Tag Archives: Monza

Dreaming of Monza!

Posted on by
Reply

The first Formula 1 race I attended was the  Italian Grand Prix at Monza in 2007, and I was fortunate to attend again in 2009. It is a very special race. Every year when I am watching the practice sessions, qualifying and the race on television at home, I wonder why I did not make plans to attend.

It is quite a sight to see the tifosi, Italian fans supporting Scuderia Ferrari, in person. Their presence in Ferrari attire, walking around the track with Ferrari flags on poles or draped across their shoulders certainly adds to the event.

I wish I was in Italy right now so we could head to the track at Monza this weekend. It is sure to be a fantastic weekend.

Forza Ferrari!

This photo from 2007 shows the podium after the race, with the tifosi and other fans on the race track. Fernando Alonso, driving for McLaren, placed first, with his teammate Lewis Hamilton placing second. Ferrari driver Kimi Raikkonen placed third.

Monza full

The 2007 Formula 1 Italian Grand Prix podium with the tifosi in the foreground.

Zoom, Zoom and Vroom, Vroom for CARS on #FriFotos

Posted on by
Reply

The theme for #FriFotos a few weeks ago was cars. It was hard choosing which pictures to share from the myriad car shows and races I have attended, in addition to the photos of cars spotted while traveling around the world.

(The #FriFotos theme for tomorrow, February 20, 2015, is CHOCOLATE)

Every August, we head to the Monterey peninsula in northern California for a weekend full of car shows, auctions, viewing and races. We attend the annual Concorso Italiano celebration of Italian-made cars, watch the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, marvel at the cars up for auction at the many car auctions taking place throughout the weekend, and walk the greens at Pebble Beach for the highlight of the weekend, the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance.

No matter where you are that weekend, you’ll see exotic cars, vintage cars, and expensive cars driving the local roads or parked in Pebble Beach, Carmel, Monterey and all the neighboring towns.

Here’s one car that we happened to pass by while taking a bike ride on 17-Mile Drive in Pebble Beach – the Bugatti Veyron. It seemed to be a professional shoot for this Hermes edition of the car, but as you can see, everyone stopped to take some photos of their own.

CARS Veyron alone

The Bugatti Veyron was posed for a professional photo shoot.

 

CARS Veyron interior

Beautiful interior of the Bugatti Veyron Hermes edition.

CARS Veyron cameras

The paparazzi were out in full force to photograph the Bugatti Veyron.

For more views from the professional shoot, click here.

A few years ago, we traveled to France in June in order to watch the 24 Hours of Le Mans (24 Heures du Mans), the most-famous and most-respected endurance car race in the world.

A few days before the race, there is a driver’s parade through the streets of Le Mans. The drivers for each race car (three drivers share driving duties during the 24 hours of the race) sit on the back of an open-air vehicle to parade through the town for the gathered crowd of car racing fans.

We were lucky to see Audi Team Joest drivers Tom Kristensen (aka “Mr. Le Mans”), Rinaldo Capello and Allan McNish in the driver’s parade. During the race, I managed to capture one picture of McNish driving – the cars are so fast, it’s hard to capture them without blurring the photo!

CARS Mr

Audi drivers Tom Kristensen, Rinaldo Capello and Allan McNish in the driver’s parade for Le Mans, 2010.

CARS Audi LeMans

Allan McNish driving the Audie Team Joest car at Le Mans, 2010.

In 2007, we traveled to Italy for a group trip to Lake Como. Luckily, the weekend before the trip began was the Formula 1 Grand Prix of Italy at Monza.

I think this Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG is beautiful, and during the race, it is the slowest car on the track as it serves as the official safety car.

F1 Safety Car at Monza.

F1 Safety Car at Monza.

As you might imagine, the Italian GP is the home race for Ferrari, and Ferrari fans, the tifosi, are always in attendance.

When I traveled to Cuba in 2011, it was fascinating to see the many 1950’s era cars driving around on the roads. It made it seem like I was in a time warp to another era.

The lavender shade of this car was perfect for the hot sunny days.

The lavender shade of this car was perfect for the hot sunny days.

CARS Havanna

Cars in Havanna – not all of them were old.

About #FriFotos on Twitter

Here’s a quick guide of the rules by Jeffrey Epstein.

#FriFotos was started on 15 October 2010 by Jonathan Epstein (@EpsteinTravels). Jonathan is the President and Owner of Celebrated Experiences, a company focusing on travel to the UK and Ireland. He is passionate about photography, his favorite hobby. Each week Jonathan cohosts #FriFotos with Stephanie Diehl (@TravelDesigned), Charles Yap (@CharlesYap), and two guest co-hosts that change each week. Jeffrey Epstein (@jeffreyinmotion), CEO of HBIM was a key advisor in the creation of #FriFotos and continues to assist in the Forum’s growth and success.

