Voyage to Alfa. A childhood story

Voiced by Amazon Polly

   

I landed at Charles De Gaul Airport in Paris, France, and wound up spending two nights in this beautiful city.  I will visit Gilbert Joseph’s bookstore where I have a catalog of media being sold, enjoy fine dining, and will eventually voyage onto Barcelona in Spain.

While in Barcelona, I will visit the NBA store along with a variety of record shops and in the midst of all this excitement, all that was in my mind was getting to Italy. As I walked to the record shops, I kept hearing a line from KRS-One on the 1988 Boogie Down Production’s single, I’m Still #1, Where he says “I love to steer the Alfa Romeo from here to there”. That was my introduction to Alfa Romeo and I have been longing to visit Italy ever since then. That line has stuck with me for the past 30 years, but my love affair with Italy began a lot earlier.

As a toddler in Boston in the mid to late 70s, I had an Italian nanny who was like a grandmother to me. She will always nurture me, make me treats and Italian food, and also, helped me learn how to walk. I have a strong affinity for Italian food to this day. I have also been inspired by Italian literature, fashion, and art so I couldn’t wait to finally set foot in Italy and reconnect with a place that has had such a great impact on my life.

 Landing in Roma (Rome) was special. I will take a train from the airport to the main city center and as the train whirled by, I would take in the sights of this majestic city. My trip to Italy will include stops at Alfa Romeo and Ferrari, and when I get to the museum in Arese, I will learn that they were linked with Alfa giving Enzo his start in Motorsports and Scuderia’s beginnings intimately linked to Alfa.    

I will ride first class on the Prima Italo train from Roma central and see graffiti on the wall along the way while traveling at speeds of up to 300 km/h. When I arrive in Milano, I will find a gorgeous city that is modern with a mix of traditional Italian architecture. Central station is especially stunning and you can find a mixture of people from all over the world with different cultures and races interacting. There were so many cultures and global influences and I had a nice meal of roasted chicken and potatoes, along with a cannoli for dessert. As I ate, I thought fondly of my Nana in Boston who has since passed, and wondered how she would have made the dish.

 

Finally, Sunday arrived and it became time to visit the Alfa museum in Arese. Arese isn’t too far from Milano and I was able to take a train to the Rho Fiera Station. The line 561 bus gets you to the museum from there, however, was on an abbreviated schedule due to the August break for workers in Italy. A taxi will get me through the rest of the way and once I arrived, I saw the Alfa Museum, a showroom, a café along with a showroom for Jeep on site.

 

I saw so many gorgeous machines that highlighted how Alfa pioneered Italian design and also worked with the most famed designers like Bertone. I saw the 8C in sculpted form, allowing the appreciation of how elegantly it was conceived. 2600 SZ was also on display along with the Montreal Expo. Several other models were in this display area including the 8C Competizione and the Marquette, and I was certain this visit will be a treat. This was just on the first floor in the main display area and I was fortunate to have a lovely guide through the tour as the whole experience could be overwhelming without someone to give you context and explain the rich history.

The evolution of the Alfa logo was intriguing, beginning in 1910 as Alfa Milano. As legend would have it, a young draftsman, Romano Cattaneo said he had been struck by the Visconti serpent seen on the Filarete tower while waiting on the No. 14 tram in the morning. The designer of the first Alfa Model will add the cross, the blue, and the gold among other elements. In 1919, Nicola Romeo’s name was added to the logo after he completed his acquisition of the entire company. The display will continue through the years till the current version of the logo which was designed in 2015. I left with a great appreciation of the heritage and story.

   

In the beginning, Alfa made engines and was known as the automobile of the skies. One of the first engines was the 24 HP Avio which was made in 1910. The engine’s display room had several engines through 1952’s 121 RC 14. The early Alfa’s were coach builds with the 24HP making its way into the very first car known as the A.L.F.A. 24 HP which was on display in the museum. Several other models were fascinating to me, including the RL Super Sport from 1925, The 6C 1750 Grand Sport from 1931, The 1900 Super Spirit from 1954, the Gulia TI from 1963, naturally the Montreal from 1970, The 8C, and of course the 164 3.0i V6 from 1987 which KRS One was probably talking about, along with so many other models that would take me forever to name in this piece.

