# Trip Report Munich-Castles-St. Moritz-Milan-Florence-Lucca-Monaco-Nice



## 640GC (Mar 22, 2012)

*Day 1: Arrive Munich around 3:00pm*

Checked into the Le Meridien, Munich and had dinner at Augustiner-Keller. Hotel great location, restaurant good beer and food.

*Munich Airport Arrival/Train Transfer:* Advice: Grab the free cart in baggage claim. You can take this all the way to the train boarding area. I couldn't figure out which ticket to purchase at the machine but a visit with a ticket agent fixed that. We purchased the combo group ticket _(2-people)_ to include the trip from the airport to Munich with access to the U-bahn and S-bahn for the rest of the day. 20 euros for two.

Got on the train labeled S8 Herrsching _(or you can take the S1)_. Rode along in the country for a while and wonder if we were going in the wrong direction, _(your not)_. 30-40 minutes to Marienplatz station.

*Station/Hotel Arrival Tip:* We looked for the Starbucks exit. We lost our way as we stayed on the same underground level as the S8 train and went up some steps which lead outside. Unfortunately, this was on the wrong side of the building. The correct method is to get to ground level in the main train station. You will see a lot of shops with all of the trains departing the station, lined up on the other side. The Starbucks is in this main area, past all of the trains. _(I couldn't tell you how to get from the underground level to the main ground floor level in the station as we got lost.)_









The train station, ground level. From this view, the Starbucks would be on the left side of the photo.
The trains should be to your right when walking and the Starbucks and exit to the Le Meridien will be straight ahead.









You can see the Starbucks on the right. Out the window on top, the Le Meridien is the building on the right.









Breakfast at the Le Meridien Munich. Quite a nice spread! Staff was nice and bed was comfortable.

*Dinner Tip: (Augustiner-Keller) *Order the sausage variety plate if you like sausages. It was very good. If you like spicy, order the spicy sausage plate, this was also very good. If you want your complete fix of sausages, order the sausage plate with a side of spicy sausages. The pork knuckle was a little dry this night, don't know if this is typically the case. The beer was good and the company was good. Many pet owners here with their dogs. Would come back here to drink and eat again.









Augustiner-Keller Menu









Outdoor seating, if you go in the winter, they also have a large indoor beer hall. The outdoor seating is huge.









Enjoying a beer before dinner.









Their pretzel is crazy big. Warm and soft in the middle.

When you arrive, flag down a waiter/waitress as we stood around for a while trying to figure out what to do and how to get a table. There are multiple outdoor seating areas with tables divided into dinner service or self service. We opted for full service and asked a waiter where we could sit, he thought for a moment and then gave us a previously reserved table.

It started to sprinkle and we got an umbrella with the help of a german fellow and then we invited the five of them to sit at our table under the umbrella. Nice to visit with people from Munich while enjoying our Munich beer and food.

Tomorrow we head over to the Welt for the factory tour and museum tour. We'll pick up the car the following day. Will post more later along with pictures.

After last weeks reports of rain the entire week, it was nice and sunny today. Supposed to rain tomorrow, which I am told is the norm.


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## 640GC (Mar 22, 2012)

*Day 2: BMW Welt*

It was cold and rainy all day but it didn't matter as this was our day to visit the Welt. Took the subway to the Olympiazentrum _(Olympic Park)_ exit which drops you right at the Welt.









Looking at the Welt from the U-Bahn Olympiazentrum Subway exit. Literally right next to each other.









Walking over to the Welt. The entrance is on the right side.









Inside the Welt, looking over the display area from the balcony. They were getting ready to add their Hydrogen car
on the left, it just completed a world tour. A Mini Cooper display was going in on the right.
There were some false walls up to hide the construction.









Ground floor at the Welt. All of the latest BMW models are on display including the 2013 640i Gran Coupe in Frozen Bronze with the Opal White/Amaro Brown interior.









The Opal White/Amaro Brown interior up close. On the right, you can see the glass for the head up display.









The interior of the Rolls Royce. BMW own's them too and has two of them on display at the Welt. A little stuffy for my taste but super opulent for sure. Wouldn't be able to get the teenagers out of the back of the car.

We checked in upstairs and did all of our paperwork to get it out of the way for delivery the next day. Had several lattes in the lounge which helped with the jet lag.









BMW Delivery Lounge

We went on the 11:30am English Factory Tour, which was very enjoyable and worth the two hours. Not allowed to take photos inside the factory. Our favorite parts of the tour were the paint shop and the robotic welders. We went back to the Premium lounge for a snack and met several other festers, Desert Pilot and Logan Radio who are currently on their ED.









Looking back at the Welt through a Window at the factory during the factory tour.

We toured the museum next, looked at all of the new vehicles in the Welt and then went to the gift shop.









Walking over to the museum from the Welt. You take an overhead bridge. The BMW World Headquarters building on the left, the museum on the right.









In the museum, BMW models by year. Each placard represents one vehicle model and the year it was manufactured.









