A Delightful End-of-Season Trip with Car Rouge, 31 October

This year's end-of-season trip begins with a sparkling surprise on board the four new Premium coaches. The Car Rouge tour escorts Loris Plozza, Armin Portner, Nikolai Fritz and Christian Saner serve the 90 guests an Aperol Spritz at their seats. Surely the perfect way to get in the mood for a trip to Italy: cheers!

At Göschenen we leave the motorway and pass the Gotthard tunnel by. For once, our route takes us over the Gotthard Pass in pleasant weather, which our coach drivers master with skill. Countless bends and hairpins are no problem for either the drivers or the coaches. After a tasty lunch near Como, we continue a little less swiftly towards Florence. We are not the only ones on the road and notice that an important public holiday is coming up with All Saints' Day tomorrow.

After some delay we reach our centrally located Grand Hotel Baglioni near the Basilica of Santa Maria Novella, where the staff are already waiting for us with pleasure in the panorama restaurant. The spectacular view of the beautifully illuminated cathedral makes up for the long journey. And the excellent dinner makes even the last traces of ill humour vanish. Late in the evening we toast a fellow traveller who is happy to celebrate his birthday with us. The Car Rouge travel family has found itself again and is already looking forward to the programme ahead.

Here in this blog I can admit it: I am neither a morning person nor a lingerer at breakfast. At the Grand Hotel Baglioni, however, it is different for once. The view from the panorama windows of the famous buildings of the Renaissance city is sweetened by a perfect cappuccino and an excellent breakfast buffet.

After a leisurely breakfast we drive up to Piazzale Michelangelo in mild temperatures and are lucky several times over: the sun is shining and the many other tourists seem to be still asleep. The whole group therefore enjoys a dreamlike view from the most famous terrace of the art metropolis without feeling crowded. Below us the Arno flows lazily along, spanned in the distance by the Ponte Vecchio. By now we are also accompanied by local tour guides, who tell us a great deal about Florence past and present with this wonderful view. Simply beautiful, again and again!

After a free afternoon, we dine in the evening at Ristorante Gilli on Piazza della Repubblica. Thoroughly well fed, we then head to the nearby Auditorium Santo Stefano, where we attend a fantastically staged concert. “Una serata all'Opera” enchants its audience with graceful and familiar pieces by Mozart, Bizet, Verdi and Puccini.

The next day the church of Santa Croce and the Ponte Vecchio, the bridge lined with houses, are on the programme. The oldest Gothic church in Florence, Santa Croce, delights us all in particular. Today it is known above all for the famous figures of the past laid to rest here, as well as for its valuable art treasures.

Art stays with us into the afternoon, this time optionally. Accompanied by an expert guide, we visit the world-famous Uffizi Gallery and marvel at numerous works of art. Unlike on the first day, however, we are not alone. Sometimes I can hardly see the artworks for all the raised mobile phones, tablets and cameras. Are they really all art lovers?

Then it is time again: the great gala evening with dinner, dancing, a raffle and entertainment is upon us. The beautifully decorated Sala Michelangelo in the hotel awaits us, again with excellent food. The excitement rises among the participants: what will the prizes be this time, who will be first to take to the dance floor, and where will the next end-of-season trip lead?

One of our regular Car Rouge guests keeps us all waiting a little. With a witty, informative and also long verse he presents the whole trip so far to perfection and has the laughs on his side. Later the raffle tickets are drawn and the lucky ten winners receive their travel vouchers. Daniel Dicke, Armin Portner and I then spill a few secrets and reveal, among other things, where the trip will lead in 2020: it will be Nice, and what is more with a stay at the famous Hotel Le Negresco*****. The end-of-season trip will take place from 15 to 18 November 2020.

“We'll sign up straight away, won't we, darling?” is not an uncommon thing to hear.

The return journey on Sunday takes a little longer than planned, as the usual traffic jam at the southern portal of the Gotthard holds us up. It seems, though, that the cheerful travel group does not want to say goodbye to each other so quickly. Fortunately we are all well fortified by lunch at the Agriturismo La Camilla near Milan. This wonderful place puts the culinary full stop on an extremely successful trip.