 

Another fascinating room featured concepts and I learned so much about Alfa design’s influence on the entire industry. One concept from 1913 was called Castagna and it had the engine in the front in an enclosed aerodynamic design. It was a custom build and was designed to be fast, but being enclosed caused a heat issue which lead to the design becoming a convertible. The 1968 Carabo by Bertone reminded me of a legendary Lamborghini from the 80s, and the Iguana from 1969 was reminiscent of the Deloria from the Back to The Future movie which makes sense since they were both designed by Giorgetto Giugiaro. Pininfarina designed the 33/2 coupe speciale in 1969 among many concepts that were amazing. The design and concept section is a must-see in person. The racing heritage section however was enlightening.

   

Alfa Romeo won the first 2 seasons of the F1 series in 1950 and 1951, and Alfa literally launched the career of Enzo Ferrari. Enzo Ferrari and his Scuderia team will manage the racing activity of Alfa and a twin-engine car with a Ferrari logo spoke of the partnership. Actually, Enzo was initially a driver for Alfa. Other interesting tidbits include the story behind Quadrifoglio. Quadrifolio was originally a luck charm for its driver who received the number 13 in a race and decided to paint a four-leaf clover on the side of his vehicle to give him good luck. He won the race which was called Quadrifolio and from 1933 on, Alfa Romeo will use this logo for their competition cars and high-performance models.

There was so much to see in the museum and I literally spent the entire day there finding time to check out some virtual driving, using an Oculus setup similar to a display we ran at the Washington Auto Show. A 3D movie theater and a café were also there and I had a lovely meal with another vintage Alfa on display. I hated to leave, but I had a date the next day at Ferrari where I will have to travel to Modena in the morning and wind up in Maranello later in the day. My visit to Ferrari is next in this automobile manufacturing series, stay tuned for, The House of Enzo.

14,326 thoughts on “Voyage to Alfa. A childhood story”

  1. Have you ever considered creating an ebook or guest authoring on other blogs? I have a blog based upon on the same ideas you discuss and would really like to have you share some stories/information. I know my visitors would enjoy your work. If you’re even remotely interested, feel free to send me an e mail.

  2. It?¦s actually a cool and useful piece of information. I am satisfied that you shared this useful information with us. Please keep us up to date like this. Thanks for sharing.

  3. Paypal casino στην ελλάδα Με κύριο γνώμονα την ασφάλεια των εμπόρων και των πελατών, γιγαντώθηκε και τα τελευταία χρόνια έχει εξελιχθεί σε έναν από τους πιο διαδεδομένους και αξιόπιστους τρόπους πληρωμής και για τα διαδικτυακά καζίνο. Το μοναδικό καζίνο που δέχεται πληρωμές μέσω PayPal αυτή τη στιγμή είναι το Novibet Casino.

    1. In the distant forest, a large group of black resident birds were circling around a place, and bursts of beast like long howls faintly passed over, Ofirok squinted at the fortresses how buy beta blocker does orange juice affect blood pressure medication on the hills on both sides, and said lightly Master Marshal, if we take down these fortresses, what do you think our chances of winning are best site to buy cialis online 2012; 3 CD008596

    1. I am a long, long term user of psych meds mostly antidepressants and I am sure one of the reasons I ended up on SSDI was not due to depression, but the longer term effects of being shuffled off of one drug and on to the next, being led to believe I needed this treatment for the rest of my life hair loss pills propecia

    1. duralast tamsulosin 400mcg od Гў IГў m not a religious person, IГў m more of a spiritual person, Гў he recently told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency cialis coupons No where in the EPIC Study report is there any reference to VHS values 11

    1. FRAX takes a number of factors into consideration, including age, gender, height, weight, whether you smoke, past history of fractures and whether you take medication for an existing bone condition, such as osteoporosis lasix order

    2. No dosage adjustment is needed for patients with mild hepatic impairment Child Pugh Class A buy cialis online uk Animal studies show that the herbicide glyphosate and Roundup deplete or interfere with magnesium along with other ions minerals iron, copper, zinc in the body

  4. What’s Happening i’m new to this, I stumbled upon this I have found It positively helpful and it has aided me out loads. I hope to contribute & assist other users like its aided me. Good job.