Inside the museum, so many choices, which direction to go in?









A BMW 328, one of many many cars and motorcycles on display. Those are real leather straps holding down the hood!









A BMW employee showing us the engine.









A more modern M series engine. Oh yea!









A V12 engine. Look at those horses!









At the top of the museum. The new 2013 640i Gran Coupe in Frozen Bronze.









Looking down from the top of the museum. Futuristic BMW models.

Believe it or not, we ended up spending the entire day at the Welt!


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## 640GC (Mar 22, 2012)

*Day 3: THE BIG DAY!*

We took the Hop On/Hop Off Greyline bus to the Welt this morning. It was great as we got on at 9:00 am and arrived at the Welt at 10:45 am. The bus has a tour guide and we drove by many interesting sites and the guide explained the history of what we were seeing at each of the stops.

If you don't have a lot of time in Munich, this kills two birds with one stone, transportation to the Welt and a guided tour along the way. If you have an extra day, you can go back and visit the places you found interesting. We didn't have time as we were leaving out as soon as we picked up the car.









Our first look!

Guido, our delivery specialist met us around 10:50 am and we descended the stairs for the big moment. Our baby was at the bottom of the stairs and she was a beaut.









Delivery Area.

We spent quite a while with the Guido, mostly asking questions about the Infotainment system.









Backup, side & top view camera instruction.









Seat operation.









iDrive.

My wife took her victory lap and then we parked out front to get our engraved keychain and purchase some items.

_*Hint:* If they don't tell you, the orange dot they place on your plastic BMW card is what alerts the gift shop to give you the free keychain and engraving along with the 10 euro credit. So you can do this before your delivery, once you have the card. You receive the card after completing the paperwork. We did our paperwork the day before which I highly recommend._









Parking outside the Welt

Our travel agent friend, and several people we met in Munich all told us to go to Tegernsee. After the third person, we decided to take a detour and drive through the Tegernsee Lake area on the way to the Castles. It was worth the drive as the lake is surrounded by mountains on three sides. Next ED, we'll spend a night or two here.









Tegernsee Lake and the boat landing.

We didn't eat here but another fester, Gluhwein recommends eating at the cafe below in Rottach-Egern on the Tegernsee. This is right across the street from the boat landing and the Schloss-Cafe. Have lunch here and then eat dinner at the Hotel Muller in Höhenschwangau per recommendation by another fester, dkreidel.









The recommended restaurant. Gluhwein mentioned that in February, there were German dinners eating outside in the snow!









Rottach-Egern, one of the villages on the Tegernsee.









View across the lake in the Tegernsee.

From here, we proceeded to the twisties near the Walchensee, another large lake on the way to the castles.









A town near the Walchensee on the way to the Castles.









View from inside the car, on the way to the Castles.

Our original dinner plan _(loose plan, based on it was around dinner time) _was to eat at LUCE D'ORO, the one star *Michelin Restaurant in the Schloss Elmau hotel. Looking at their website now, it says guests who are not staying with them need to have advance reservations.









The hotel driving up from the road.

However, on this particular weekend, the place was over-run with Audi's and the very cordial staff mentioned that this weekend, the entire hotel and all restaurants were booked for a corporate event. Nothing like crashing an Audi party in our brand new BMW 640i Gran Coupe! It was pretty fun in itself as the guests standing outside of the hotel front door were all giving us the stare down as in how dare you be here in your BMW!









We drove up and the circular driveway had all of these Audi's parked around.
Wish I had taken a photo of all of the Audi's but we were tired and hungry.

The staff were super nice and next ED, we'll try and stay here for a night or two.

We stopped off in Bad Tölz for Dinner per recommendation from the Schloss Elmau hotel and ended up arriving in Höhenschwangau around 10:00 pm. It is a little tourist village between the castles where the ticketing center is located. It was peaceful and quiet. Next time we'll eat at the Hotel Muller next door per fester, dkreidel.









Höhenschwangau village, so quiet at night. Not really a real village per say, more like staying in Epcot.









Höhenschwangau castle at night.









Early morning view from our window, the Neuschwanstein castle in the distance. Still and quite before the hoards arrive.
That's hotel Muller in the foreground, the recommended dinner spot.









Early morning view from our other window, the Höhenschwangau castle right above us.









Villa Jägerhaus, our stop for the night with Höhenschwangau above.









You can see Villa Jägerhaus, middle left in the photo. Perfect location.

As the morning turned into day, the village of Höhenschwangau became overrun with tour buses and tourists. So many Japanese tourists that the large store at the end of the road employ mostly Japanese staff members. The whole village was crazy busy and I'm glad we arrived the night before to enjoy the quiet.

The Neuschwanstein castle tour was fantastic, I could see how Disney reproduced the very front of the castle entrance for Disneyland.









This is the side that Disney used for the front of his castle.









Entry doors into the castle. Looks very similar to Disney.









Interior courtyard holding area before tour. This would be the back side of the Disneyland/Disneyworld castle.
This part of Neuschwanstein castle is the entire Disney castle.









