Weekend in Milan & Monza
With a chance to get away without the kids, a long weekend to take in Milan and Monza in late August was a real luxury…
Milan
Typically Ryanair changed the flight times so our 'day' in Milan was more like a few hours, but just long enough to take in a couple of the sites and a nice dinner. We stayed in a lovely boutique hotel which was ideally suited for us; walking distance to the city centre but at the right side of town to jump on a train towards Monza.
We checked in and went straight to the name of shopping place & duomo and quickly visited Apple Milan (a travel problem I seem to have developed). On the way home we stopped at a nice busy street for a nice Italian pizza dinner.
After a good night’s sleep a cappuccino & a croissant in a local cafe was a lovely start to the day. I need to go back and explore properly sometime, but it was time to head to Monza!
Monza Day 1 - Practice
We planned to take a public transport out to Monza, but despite plenty of research we couldn’t find an option to drop us within a reasonable walk of the campsite. We gave up and got a taxi, which was definitely well worth it.
We stayed with InTents GP, which we also used many years before at Silverstone. The campsite is setup when you arrive - we had a two man tent including an inflatable mattress and bedding and a table and chairs outside. There were decent bathrooms & shower facilities, as well as a bar / venue area where you could get breakfast as well as dinner and drinks in the evening. More on that later….
After dumping off our bags, we headed to the track to make sure we were there well in time for FP1. It was about a 45 minute walk to Gate C which brought us in at the side of the start finish straight.
As well as the practice sessions, Friday is a great day to explore & get the lay of the land as it isn’t too busy.
Monza Day 2 - Qualifying
Monza Day 3 - Race Day
Race Day was always going to be hectic in Monza. We wanted to get there early, but it turns out the locals were way ahead of us.
We heard estimates that there were over 50 thousand local fans queuing for the general admission entrance before the sun came up at 6 am in the morning. With the race starting at x in the afternoon, that would leave you exposed to the sun in 30 degree plus heat for x hours before things even started. Dedicated doesn’t even describe it…
Let’s just say the best spots were long gone by the time we turned up. With the realisation that we would realistically end up watching the race on the big screen, we pulled the rip cord and purchased upgraded tickets on a resale website.
- I was surprised this was even an option but name of website genuinely came through on the day
- I accept it was a privileged option to have but it was well worth it
We ended up sitting on the concrete stepped seating on the inside at the entrance to Parabolica. There are definitely better spots to sit at around the circuit, but there were also a lot of positives. With stands down both sides of the track at that point, the hour in the run up to lights out was wild, and the rendition of the national anthem in the middle of the Ferrari fans was an experience in itself.
In terms of the racing action, we were in the braking zone & could see cars maximising their corner entry to line up a move down the start finish straight after they exit Parabolica. We also had a good view of a big screen, which is so important in terms of keeping track of what is going on.