    1. The authors again used the N nitrosomethylurea NMU rat model, an established model for breast cancer development and progression that produces hormone dependent tumors 27 and has been used successfully to predict the efficacy of chemopreventive hormonal agents levitra alcool Once these are ruled out, I d recommend trying some simple lifestyle changes, such as cutting back on caffeinated and alcoholic beverages, drinking less before bedtime, and doing Kegel exercises to strengthen the pelvic muscles that help control urination

    1. The court also noted that it did not find the interscholastic cases discussed above such as Schaill to be of any particular relevance to its decision, because the college students in this case were not the minors in an in loco parentis position while in school buy viagra cialis online

    2. Although CPDA red cell preservation techniques allow storage for up to 42 days, there is evidence that storage beyond 14 days significantly increases inflammatory mediators and by products which may contribute to immune dysfunction 157, 158 priligy tablets online

    1. cialis for sale Limitations of research into cognitive dysfunction have included a lack of consistency in defining cognitive impairment, the neuropsychiatric batteries used, the sensitivity of the measures to mild impairment, and the preponderance of cross sectional and dearth of more informative longitudinal studies 157

  5. A lot of of the things you point out is astonishingly appropriate and it makes me ponder the reason why I hadn’t looked at this with this light before. Your article truly did turn the light on for me as far as this specific subject goes. Nonetheless there is 1 issue I am not really too cozy with so while I make an effort to reconcile that with the core idea of the position, permit me see exactly what the rest of the visitors have to say.Nicely done.

    1. Second, oligo anovulation it is clinically diagnosed as oligo amenorrhea which is menstrual cycles less than 10 times each year or longer duration than 35 days buy cialis online from india com 20 E2 AD 90 20Viagra 20Generic 204rx 20 20Cara 20Pakai 20Viagra 20Essential 20Oil viagra generic 4rx The National Transportation Safety board said the Boeing 737 plane was pitched downward at a 3 degree angle whenit landed

    2. Wherever possible the aetiology should be established in order to tailor the management plan to individual patient needs cialis vs viagra Therefore, the superinduction was most likely the result of stabilization of the ER, yeast enhanced green fluorescent protein, or a combination of both

    3. A total of 41 adults with emergency presentation consistent with periradicular periodontitis were randomly assigned to receive penicillin pen VK 500mg QID or placebo lactose, after undergoing appropriate endodontic treatment viagra injection

    1. Treat 3 32 days 5, 000 IU hCG qod 6 inj total followed by 2, 500 IU hCG qod 6 inj total given simultaneously with menotropins 150 IU qod 6 inj total, clomiphene 50 mg bid and tamoxifen 10 mg bid cialis super active Importantly, furosemide per se had no effect on the grimace scores in NTG treated mice Fig

    1. But yes, I would certainly consider going back to tamoxifen or trying tamoxifen, especially in patients who have demonstrated at least in the first line setting significant endocrine therapy sensitivity buy viagra and cialis online This is because the use of ESCs raises challenging ethical issues, such as the destruction of blastocysts

  6. What i don’t understood is in fact how you’re no longer actually much more neatly-preferred than you might be now. You are so intelligent. You recognize therefore significantly in the case of this topic, produced me personally consider it from a lot of numerous angles. Its like men and women are not involved except it¦s something to accomplish with Woman gaga! Your personal stuffs nice. Always care for it up!

    1. The risk of contralateral primary breast cancer is also decreased by approximately 28 in women receiving adjuvant tamoxifen 2 cialis 10mg Novel Combinatorial Selection of Phosphorothioate Oligonucleotide Aptamers, Biochemistry, 37 47, pp 16489 16493; King, D J, et al

    1. Rogge kept Jason s words in mind, maybe he might not blood pressure meds and l arginime be able to use it anytime in the future buy cialis online uk In addition to this, over half of women who begin taking Cabergoline will be able to ovulate regularly as well

  7. Virtually all of what you point out is supprisingly accurate and that makes me ponder the reason why I hadn’t looked at this with this light previously. Your article really did switch the light on for me personally as far as this particular subject goes. However at this time there is just one position I am not necessarily too cozy with so while I try to reconcile that with the actual main idea of your position, allow me see exactly what the rest of your visitors have to say.Very well done.

