Made it to Italy

[GP801]

Looking excellent.

The clear side repeaters work well with the silver bodywork.

Is it a true sportline? I take my clue from the gear lever.

Thank you. No it only has a sportline gear lever. Another e-bay find. It was new and unused.

 

[Niks]

Beautiful car! What sort of mpg figures were you getting on the way down from UK?

 

[GP801]

Probably around 33-34 at an indicated 120-125km/hr most of the way.

Thinking about it quite a number of items on this car came from e-bay.
Sportline gear lever
Genuine MB mudflaps
Autodimming rear view mirror
AMG Alloys
Becker Cascade - although this is now quite old and was used in a previous 124.

The white side repeaters are from the main dealer. About £40 the pair including bulbs.

If any of you eagle eyed people are wondering what the small boxes are just visible under the tinted band on the windscreen they are the french and italian motorway tags.
As I nearly always do the drive solo it makes a huge difference not having to get out to pay the tolls all the time.

 

[mika]

great car great thread

 

[GP801]

Some views of the local countryside. Its very varied from rolling hills and valleys to dense woodland.

 

[GP801]

The view from our terrace and how to park in Firenze

 

[GP801]

Some lesser known sights in Italy.
The weir allegedly used in the original italian job. Some may realise that in the film they were actually driving back into the city in this sequence.

The Devils bridge in northern Tuscany on the way to Barga

The Duomo in Orvieto - absolutely stunning

 

[GP801]

One last picture. An immaculate old Lancia Aurelia parked on the street in Bologna. Most cars here are covered in bumps and scrapes so this really is exceptional.

 

[GP801]

The problem with Italy ( if it really can be called a problem ) is that virtually wherever you go there is something interesting to see. Even the tiniest villages hold hidden gems. I have loads more pictures but propose to call it a day now before people get totally bored with it.
Thanks for looking
Nigel

 

[DITTRICH]

How do you cope with the ztl zones? (Firenze) Just curious - Les

 

[Deleted member 65149]

Not in the slightest bit bored - only jealous!

Unfortunately we won't have time this year, but I'm already thinking about driving down to Northern Italy in June 2013. I want the drive to be a major part of the holiday, especially in the Alps. Any route recommendations?

 

[GP801]

How do you cope with the ztl zones? (Firenze) Just curious - Les

They are a pain. For Firenze I usually take the train. Its about an hour from near us and costs 9 Euros return. Less than parking for a day. its quite easy to park under Santa Maria Novella station without straying into a ZTL.

If you are staying in a hotel within the ZTL they will give you a card for the dashboard and inform the police. For example in Bologna where our daughter is at university this costs 9 euros per day including parking. Other cities are different.

The car is uk registered so they are unlikely to catch up with it but in general I play by the rules. I have inadvertently strayed into them but never heard a thing so far.

 

[GP801]

Not in the slightest bit bored - only jealous!

Unfortunately we won't have time this year, but I'm already thinking about driving down to Northern Italy in June 2013. I want the drive to be a major part of the holiday, especially in the Alps. Any route recommendations?

Sorry but I am not much help here. I drive down in March and back up in December. Fly back and to from Pisa and a friend in the village picks us up.

This means the interesting roads are all closed.

Virtually all sat navs send you via the Mont Blanc tunnel. Ignore it and use the Frejus. Much quieter. Last year the french traffic news gave 3 hour delays at the Mont Blanc. Got to the Frejus and mine was the only vehicle at the toll booth!

I tend to do the drive solo so am not terribly interested in detours/sightseeing. Would be great to have more time.

 

[GP801]

Back in Italy for a few days so thought I might resurrect this thread. Today been cycling hoping to find some interesting cars to photograph. Did see some but this being Italy they were moving too quickly to photograph. Instead some pictures of the countryside.

Firstly the view across the valley to Chianni. This was my intended destination but given that its 33C here and the road is steep I decided to give it a miss. Instead went to Morona in the second picture.

 

[GP801]

Its a bit early for the sunflowers but there were some along the way. The field in the foreground of the second picture will be full of sunflowers in a couple of weeks.
Pleased to find the 124 started first turn of the key after standing unused for 8 weeks. Its always a worry but so far it has has always started with no problems.
Will try to find the cars in the next couple of days. There are several 124s and 123s around here but they all seem to be in hibernation this week. Also the 210s don't rust here. Lots of immaculate ones around. If you don't mind LHD might be good place to get one - not sure about the prices though.

 

[st4]

I'm jealous

 

[ShinyF1]

How do you cope with the ztl zones? (Firenze) Just curious - Les

I keep getting tickets from Firenze for encroaching on the zones [well my brother does who uses my address]. It seems every time he goes to Firenze he gets nabbed. Nothing seems to come of them though..

 

[GP801]

Is his car UK registered? I have strayed into one in Firenze and never heard a thing. Mind you it was when there were major road works around SMN station so maybe they were being lenient. Don't think they are likely to follow it up if its a UK car.

 

[GP801]

I'm jealous

Its still a great place to be if you are northern european and working. Prices have gone up ,especially all forms of fuel but the pound has strengthened a bit making it less noticeable. Still less costly than the uk. The italians don't have it so good. A totally unrepresentative same among our friends revealed the following:
1. Family run B+B with no guests on a glorious June weekend. They don't remember it being so quiet.
2. Property agent who has not sold a single property this year. Managed to rent a few to keep things going. His wife works for Piaggio and takes compulsory unpaid "holiday" every friday. They sing in bars to make ends meet.
3.Very despondent architect/project manager.

Common feature being they all see no future for the youngsters and all blame the Germans for making them pay tax as they should. The fact that if they had paid their taxes in the past then they would not be in such a mess does not occur to them. This is in a affluent area of the country. Not quite Greece yet but who knows.

 

[st13phil]

...and all blame the Germans for making them pay tax as they should. The fact that if they had paid their taxes in the past then they would not be in such a mess does not occur to them.

If they blamed the Germans for having an undervalued currency and for causing them to have an overvalued currency, I'd have some sympathy.