Interior courtyard between tours, wish the rest of the castle areas were as quiet as this!









One of the castle hallways, no photos allowed once the tour started. The attention to detail in the castle was amazing.
The guide said only 1/3rd of the castle is completed.

_*Hint: *We missed the Hohenschwangau castle visit because we took the horse drawn carriage for transportation. The carriage and buses are for Neuschwanstein castle only. You walk up to Hohenschwangau castle. If you can't walk up hill for long distances, take the bus up. When you get off the bus, walk to the bridge to view the castle from a distance, then proceed downhill to the castle. To avoid the uphill walk when going back down to the village, take the horse drawn carriage instead. This way, most of your walking is downhill._









The view of the castle from the bridge. If you ride the bus, you can stop off on the bridge and take a photo of the castle.









The view of the bridge from the castle. The guide leaves you at the end of the tour, I took this photo from the castle kitchen.

*Here are the obligatory BMW ED castle photos!*









Castle Photo Front









Castle Photo Side









Castle Photo Down Low









The OP with great memories!

*Castle Photo tips:* If you want the perfect shot, take multiple pictures, positioning the car at different angles. We drove a little past the tree. To obscure the barn behind us, I took some low shots. The best light is late afternoon as someone else mentioned here on the fest. It was early afternoon for our photos so the light was a little more difficult.

Take shots with yourself in the photo and some without. Take different angles and elevations. The car's not coming back so take every possible shot you think you might ever want. Of course, this will possible annoy the other half as to why we have this obsession with getting the perfect castle photo! I probably took 100+ shots and wish I had more.









Looking down from the castle, you can see the picture taking road, bottom center of photo. You come into the photo from the left and then hang a right onto the road.
We drove past the tree on the right but before the barns on the left.


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## mdsbuc (Mar 17, 2005)

Nice report! One of my fondest memories (or not) of our ED trip in '05 was trying to figure out the damned ticket machine for the trains at the Munich Airport. We never did find a ticket agent. Sounds like you're having a great trip, and have picked up a beautiful car. Congrats, and look forward to seeing some photos! :thumbup:

.


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## M FUNF (Apr 2, 2008)

If you are heading to St. Moritz be sure to check hotel availability, I know the Badrutt Palace closes sometime around the 15th of Sept.


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## Popoemt (Aug 9, 2012)

Can't wait for pics!


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## stn (May 24, 2012)

Popoemt said:


> Can't wait for pics!


+1 :thumbup:


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## 640GC (Mar 22, 2012)

Added photos to Day 3: DELIVERY DAY

Working on adding photos to day 1 & 2 plus adding trip report for day's 4 - 9. Was trying to post every day but once we got the car, I became a blithering idiot and only wanted to play with our new toy.


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## Popoemt (Aug 9, 2012)

Very cool, enjoying them!


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## 640GC (Mar 22, 2012)

mdsbuc said:


> Nice report! One of my fondest memories (or not) of our ED trip in '05 was trying to figure out the damned ticket machine for the trains at the Munich Airport. We never did find a ticket agent. Sounds like you're having a great trip, and have picked up a beautiful car. Congrats, and look forward to seeing some photos! :thumbup:
> 
> .


We were lucky that there was an agent there. After having taken copious notes about what buttons to press and what words to look for, when it was all said and done, I couldn't figure out the machine. :yikes:

I've added photos to day 3. Once we took delivery, I didn't crack the computer open until we got back stateside!


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## dkreidel (Aug 24, 2005)

Great trip report; thank you. *Your GC is simply beautiful.* You are to be commended for superb taste in matching the Amaro to the Carbon Black with the wood. I've had two CB M5's and Im sure there will be another in the future; it is THE BEST COLOR for the larger BMW coupes and sedans.

Glad you enjoyed Jägerhaus; it's really a great spot to stay in Höhenschwangau/Fussen if you're going to tour the castles...but dine at Muller :thumbup:

Dick


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## 640GC (Mar 22, 2012)

dkreidel said:


> Great trip report; thank you. *Your GC is simply beautiful.* You are to be commended for superb taste in matching the Amaro to the Carbon Black with the wood. I've had two CB M5's and Im sure there will be another in the future; it is THE BEST COLOR for the larger BMW coupes and sedans.
> 
> Glad you enjoyed Jägerhaus; it's really a great spot to stay in Höhenschwangau/Fussen if you're going to tour the castles...but dine at Muller :thumbup:
> 
> Dick


Thanks for the comments! We'll try Muller next time. The wife gets the credit for the color selections. I love how CB is both black and dark blue. Jägerhaus was a nice stop over.

PS: I'm borrowing your Höhenschwangau and Jägerhaus to update my post!


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## Gluhwein (Aug 21, 2011)

Why am I not seeing any pictures?


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## 640GC (Mar 22, 2012)

Gluhwein said:


> Why am I not seeing any pictures?


Oops, it's the jet lag. Was messing with the server the pictures are loaded on. My bad. They are back.


