Ferrari Club Italia Cena di Natale 2009

Ferrari Club Italia Cena di Natale 2009

We do not own a Ferrari and do not have any friends who do so in Italy. We therefore do not know anybody at the Ferrari Club Italia Christmas Dinner last evening and wondered more than once why we were invited. We didn't see any of Hub's colleagues around either and finally arrived at the conclusion that we must have been invited for some obscure reason by the new President of Ferrari Club Italia who happens to know Hub quite well.

Filettino di vitello

Croccantino al Caramello

The first thing Hub said when he read the menu was that he has had the same thing for the F1 lunch that day. But the wines were better as some of them were sponsored. We sat at a table directly in front of the stage with 4 other couples. One of the guys is a test driver for Ferrari. Another one works for Gardaland. Hub noticed the Chanel diamonds on my neighbour's person, but said that he must be able to afford a Ferrari for himself before he buys me anything. In other words, forget it.

The new 458 Italia, we keep seeing them in the streets lately

The invitation card mentioned "wear something in red". I was one of only a handful of women who actually dressed in red. I was red from my hairclip down to my dangling garnet and gold earrings and my raw silk Indian Choli and chiffon scarf. I was of course too tight in the Choli that I bought when I was 8 Kgs lighter, but at least I was in red and could be sure that nobody would be wearing the same thing. Hub asked me why I was looking so Indian. And I answered him by asking him what was wrong with looking Indian. He was lucky I didn't put one of Baby Girl's shiny dots on my forehead. Imagine that.

Fontana and the President of Ferrari Club Italia

Dinner was held in the same place as the kids' medical checkup last week. Amazing how they could transform the place from one thing to another just like that. Entertainment was provided by the Italian comic Fabrizio Fontana who must be quite famous by the enthusiastic reception he received from everybody else except me and Hub. We do not watch Italian TV so we do not know him. We didn't understand his "TANANANANA" jingle which was part of his James Tont personage (parody of James Bond). I also vaguely understood that he was making some parody of the Wheel of Fortune programme.

The F1 drivers and Fontana

Massa, Badoer and the winner of the last 24H Mans (who was at my table the last time) made guest appearances at the dinner but left soon after. Kimi wasn't present this year.

Group photo of the winners

They gave out prizes and trophies to winners of the various rallies and races who were from the look of things all pretty old. There were also women drivers. Also d'un certain âge.

We were the first to leave. At the door, we each received a gift bag (Hub's fuller than mine). Ferrari racing calenders, a cap, drawings of the new 458 Italia, an artisanal Panettone, jars of vegetable puree, Ferrari year book...This gave us time to return home and read a story to the Babies before they went to bed. And we now have a Panettone to bring to the MIL in France.