AUTO E MOTO D'EPOCA, PADOVA 2009

"Hi,

For a while now I have wanted to visit the Auto e Moto d'Epoca classic car show at Padova, and this year I decided to make the trip.

Living in the South West of England, my nearest airport is Bristol, and fortunately for me Ryanair fly direct from Bristol to Bergamo, which was ideal.

The flight arrived on time, and was greeted with an onboard fanfare ! Having passed through passport control, I waited by the baggage carousel for my suitcase to arrive. I waited and waited until I was the only passenger left in the baggage reclaim area - no fanfare here ! In fact as it turned out, I could have waited all night long, for it transpired that my suitcase, instead of joining me in Bergamo had decided on that day, that it would be a good idea to visit Budapest.
SHOULD HAVE FLOWN BY EASYJET !!

My nightmare got worse, for when I collected my hire car from Europcar, instead of the Lancia Ypsilon I had ordered, they handed me the keys to a Fiat Qubo, a monstrosity on four wheels in a vile bright metallic lime green.
SHOULD HAVE GONE TO HERTZ !!

On the Friday morning, I drove to the Fiera di Padova. There, whilst savouring my third cappuccino and brioche con la marmellata, I phoned Claudio Ivaldi of the Biturbo Club Italia for directions. He very kindly picked me up from the bar and drove me into the exhibitor's car park, handed me a complimentary ticket and we made our way to the Club stand situated in Padiglione 15. The club display consisted of three pristine examples, a superb low mileage 430, a 3200 GT and a stunning Ghibli GT.

The Ghibli GT on display was of particular interest as Claudio explained; it appears that the technicians at Maserati had decided that the rear of the Ghibli GT looked too bulky and commissioned Carrozzeria Campana to produce a boot lid with a slightly softer appearance. The result was a narrow belt line along the width of the boot lid, and it was fitted to this particular Ghibli. Production of the Ghibli ended shortly afterwards, and this car remains the sole example with this official modification.

Having phoned the airport several times without a reply, I decided to leave the show early, and make my way to a gentleman's outfitters in Salo to purchase a change of clothes. Having made my purchases, I again phoned the airport This time they answered, informing me that my suitcase had ended its grand tour of Europe, had arrived safely, and could be collected at the lost baggage dept.

Straght away, I made my way to Bergamo airport only to be told, in spite of showing my passport, that my air ticket complete with luggage stub was required. My pleas for some common sense to be shown having fallen on deaf ears, I left the airport suitcase-less and made my way back to Salo to retrieve my ticket. I then returned to the airport where I was finally reunited with my much travelled luggage. It was a very emotional moment I can tell you. Actually I was furious, not a good thing when suffering from hypertension. By the time I arrived back at the apartment, it was around 11:30pm.

The following morning I woke up too late to make it to the show in time to find a parking space close to the exhibition halls, so I decided not to go. That was my great regret, for it had been my intention to meet up with my many Italian friends, which had been the whole point of my trip. Sadly, it was not to be !

PERHAPS, I SHOULD HAVE STAYED AT HOME !! FORSE UN ALTRA VOLTA !!

Enrico."