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## 640GC (Mar 22, 2012)

Added new Museum and Welt Photos to *Day 2: BMW Welt*


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## 640GC (Mar 22, 2012)

M FUNF said:


> If you are heading to St. Moritz be sure to check hotel availability, I know the Badrutt Palace closes sometime around the 15th of Sept.


We just did a drive through on our way to Milan. We did stop over for dinner and had a look around the town.


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## Gluhwein (Aug 21, 2011)

aharding said:


> Oops, it's the jet lag. Was messing with the server the pictures are loaded on. My bad. They are back.


Thanks. It was worth the wait. Looks like you stopped at the same spot in Rottach-Egern that we did when we took our mothers on our February ED:

Did you eat at the Cafe across the street? Great Gulaschsuppe and Strudel.


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## 640GC (Mar 22, 2012)

Gluhwein said:


> Thanks. It was worth the wait. Looks like you stopped at the same spot in Rottach-Egern that we did when we took our mothers on our February ED:
> 
> Did you eat at the Cafe across the street? Great Gulaschsuppe and Strudel.


Wow, it looks quite different in the Winter time! We didn't stop to eat unfortunatley. Are you talking about the restaurant in the photo or the one that is across the street? Brown building with multiple stories? We'll keep it on the list for our next visit.


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## wesleyan92 (Mar 11, 2008)

Spectacular car Harding and great trip report. Every time I read one of these reports I want to hop a plane across the pond. Love Europe - wish my work would transfer me there with the necessary cost of living adjustments


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## 640GC (Mar 22, 2012)

*Day 4: On the way to Milan via St. Moritz in the Alps & Lake Como*

This was our longest driving day of the trip. We figured around 7 hours from Fussen to Milan. We wanted to leave early enough to have dinner in Como and then arrive in Milan that evening. The following morning, we had tickets to see Leonardo da Vinci's last supper painting, a giant mural.









Leaving the Höhenschwangau area.









Heading out towards the Alps.









In the Alps, headed to St. Moritz. You can see our Emission sticker on the bottom right of the windshield along with our Vignettes.

My wife got car sick from all of the twisties and we had to stop for rest breaks. We lost the Swiss Vignette along the way.
We looked for another spot to purchase a second, luckily, no one was open and we didn't get pulled over.
Our Austrian and Swiss Vignettes are stuffed in the headliner to take home later for souvenirs.
_(The 10 day Austrian Vignette was inexpensive. The one year Swiss Vignette was expensive at 33 Euros.)_









Beautiful mountain scenery. Reminds me a little of Colorado and the Rockies.









Random interior photo of the car in St. Moritz.

Needless to say, it was already dark outside and we had not arrived at Lake Como yet. So we changed our plan and decided
to eat dinner in St. Moritz. The problem was we had no idea where to eat. The nav system was good at telling us where 
the restaurants were located, but no way of telling us the quality or cuisine. So we pulled up to the swank Kempinski,
Grand Hotel des Bains and asked the valet staff where to go for a nice but quick bite.









Kempinski Grand Hotel des Bains, we were so tired that we contemplated spending the night here. We pushed on.









Stopping for dinner at the Kempinski recommended Restaurant Veltlinerkeller. The food was good. They had a lot of
grilled wild game on the menu.









There was no parking so we just parked on the side of the road, a narrow side street, the restaurant in the background.

Lake Como, we can say we've been but that's about it. We drove around the lake on our way to Milan, but it was pitch black.
We did get lost once and had to pull over to the side of the road for an accidental romantic moment over looking the lake and the 
twinkling lights of the towns at its edges. It was so dark we had no idea where we were. It was nice but sadly the extent
of our Lake Como experience. Next time we'll spend a couple of nights here to make up for it.

We arrived in Milan around 1:00 am so no photos. We went straight to bed! The view out our window in the morning.









Our view in the morning from our room at the Westin Palace, Milan. The Duomo off in the distance.









The Duomo di Milano up close. They also offer tours on the roof. You can take the elevator or climb the steps for the view.









The height of the doors compared to us!









The massive size of the doors is quite impressive. The shot starts at half way up the doors. The casting is quite beautiful.









The interior of the Duomo. What an amazing and reverent place.









One of the many side chapels along the long wall on each side.









The Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, the glass-roofed shopping arcade next to the Duomo.









The Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II and the Duomo di Milano, side by side.









The shopping arcade of Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II.









Turning on the Bull's testicles with the heel of your foot for good luck!









The central dome of the arcade.

Next we were off for the highlight of our visit to Milan, the viewing of Da Vinci's last supper at the Basilica di Santa Maria delle Grazie.
The painting depicts the reaction given by each apostle when Jesus said one of them would betray him. No photos were allowed but
there are plenty of pictures on-line. It was an amazing experience to see it up close and personal.









Outside the gift shop of the Basilica.