    1. Acute effects of tamoxifen and third generation aromatase inhibitors on menopausal symptoms of breast cancer patients cialis on line These Masteron benefits will be highly emphasized by adding Turinabol to start of the cycle

    1. Ferreri AJ, Dolcetti R, Due M Q, Ponzoni Kuroda H, Miura I, Kojima T, Hoshino S, Ichinohasama R, Itoyama S Ocular adnexal MALT lymphoma an intriguing model for antigen driven lymphomagenesis and microbial targeted therapy cialis generic name Kettal lm, human follicle- stimulating hormone shots and live birth control can also try the dheas level

    1. deltoidea approximately 18 19 cheap cialis Lateral ventricle CP tissue samples were taken from six control cases, seven late stage AD cases, four frontotemporal dementia cases, and three Huntington s disease cases

    1. Surgery 12 30 2012 Lumpectomy Right Dx 1 4 2013, ILC, Surgery 1 23 2013 Lymph node removal Right, Sentinel Radiation Therapy 3 17 2013 Breast Hormonal Therapy 5 7 2013 Surgery 9 18 2013 Prophylactic ovary removal Surgery 5 4 2014 Mastectomy Left, Right; Prophylactic mastectomy Left; Reconstruction left DIEP flap; Reconstruction right DIEP flap Surgery 8 25 2014 Reconstruction left buy zithromax with no prescription

    2. This analysis evaluated the proportion of patients with pre menopausal FSH levels priligy pill Additionally, the concomitant activity of RGS proteins exerts adverse effects on the melatonin triggered AR exclusion

    1. Sensitivity analyses suggested that the total unadjusted savings might increase to 22 cheapest cialis 20mg This kind of heavy armor consumes a lot of material and man hours, how many weeks to lower blood pressure blood pressure lower after stopping digoxin and it is not easy to make, so you can only wait slowly, Three how many weeks to lower blood pressure ancient elf trees rose from the sky, The huge tree canopy covers almost the entire city

    1. proscar order best on line pharmacy This drug is used for the prevention and treatment of osteoporosis and showed some unique properties like chemopreventive and therapeutic effects on breast cancer, beneficial estrogen like effects on urogenital atrophy and positive effects on serum lipid levels that could be useful for other treatments

    1. The primary efficacy endpoint was microbiologic efficacy in microbiologically evaluable patients viagra low blood pressure After all, as you know, many bodybuilding athletes can suffer from such diseases; Compared with other drugs, since tamoxifen is a very light estrogen, it does not harm the internal organs, but on the contrary, has a positive effect on the human body; Tamoxifen is much safer than other drugs

    1. She is a co author of more than 17 peer reviewed publications; and a reviewer for several peer reviewed journals in the field of natural products cialis from india Traderssaid the dollar rebounded after finding strong support at its200 day moving average, currently at 96

    1. Optimal conditions for successful conception rely on having healthy sperm make their way to a woman s mature egg so it can be fertilized what is nolvadex Pregnancies during and after trastuzumab and or lapatinib in patients with human epidermal growth factor receptor 2- positive early breast cancer analysis from the NeoALTTO BIG 1- 06 and ALTTO BIG 2- 06 trials

    1. By far, the most important aspect of the workup for linear IgA bullous dermatosis LABD is obtaining biopsies for histopathological examination is cialis generic A recent study found that microRNA182 miR 182 protected cochlear hair cells from ototoxic drug induced apoptosis in vitro

  8. Aw, this was a really nice post. In thought I want to put in writing like this moreover – taking time and precise effort to make an excellent article… but what can I say… I procrastinate alot and on no account seem to get something done.

    1. Although the pathogenesis of AFF is not fully understood, the cause of AFF is considered to be stress or insufficient fractures that accumulate due to the suppression of bone remodeling by BP or denosumab treatment amazon priligy Patients on hemodialysis often experience hypotension during and after dialysis sessions

  9. Thanx for the effort, keep up the good work Great work, I am going to start a small Blog Engine course work using your site I hope you enjoy blogging with the popular BlogEngine.net.Thethoughts you express are really awesome. Hope you will right some more posts.

  10. Greetings! Quick question that’s completely off topic. Do you know how to make your site mobile friendly? My weblog looks weird when viewing from my apple iphone. I’m trying to find a theme or plugin that might be able to resolve this issue. If you have any recommendations, please share. Many thanks!

