mountain passes in Switzerland.  Tunnels, ravines, trees and even snow.  I only later learnt from George that the Furka pass through which we drove to reach Brig is closed about 10 months of the year due to snow!  Yet we drove over it in a Ferrari!  hehehe

2438m above sea level.

Late that evening Graeme dropped me off in Brig so I could take the fast train through Lausanne to Geneva where I was staying the night with George and Thierry.  That it was dark and I could see nothing out the train’s windows did not matter.  The day I had just spent in the Swiss sun was just amazing.  Absolute highlight ever for me in terms of cars.  Now where can i find an extra £168000 to buy this car (yip it had PLENTY of very expensive options over and above the £131000 list price).

Saying bye to Graeme (and the Ferrari) outside Brig station

My flight out of Geneva was only at 22:00.  So I had the whole day to spend there.  I’ve been so many times for the motor show in March that I don’t really want to see more.  I met George in the bohemian place in the harbour again for a splendid lunch and then, for the first time, went to the sauna and hammam next door.  Amazing!  Why I have never been before I just do not know.   

They convert part of the piers there into a winter sauna with a lovely hammam, showers, rest rooms and two saunas with different temperatures.  And your view out of the sauna is this:

Breathtaking

I met a few guys in there and we chatted and sat outside in the setting sun (even though it was still only about 9 degrees).  AND they convinced me to jump into the lake!!!  Naked as the day I was born I went from the steam room and jumped into the freezing water of Lake Geneva.  The tingling is just fantastic!  And all this in full view of all the passing boats.  How different the Europeans view nudity to the British…

Marcel, OJ and Simon on the deck outside the sauna rooms

I stayed here so late that the only way I could get to the airport on time was for Simon to take me to George and Thierry’s on his motorbike!  Hehehe.  That was fun in those temperatures I have to say! He took me half the way and then I walked to the main station and took this picture on the way of Geneva’s famous water fountain:

Geneva’s fountain

What a fantastic trip.  Thank you so much again Graeme and Rob!!!  It was AMAZING.  Thanks George for letting me stay over and to the other boys for dragging me into the water!  It all made it an amazing trip. 

Click here to see the first 60 photos I took and here to see the last 46 photos.