The tour completed at the Duomo so we decided to eat lunch here before heading back to the hotel and driving to Florence. The department
store across the street has rented it's space out to multiple restaurants. So we wandered around looking at the various menus until we found
the right spot. It is really busy but it was only about a 10 minute wait.









Great view of the Duomo and plaza. The food was excellent as well. It's really difficult to get bad food in Italy.

Next stop, Florence.


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## Loganradio (May 7, 2012)

mdsbuc said:


> Nice report! One of my fondest memories (or not) of our ED trip in '05 was trying to figure out the damned ticket machine for the trains at the Munich Airport. We never did find a ticket agent. Sounds like you're having a great trip, and have picked up a beautiful car. Congrats, and look forward to seeing some photos! :thumbup:
> 
> .


To find ticket counter for S-Bahn at Munich airport, follow train signs. Ticket counter is between doors leading outside to train station, left side of counter, usually with line in front of it.

AHarding...your photos are magnificent! Thanks for sharing. Carol


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## Gluhwein (Aug 21, 2011)

aharding said:


> Wow, it looks quite different in the Winter time! We didn't stop to eat unfortunatley. Are you talking about the restaurant in the photo or the one that is across the street? Brown building with multiple stories? We'll keep it on the list for our next visit.


The Cafe was directly across the street. I thought it was pretty cool that on that sunny but cold day in February hearty Germans were sitting out on the patio to eat and drink. we stayed indoors and admired the frozen lake.... And I thought about how to get all that road salt off my brand new car,


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## mdsbuc (Mar 17, 2005)

Loving the photos and the report. Nicely done! :thumbup:


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## Trinitony (Feb 10, 2010)

*aharding*, great photos. Particularly like the vantage point you chose for your shot of Neuschwanstein. Most photos are taken looking up at the castle and the view is no where near as interesting as your view where you see the lakes and meadows in the background.

It's too bad that you did not get to spend some time in daylight on Lake Como. It is definitely worth a full day on your next trip.

I am looking forward to your coverage of the last few days of your trip.


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## 640GC (Mar 22, 2012)

Trinitony said:


> *aharding*, great photos. Particularly like the vantage point you chose for your shot of Neuschwanstein. Most photos are taken looking up at the castle and the view is no where near as interesting as your view where you see the lakes and meadows in the background.
> 
> It's too bad that you did not get to spend some time in daylight on Lake Como. It is definitely worth a full day on your next trip.
> 
> I am looking forward to your coverage of the last few days of your trip.


Thanks Trinitony, posting this trip report allows me re-live those experiences all over again. We were bummed that we saw but didn't see Lake Como on our drive. With all of the positive comments from festers, we won't miss it next time around.


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## 640GC (Mar 22, 2012)

*Florence*

*Day 5-6: Florence, part 1*

Ah Florence...

Of all of the stops on our trip, Florence was our most magical and favorite place to visit. The churches on every corner, amazing art museums, music, people, architecture, food, shopping and history all come together in a spectacular way. We saw movies like Under a Tuscan Sun and Letters to Juliet and intellectually we could tell this was a special place, but we didn't "feel" it until we arrived. It kind of snuck up on us really as we were in our typical go go go mode and it was transformative.









The city of Firenze _(Florence)_ at dawn.









The city at night.

To get the full effect your really need more than two days. I think a week or two would be perfect; you need time to allow each experience to soak in vs. the check it off the list experience. Next time we would like to visit San Gimignano, Sienna, Lucca and the Tuscan vineyards. Having never been, we didn't realize how magical it is here and how much we would fall in love with Tuscany.









A statue up close in the city of Firenze _(Florence)_.

Needless to say, we would like to go back.

On our way to Florence, as you can see, it is dusk so we got off the windy roads and took the Autostrada. We were always behind not wanting to leave the previous spot. The views were nice but not as nice as the windy back roads.









The Autostrada. Like our freeways except it's a toll road and there is no shoulder lane.

On our next European Delivery _(were hooked!)_, we'll build in an extra day and leave out of each place in the morning to allow us to see more of the scenery along the way. As first timers, it felt like a race between each stop as we didn't want to miss anything. Next time, we'd like to enjoy the scenery along the way. Our drive to Florence through the Tuscan countryside.









The Tuscan countryside rolling by.

So we arrive yet again in the dark, late at night to Florence.









Arriving at the Westin Excelsior, we really enjoyed our stay at this hotel.









Checking in, both hotels are on the Piazza Ognissanti with the beautiful church lit up at night.

Earlier in our trip we had crashed an Audi party up in the Alps, today we were crashing a Mercedes party. Nice that we could show off our new BMW 640i GC to those other Germans!









Mercedes welcome signs at the St. Regis and Westin Excelsior, Florence.

Mercedes was introducing a new station wagon based on their CLS coupe. The CLS is a nice looking vehicle, the station wagon, not so much.









The St. Regis across the piazza; tomorrow nights stop. You can see the new Mercedes lit up with the Mercedes flags.









A great view of Florence off of our balcony the next morning.









Breakfast at the Westin Excelsior. Very nice spread, and the 4+ lattes helped again!