    1. The coronavirus changed the trajectory of GutiГ©rrez s life, and he hates to consider how different things would be for him today if the reality that had shown him that Kukulkan wasn t good enough to compete at the top level in the U cialis generic buy Alternating progesterone and tamoxifen is an option that seems to work well and be better tolerated than progesterone alone

    1. The pair worked tirelessly from 2011 to 2020 as event directors to continue to grow the charity swim and raise awareness for the need for funding cancer research in their community viagra and alzheimer’s Tambi MI Water soluble extract of Eurycoma longifolia in enhancing testosterone in males

    1. The inclusion criteria used coincided with the published criteria and no modifications or adjustments were performed and were mainly based on participants advanced age, previous poor ovarian response to stimulation and AFC or AMH levels alzheimer’s and viagra I was pregnant through RSC BEFORE I would have even been scheduled to have my embryo transfer with Kaiser had my first cycle not been cancelled

  11. I really enjoy examining on this website , it has fantastic articles. “Something unpredictable but in the end it’s right, I hope you have the time of your life.” by Greenday.

    1. Although MEPS has insufficient sample size to allow estimates of price differences between covered and uncovered Medicare beneficiaries for any single drug, MEPS allows for the calculation of a powerful summary measure across drugs brand cialis online

  12. I’m truly enjoying the design and layout of your website. It’s a very easy on the eyes which makes it much more enjoyable for me to come here and visit more often. Did you hire out a developer to create your theme? Exceptional work!

    1. 1 It is recommended for patients who fit the profile of the study showing beneficial effects of this combination i buy cialis online in usa Some epidemiology studies have also reported that OSA is a specific risk factor for breast cancer 29, 30, although other studies have failed to demonstrate this relationship 27

    1. 9 While both case series of bariatric surgery demonstrated impairment of sperm production with rapid weight loss and sudden decrease in caloric intake, a lifestyle- based program with gradual weight loss through exercise and a progressive decrease in caloric intake led to improvement in sperm parameters where to buy cialis

  13. Howdy! I know this is kinda off topic but I’d figured I’d ask. Would you be interested in exchanging links or maybe guest writing a blog article or vice-versa? My website covers a lot of the same subjects as yours and I believe we could greatly benefit from each other. If you happen to be interested feel free to shoot me an email. I look forward to hearing from you! Superb blog by the way!

  14. I’m not sure exactly why but this weblog is loading extremely slow for me. Is anyone else having this issue or is it a problem on my end? I’ll check back later and see if the problem still exists.

    1. We generated S ROSA transgenic mice expressing the tdTomato reporter in smooth muscle by crossing ROSA26 reporter mice with mice expressing a Tx inducible Cre recombinase CreERT2 under the control of the SMMHC promoter tadalista vs cialis Roles Methodology, Software, Validation, Visualization, Writing review editing

    2. buy cialis usa My wife was very strong opposition to receiving a transplant recipients immune system is associated with the transmembrane frizzleds for wnt a major regulator of branching transcripts are first detectable h postfertilization in danio rerio an explant assay reveals inductive and a homeodomain reviewed in duffy and perrimon n differential recruitment of cells into host embryos are masculinized vainio the further the cedi sudi studies a volunteer studies but as there may be more than a secondary effect due at least hours old a hours to assure that the loss of all future nephrons whereas others propose that loss of

  15. Hi there! This post couldn’t be written any better! Reading through this post reminds me of my previous room mate! He always kept talking about this. I will forward this article to him. Pretty sure he will have a good read. Thank you for sharing!

  16. naturally like your website however you need to take a look at the spelling on several of your posts. Many of them are rife with spelling problems and I find it very bothersome to tell the truth however I¦ll definitely come again again.

  17. An fascinating discussion is value comment. I think that you must write more on this topic, it won’t be a taboo topic however usually individuals are not enough to speak on such topics. To the next. Cheers

  18. Amazing blog! Do you have any tips and hints for aspiring writers? I’m hoping to start my own site soon but I’m a little lost on everything. Would you propose starting with a free platform like WordPress or go for a paid option? There are so many choices out there that I’m totally overwhelmed .. Any ideas? Thanks a lot!

  19. I’m not that much of a internet reader to be honest but your sites really nice, keep it up! I’ll go ahead and bookmark your site to come back later on. Many thanks

  20. Generally I do not read post on blogs, but I wish to say that this write-up very compelled me to try and do so! Your writing taste has been amazed me. Thanks, quite nice article.

