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-   -   Our trip to Europe and the Belgian GP (https://www.seccs.org/forums/showthread.php?t=6244)

MattR 2007-09-21 06:27 PM

Our trip to Europe and the Belgian GP
 
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Well, as you all know, Carrie and I got married on Sept 8th, and left promptly Sunday Sept 9th for our honeymoon in Europe which included a stint in Belgium to see the F1 GP. I will post pics gradually, I figured I'd get some track pics up first, since I know that's all most care about. Truthfully, I could not get a decent pic of an F1 car on track, because from our seats in the Eau Rouge Corner, they were carrying too much speed for my camera.

Short story, I've been an F1 fan since I was about 9 years old, that's when I started my love of racing and since that time I've always wanted to visit the Spa circuit. When Carrie and I decided to go to an F1 race as part of our honeymoon, the choice was simple. Off To europe we go and I finally get my chance to explore the Ardennes Forest!!!!

We Left Reno at 6 AM Sunday the 9th, flew to LAX where we grabbed a flight on a KLM Airlines Boeing 777 ( a plane I have yet had a chance to ride on) We had a nice flight to Amsterdam, where we then connected to a flight to Milan Italy. In Milan we hopped a train and headed for Florence Italy where we would spend our first few nights. After a along day of travel and two hours of sleep the night of our wedding, we crashed. We spent a few days in Florence, Lucca and Pisa, Italy, before flying to Brussels, BE to begin our trek to the race. Friday morning of GP weekend, we hopped a train to Liege, BE where I rented a sweet car and drove to Spa. We managed to find a nice Bed and Breakfast to stay in Spa, which was a 5 minute drive from the circuit, definately a good move. We rolled into the track in time for Practice 2 Friday afternoon and found our seats at Eau Rouge.

SPA SPA SPA SPA SPA SPA

The circuit is more stunning than I could have imagined. The variation in elevation is 10x's what it appears to be on TV. Check out some of the pictures. Anyway, we would get to the track before 8 am on Saturday and GP sunday to ensure we could park within 2 miles on the track :lol: so we were able to see all the Mini Copper Challenge races, GP2 races/ qualifying and all Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup series events. So there always seemed to be some action on track. In the down time, I wanted to find some of the old circuit, not far from where we sat, I found a bit of road that was once the diversion around Eau Rouge. And there are clues from the tracks past all over the place.

Anyway, the races were great, and we had a fantastic time. Monday after GP weekend, we went to the Spa Circuit Museum in Stavelot. What an amazing experience that was. I'll put some of those pics up too. We finished up our trip with some time in Amsterdam and then headed home. I'm tired but glad I made the trip.

MattR 2007-09-21 06:32 PM

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MattR 2007-09-21 06:40 PM

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MattR 2007-09-21 06:46 PM

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cody 2007-09-21 06:46 PM

Why do I suddenly crave BE waffles? :?:

Congrats...looks like fun. :)

MattR 2007-09-21 06:48 PM

Dude, Belgians live solely on Waffles, Frites and Awesome beer. I didn't mind.

JC 2007-09-21 07:04 PM

Damn those waffles look good. You bring any back? Awesome Honeymoon and congrats man.

tysonK 2007-09-21 07:33 PM

omg. Great stuff!

sti deede 2007-09-21 09:36 PM

congratulations. That looked super fun.

Libila 2007-09-22 05:02 AM

I bet you guys had a great time. Congrats again.

sperry 2007-09-22 10:55 AM

Let's see how well this goes over: http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=131478

:lol:

Back on topic... great pictures Matt! I love the empty seats at Eau Rouge... gives me chills. :cool:

MPREZIV 2007-09-22 12:29 PM

ME=insanely jealous! That looks like an awesome time! I'm glad you guys enjoyed yourselves! You deserve it!

Nick Koan 2007-09-23 03:18 PM

Hoegaarden is an awesome beer. And a great name to boot.


By the way, I am so insanely jealous of your trip. One day I hope to see an F1 race at Spa.

ShawnS 2007-09-23 05:21 PM

Please post as many Milan/Florence pics as you can. I have always loved those cities.

Also, any better pics of that girl's sweater waffles.:D

MattR 2007-09-23 05:40 PM

OMG Scott, you are going to get me divorced if this thing spreads!!! hahaha I can;t believe you made a thread out of it...very funny. Shawn, I'll post some pics up this week.

MattR 2007-09-23 05:42 PM

Scott, actually, the empty seat picture is before Eau Rouge, on the straight.

Also, no one liked my Bernie pic? hahaha...I took a lot of risk doing that!

ScottyS 2007-09-23 06:05 PM

"1980 called and wants its sweater back"

??? :lol: :lol: :lol:

Seriously Matt, that looks like it was awesome!

doubleurx 2007-09-24 11:11 AM

Looks like a blast. I want to go to the hoegartten!

doubleurx 2007-09-24 11:13 AM

Man that Nasioc thread is hilarious.

Joeyy 2007-09-24 05:47 PM

Any luck finding somebody in town to import your new favorite beer? Think I'd like to give it a try but not with a waffle.

MattR 2007-09-24 07:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Joeyy (Post 106356)
Any luck finding somebody in town to import your new favorite beer? Think I'd like to give it a try but not with a waffle.

No, I haven't looked yet, but if I find it I'l buy several

van 2007-09-24 08:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MattR (Post 106364)
No, I haven't looked yet, but if I find it I'l buy several

I've bought it here before but I don't recall where? Maybe Raley's?

AtomicLabMonkey 2007-09-25 07:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sperry (Post 106237)
Let's see how well this goes over: http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/show....php?t=1351478

:lol:

My apologies to the Belgian people, but blonde Oktoberfest girl is way hotter. :cool:

SlickNick112 2007-09-25 09:49 AM

Congrats again Matt. Can't wait to see more pictures. Nice choice on the honeymoon.

MattR 2007-09-25 10:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AtomicLabMonkey (Post 106380)
My apologies to the Belgian people, but blonde Oktoberfest girl is way hotter. :cool:

I totally agree


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