The St. Regis and the Mercedes CLS station wagons. Funny looking car.

We booked a morning tour of the city with a visit to the Duomo and the Uffizi gallery _(museum)_. Really the entire city is an art gallery and living museum. The Uffizi gallery had many many famous paintings that you see in books, postcards, etc. It was amazing to see the originals in person.









Early morning rower off of the Ponte Vecchio bridge. Our walking tour started here.









The rowing club on the Arno river.









When we walked into this square it just made our jaws drop. I have never seen so much statuary in one location. Incredible.









There was statuary in every direction. Every which way you turned, never seen anything like this before.









The square is quite large and there were masses of people. I was told September is high season.









The Florence Duomo with the Baptistry in the foreground.









The Duomo up close. At this time of day, the light was behind the building.









The scale of the church is massive.


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## roup1 (Dec 24, 2001)

Great pics and beatiful car! Congrats!!!


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## Loganradio (May 7, 2012)

Did you rub/kiss the pig? Great pics of a gorgeous city. Thanks for posting.


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## 640GC (Mar 22, 2012)

roup1 said:


> Great pics and beatiful car! Congrats!!!


Thanks roup1


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## 640GC (Mar 22, 2012)

Loganradio said:


> Did you rub/kiss the pig? Great pics of a gorgeous city. Thanks for posting.


Hi Loganradio,

Yes, we did rub the pig. It's really a Boar, not a cute pig like in the fairy tales.

I was afraid to kiss the pig, so I kissed the wife instead! Much more pleasant.


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## 640GC (Mar 22, 2012)

*Florence, part 2*

*Day 5-6: Florence, part 2*









Watching the world go by down below while we enjoy a gelato.

After we went to the Duomo, we went to the Accademia Gallery gallery and saw the statue of Michelangelo's David. You know, the David that slings the stone at Goliath. You could see the rock in David's right hand and the sling over his shoulder, all carved in marble. There are not words to describe the experience. Photo's were not allowed.

In the afternoon, we went to the Uffizi Gallery (Museum) to look at many famous paintings. The ones that you see in books and on post cards. The museum has so many paintings that it could take weeks to give them all a good look. Even if you were just running from room to room, it would take at least all day.









The museum is massive. This is just one of the outside corridors; this one leads to the entrance which is in the background.









The gallery down one wall.









The front entry to the gallery courtyard.









A section of the inside corridor ceiling. This is just one section of over 25, each the size of a small room. Photo's not allowed of the artwork below.









A view of the Ponte Vecchio bridge from the museum window. We were told that the bridge originally included fish mongers and butcher shops but the stench was too strong. So the Medici family changed it to allow only jewelry stores.









Up on the roof of the gallery. You can purchase a snack and drink and sit outside.









The clock tower up close. The weather was perfect when we were there.









The Duomo, looking across from the gallery. No climbing, otherwise you might fall off while taking a better shot!









Outside the gallery; art everywhere, even on the sidewalk. Two artists rendering the Madonna and Child in chalk.









Walking around after the tour. The Ponte Vecchio bridge and the Arno river in the afternoon light.









Is this a car or a toy? I think the play car I had as a kid was bigger than this!









Walking over to the hotel to check in. They moved the luggage for us already which was nice.









The room had really nice fresco's painted on the walls. The bed was ultra comfortable as well. Service was good but not excellent.









The view out our window.









Breakfast at the St. Regis. They have donuts on the breakfast buffet! The kids would have loved these!









Ognissanti church on the piazza. One last walk around.









Interior of the church. As with everything else in Florence, breathtakingly beautiful.









We have the B & O sound system in our 6er. We came upon this sign while wandering the streets of Florence.

Next stop, Monte Carlo and more cars!


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## 640GC (Mar 22, 2012)

*Lucca*

*Day 6 Lucca*









We stopped off in Lucca to get some cash out of the ATM. Looks like Opera season is starting up.









The church in the piazza, across from the ATM machine. Who would have thought! Our ATM machine at home is across from the Taco Bell.









The Madonna and child up close, on the corner of the church. _(How do you rotate the photo? It looks correct on my computer.)_









A local deli. Look at all of the Prosciutto hanging from the ceiling. Yum.









A local bakery, near the deli. Bread, cheese & meat. Grab a bottle of wine and you'd be set.









Need a lift? A ride home from school.









This place looked quaint and it was near the church, ATM, deli, bakery and the opera box office.
Maybe we'll try this place next time. Anyone stay here?

Monte Carlo pictures next ...


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## jlukja (Jun 20, 2012)

Fantastic pics. Can I reuse some when I post my writeup?


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## 640GC (Mar 22, 2012)

jlukja said:


> Fantastic pics. Can I reuse some when I post my writeup?


Of course! As you know, it's much better to experience it personally. The photo's don't do the whole ED experience justice.


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## 640GC (Mar 22, 2012)

*Monaco & Nice*

*Day 7: On the way to Monaco and we're here!*









Driving through Southern Italy.