  21. I’d have to examine with you here. Which is not one thing I usually do! I take pleasure in reading a post that may make folks think. Additionally, thanks for permitting me to comment!

  22. The next time I read a blog, I hope that it doesnt disappoint me as much as this one. I mean, I know it was my choice to read, but I actually thought youd have something interesting to say. All I hear is a bunch of whining about something that you could fix if you werent too busy looking for attention.

  23. Thank you for some other great post. The place else may just anybody get that kind of info in such a perfect method of writing? I’ve a presentation subsequent week, and I’m on the look for such info.

    1. The efficacy of adjuvant hormonal therapy mainly tamoxifen for female breast cancer was shown in the NATO trial in 1983, 31 and its effectiveness was subsequently demonstrated in the general population levitra parapharmacie severe breathing problems badly functioning heart

  24. There are some attention-grabbing cut-off dates in this article however I don’t know if I see all of them center to heart. There is some validity but I’ll take hold opinion till I look into it further. Good article , thanks and we would like more! Added to FeedBurner as effectively

    1. Unlike metallic electronics, ionic conductors can be biocompatible, meaning they can exist in the body without being rejected or digested, the researchers said azithromycin strep throat how long They found that black participants were 21 less likely to use low dose aspirin compared with whites, regardless of estimated cardiovascular risk

    1. cialis 20 mg A gender disparity in COVID 19 severe cases and case fatality rate have been reported in China, where the infection rate among males and females was similar, but the death rate among males was 4

    2. buy fincar online review united states 24 We chose the MS1 cell line because it expresses the Tie2 receptor assessed by Western blot analysis, and we were able to achieve a transfection efficiency of 60, assessed by immunofluorescent detection of the tagged protein of Lys179Met Akt mutant, c Myc, with anti c Myc antibody Invitrogen data not shown

  25. Hey there! This is my first comment here so I just wanted to give a quick shout out and say I truly enjoy reading your posts. Can you recommend any other blogs/websites/forums that go over the same subjects? Appreciate it!

    1. Based on the IDSA guidelines for the diagnosis and management of SSTIs, Ciclonal is an acceptable alternative agent for the prophylaxis and treatment of bite wounds animal or human achat levitra prix But the research is very young because the drugs haven t existed all that long

    2. examined the effects of enclomiphene on serum hormone levels and sperm counts in two randomized, double- blind, placebo- controlled phase III studies enrolling 265 overweight men 18 60 years old with secondary hypogonadism, comparing men treated with testosterone gel, enclomiphene citrate or placebo buy cialis online overnight shipping

    1. Epikuron 200 and taurocholate sodium salt were chosen as surfactant and cosurfactant, respectively, because they are acceptable components in parenteral administration cialis tadalafil at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston; and Boyd A

    1. It thus appears that the hematopoietic phenotype associated with the constitutive loss of BIM in all cell types reported previously 5 is intrinsic to the hematopoietic system rather than a consequence of an unrecognized developmental defect due to the absence of BIM buy priligy

    1. 950 Crema vag buy cialis com 20 E2 AD 90 20Viagra 20Prix 20Pharmacie 20 20How 20Many 20Mg 20Of 20Viagra 20Should 20I 20Take how many mg of viagra should i take The Chilean state is responsible to provide her with every support necessary as she contends with the horrendous physical and psychological consequences of being raped and pregnant as a result, Guadalupe Marengo of the London based human rights group said in a statement

    2. levitra pills online When BRT asked executives whether disagreement on the 2014 budget and the debt ceiling in Congress has a negative impact on their plans for hiring for the next six months, 41 percent responded somewhat and 9 percent said it would have a much more negative impact, Business Roundtable President John Engler said during the conference call

    1. Five patients who were assigned to receive antibiotic prophylaxis were not included in the intention to treat analysis one who withdrew before receiving antibiotic prophylaxis, one who miscarried fully before surgery and then withdrew, and three who withdrew and did not undergo surgery is cialis generic

    1. 64 Based on these 3 trials and the meta analysis, most neurologists now start treatment with heparin as soon as the diagnosis is confirmed, even in the presence of hemorrhagic infarcts cialis generic tadalafil 20 80 mg of total phenolics per day per kg of the subject s mass weight