This trip was broken into two main parts. The first part was staying in Milan, while going to the F1 Italian Grand Prix in Monza. I got the bus down from the airport that Aer Lingus flew into, then I got stitched up by those hoods outside Milan Cathedral – kind of put a dampener on things, but I just didnt have my “city smarts” in gear, sods law I suppose, anyone out there reading this, this applies to any big city: anyways be on your guard.
I then legged it up to where I was staying, some little hotel, of sorts, not far from the central station. The peoplw who owned it didnt speak much English, but then again I didnt speak much Italian, but they were pleasant and brught me breakfast every morning.
Milan as a city, I just don’t know, I wouldn’t say I dislike it, as there were many things to like about it, like good food and plenty of places to see, such as the San Siro football ground, but I just couldnt warm to it, and it seemed like a pain in the arse to find bars/pubs for something to drink, its was almost as if you had to get a taxi or use the underground to find anywhere decent.
As for Monza, the race weekend was good, ended up collecting my tickets at the track, but I ended up having to travel a couple of miles, as I had travelled to the wrong pick up point, which burnt the feet off of me. The weather was good though, no rain, and pretty warm too. As far as a venue for racing goes, it is hard to fault, as it had so much history, and character, I cn now say that I’ve stood on the historic Monza banking!
The trains (and buses on the Friday) were jam packed, super, super busy.
The one thing I did miss a little, comparted to the time I travelled to the Belgium GP in 07, was the noise, or lack of. I’m not saying it Ferrari sounded the best, pity then that the single seater support classes were in some ways louder, and the 911 Porsche supercup cars sounded better. I’ve always felt that the sound is one of the great attractions of motorsport, whether its on 2, 3 or 4 wheels, it just gives the whole experience an injection of excitement, that something such as, Formula E, just doesnt have.
Ocverall, I’m still thankful that I was able to go there, as many people out there would love to go to any race, or do some kind of travelling, and for that, I’m grateful for all the opportunities I’ve had.
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