The coast line, Southern Italy.









The sun was going down and we were looking for a place to eat.

We were hungry so we got off of the tollway and went towards the shoreline. Our thought was, it's on the coast, the seafood should be fresh and we'll just look for a restaurant that has some people in it.

All of the little towns didn't seem to have much going on but finally, we passed a restaurant with a patio and people eating outside. So we parked on the side of the road and went in. We were handed a couple of Italian menu's but when the owner heard us speak, he told us to hold on and in popped a _"Texas"_ gal in his place. Now mind you, we are in the middle of nowhere, and we end up with a USA gal who used her computer to translate the Italian menu into English. So we lucked out.

As we were eating dinner, we chatted her up and she said she was from a little town called Brownfield, outside of a city named Lubbock. The crazy thing was, we live in Lubbock, so half way around the planet in a little bitty Italian seaside town, we meet someone from home. Go figure.

The food was amazing and it tasted like the ocean. I just told them to bring me what ever and I ate until I couldn't eat any more. Probably our least expensive dinner on the trip too and the best. Love it when a spur of the moment thing comes together.









Our view out from our room at the Le Meridien, Monte Carlo









Day before the yacht show. The harbor was full of multimillion dollar yacht's.
Yea, our BMW was nice, but really, in the scheme of things...









The Mrs. in front of her car at the Casino Monte-Carlo









Mercedes SLR in Fronzen Bronze color. Spectacular!









The yacht harbor. All the boats wouldn't fit in for the show.









Our car driving into Monaco.









Idyllic seaside in the South of France. Driving to Nice.









Can I move here!









Parking to look over the side towards the sea.









Modern Art in Nice.









The famous Negresco hotel, Nice.









Jaguar or Maserati?









Our car with stuff painted on the side.









The Casino up close.









The beast from the front. Keonigsegg









Interior of the beast. Looks like Carbon Fiber all around.









The beast down low. A Keonigsegg! A Swedish car manufacture. Sweet ride.









Never seen this kind of Porsche before.









Lamborghini. My son's favorite car. (or a Bugatti)









Colorful Porsche.









The Lamborghini decided to leave while we were having drinks at the Cafe de Paris.









Maserati caught in the light.









Ferrari, Mercedes and Bentley's.









Hotel de Paris. Another Bentley and there's that little car again.









Bentley convertible on the side of the road. They grow like weeds here. Who are those twin's across the street?


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## boothguy (Feb 1, 2007)

Enjoying your trip report. It's Firenze, though. With an "e" at the end. Just sayin'...


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## 640GC (Mar 22, 2012)

boothguy said:


> Enjoying your trip report. It's Firenze, though. With an "e" at the end. Just sayin'...


Thanks, fixed the captions under the two photos.


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## 640GC (Mar 22, 2012)

*McDonalds booted out after photo was taken*



640GC said:


> *Day 4: Milan*
> 
> 
> 
> ...


After 20 years, McDonald's has lost their lease, the are being replaced by a 2nd Prada store. McDonald's is suing the City of Milan for ***8364;24 million, as this location generated ***8364;6 million per year in sales! That's a lot of Big Mac's.


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## AggieKnight (Dec 26, 2008)

640GC said:


> After 20 years, McDonald's has lost their lease, the are being replaced by a 2nd Prada store. McDonald's is suing the City of Milan for €24, as this location generated €6 million per year in sales! That's a lot of Big Mac's.


Shouldn't they sue for more than the price of four meals?


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## 640GC (Mar 22, 2012)

Ha Ha AggieKnight! I updated the price with million on the end! So ***8364;24 million instead of ***8364;24. That's more sandwiches. :thumbup:

P.S. My daughter wants to attend A&M, she would like to become a Veterinarian. She's only a High School Sophomore but we did the the campus visit recently.


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## mrnd23 (Jan 25, 2013)

This is an awesome right up. thank you so much. this is exactly the same trip i was planning except for the nice monaco part where we plan to return the car in Munich after MIlan and then fly to Paris and Barcelona and have a 10 day trip. but all your other days i am going to nearly follow that to the T. once again thanks so much. 

btw I have a CLS 550. at the risk of saying it in a bimmer forum, i will say it - its the most beautiful car hands down. 

agreed the wagon looks weird but i dont think its any weirder than the X6. this is a very risky post 

btw going for my first ED for my wife's BMW X1 sdrive. Glad to see your trip report and the great trip you had. congrats. oh and damnn beautiful car.


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## 640GC (Mar 22, 2012)

mrnd23 said:


> This is an awesome right up. thank you so much. this is exactly the same trip i was planning except for the nice monaco part where we plan to return the car in Munich after MIlan and then fly to Paris and Barcelona and have a 10 day trip. but all your other days i am going to nearly follow that to the T. once again thanks so much.
> 
> btw I have a CLS 550. at the risk of saying it in a bimmer forum, i will say it - its the most beautiful car hands down.
> 
> ...