An Adrenaline Filled #FriFotos

Posted on by
Reply

Last week’s #FriFotos theme was adrenaline (July 25, 2014). At first, I thought, I don’t have anything to share because I don’t sky dive, mountain climb or ski (or ski that often). Then my memory turned to one of my favorite trips, to South Africa, and to a safari I took during that trip.

Riding in the bush looking for animals was at times monotonous, but then we’d see a beautiful bird or a delicate spider web and be in awe. All of that riding around paid off though, when we encountered large animals.

We briefly crossed into Botswana while we were stationed at the Royal Livingstone Hotel in Zambia, and took a boat ride down the Chobe River and loaded into safari vehicles to see elephants in Chobe National Park. We saw lots of elephants milling about, many bathing themselves in water.

Our group got a real adrenaline rush when we were watching a baby elephant. The momma noticed us, and thought we were a bit too close for comfort. As she approached our vehicle in a not so friendly manner, it was scary.

Momma elephant guarding her baby from our vehicle in Chobe National Park, Botswana.

Momma elephant guarding her baby from our vehicle in Chobe National Park, Botswana.

Later during our trip, we stayed at Shishangeni Lodge just outside of Kruger National Park in South Africa.

Although this crocodile was heading away from us, it was still pretty scary to be that close.

Crocodile - even when they're heading the other way, you get a bit of adrenaline!

Crocodile – even when they’re heading the other way, you get a bit of adrenaline!

On one of our first drives during our stay, we were lucky enough to encounter some lions. They were just waking as it was early morning, but seeing them watch us was still nerve-wracking!

Lions waking up but sitll watching us as we stopped to watch them.

Lions waking up but watching us as we stopped to watch them.

After our morning safari drives, we returned to the lodge for breakfast and leisure time. There were safari guides that offered to take us on bush walks. They seemed to think it was a perfectly normal thing to do, so I decided to go along. But, when you have guides with rifles and large bullets, you quickly realize walking alone in the bush can be dangerous.

Here our bush walk guides survey the landscape.

Here our bush walk guides survey the landscape.

At one point, there was a rhino very near us, and they could tell that he could smell our group. It was frightening hearing this very large animal sniffing and breathing so close to us. They quickly gathered our group, and told us if we were being charged to stand behind a tree, because the rhino wouldn’t be able to turn that quickly and get to us.

During an afternoon game drive, we happened upon this momma rhinoceros and her baby. While they didn’t seem to notice us, or at least care much that we were snapping lots of pictures of them, it was still a rush to see them up close.

Momma and baby rhino.

Momma and baby rhino.

I thought of other times I’ve had adrenaline rushes, and one of them was of a very different sort. Dave and I have been to the Italian Formula 1 Grand Prix in Monza, Italy, twice. Both were very memorable and exciting – our first trip there in 2007 was the first time I had been to a Formula 1 race, and it was amazing to see how fast the cars zoomed around the track.

For our second visit, we went early for a fan day, where holders of three day tickets can visit the track on Thursday for a pit walk. Being a Ferrari fan, I made my way down to the Ferrari pits, and wiggled my way up to the front – and was able to get 2007 F1 World Champion Kimi Raikkonen’s autograph before snapping a few pictures of him. Quite an adrenaline rush to be so close to the Ice Man!

Ferrari driver Kimi Raikkonen signs autographs at Monza, 2009.

Ferrari driver Kimi Raikkonen signs autographs at Monza, 2009.

Ferrari driver Giancarlo Fisichella races around the Monza track.

Ferrari driver Giancarlo Fisichella races around the Monza track.

It was fun remembering both my trip to South Africa and to the F1 race in Monza with an “adrenaline” perspective.

I’m looking forward to this week’s #FriFotos – the theme is HEAT.

About #FriFotos

Here’s a quick guide of the rules by Jeffrey Epstein.

#FriFotos was started on 15 October 2010 by Jonathan Epstein (@EpsteinTravels). Jonathan is the President and Owner of Celebrated Experiences, a company focusing on travel to the UK and Ireland. He is passionate about photography, his favorite hobby. Each week Jonathan cohosts #FriFotos with Stephanie Diehl (@TravelDesigned), Charles Yap (@CharlesYap), and two guest co-hosts that change each week. Jeffrey Epstein (@jeffreyinmotion), CEO of HBIM was a key advisor in the creation of #FriFotos and continues to assist in the Forum’s growth and success.