Thanks! I'm glad you enjoyed reading, it was the trip of a lifetime. Plan on repeating it more than once, it was that much fun. Should have started many years ago. Some of the festers are on the 8th, 9th, 14th ED. Wow.

No offense taken on the CLS 550. The 640GC is my wife's car, I drive an SL500. I love both cars for different reasons. Our BMW and Mercedes get along just fine!


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## neurom (Jan 16, 2005)

Great write-up, thanks for sharing. Pictures are amazing.


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## Gluhwein (Aug 21, 2011)

No wonder that McDonald's is closing: the food's so bad that a female customer is yakking right after leaving the joint (bottom left).


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## MB330 (Oct 18, 2005)

640GC said:


> Thanks! I'm glad you enjoyed reading, it was the trip of a lifetime. Plan on repeating it more than once, it was that much fun. Should have started many years ago. Some of the festers are on the 8th, 9th, 14th ED. Wow.
> 
> No offense taken on the CLS 550. The 640GC is my wife's car, I drive an SL500. I love both cars for different reasons. Our BMW and Mercedes get along just fine!


THANK YOU!!!!
Wife and I spend a hour last night (somehow miss your post last year) and she ask me to saved your route and hotels - for our next ED. :thumbup:
Great report, Thank You for sharing!


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## 640GC (Mar 22, 2012)

Gluhwein said:


> No wonder that McDonald's is closing: the food's so bad that a female customer is yakking right after leaving the joint (bottom left).


Ha Ha!!!


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## 640GC (Mar 22, 2012)

neurom said:


> Great write-up, thanks for sharing. Pictures are amazing.


My pleasure, it allowed me to re-live our trip again. We're going to take the teenagers over for Spring Break as they have never been. We're taking them to Florence but no ED this time. 

One of the other festers posted about this amazing steak place. I read her blog and knew I had to take the family. Florence is know for their steaks and this guy is like the best butcher in Italy. It's called Officina Della Bistecca, most of the trip advisor reviews like the place but some say it has become too touristy.

If anyone know's a better place to get the best Steak Florentina, please let me know!


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## 640GC (Mar 22, 2012)

MB330 said:


> THANK YOU!!!!
> Wife and I spend a hour last night (somehow miss your post last year) and she ask me to saved your route and hotels - for our next ED. :thumbup:
> Great report, Thank You for sharing!


Thanks MB330. It was a great time. We're heading back over with the kids during spring break but no ED. Shoot. Can't wait for our next ED.


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## positiveions (Apr 19, 2012)

Wow, Congrats. I spent reading every caption- a lot of good info. I am planning to go to Europe (no ED).
That Porsche you were referring to, is a Carrera GT. 
Eli


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## 640GC (Mar 22, 2012)

Thanks Eli, I went to updated the photo with your Carrera GT info but the edit button was gone. It must expire after a certain amount of time. Have a great trip.


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## greentrbo95gst (Nov 22, 2005)

Beautiful car, wife and the trip. I am definitely saving this thread. I just came back from my ED 3 weeks ago, but I can't seem to stop looking for new trip write ups and planning the next one already. :thumbup:


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## 640GC (Mar 22, 2012)

I hear you, we have 1yr 8mo to go on our lease and I'm ready for our next ED! Perhaps an M6 Gran Coupe in Sakhir Orange!


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## jpzeller (Nov 28, 2009)

mdsbuc said:


> Nice report! One of my fondest memories (or not) of our ED trip in '05 was trying to figure out the damned ticket machine for the trains at the Munich Airport. We never did find a ticket agent.


The agents hide in plain site in both terminals. Just look for the locals cutting in line.


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## jpzeller (Nov 28, 2009)

mdsbuc said:


> Nice report! One of my fondest memories (or not) of our ED trip in '05 was trying to figure out the damned ticket machine for the trains at the Munich Airport. We never did find a ticket agent.


The agents hide in plain sight in both terminals. Just look for the locals cutting in line.


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## SJAPoc (Apr 14, 2007)

It's great to revisit your ED report  A memorable trip :thumbup:


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## 640GC (Mar 22, 2012)

Thanks, we really had fun. Having your own car makes the trip a lot more interesting as it's your common element throughout the trip. We took the kids over spring break and rented cars here and there but it wasn't the same.


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## 640GC (Mar 22, 2012)

greentrbo95gst said:


> Beautiful car, wife and the trip. I am definitely saving this thread. I just came back from my ED 3 weeks ago, but I can't seem to stop looking for new trip write ups and planning the next one already. :thumbup:


Enjoyed your trip report and your photos. I recognized quite a few spots as we stopped off at some of the very same places!


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## 640GC (Mar 22, 2012)

Thanks greentrbo95gst. It's already time to start thinking about our replacement in nine months.


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## 640GC (Mar 22, 2012)

Thanks SJAPoc, it will be time to do it again soon and post another trip report for another amazing trip. It's the only way to buy a car!


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## DrivenByF30 (Feb 8, 2012)

A little late but awesome report!


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