Day 4 - Viterbo to Rome

The final leg

We awoke bright and early and set out on a mission to find a mechanic named Ferruzzi, following the excellent directions provided to us during the previous night's drinking. It turns out that Viterbo is a bit of a maze and that the Satnav hadn't been updated to include the huge variety of one-way streets. Eventually we found what looked like a small local mechnic in about the right place. However, a quick chat with the mechanic, a gentle whistle and an excellent "Mamma Mia!" told us all we needed to know: This clearly wasn't the right place!

Luckily using a bit of Italian and much hand waving pointed us in the right direction, it turned out eventually that Mr Ferruzzi was next door. This time, after a massive 5 metre test drive, the challenge was met with a smile and a knowing nod. We were instructed that it would take an hour to fix so went for a wander in Viterbo. It turns out that the old part of the city is a beautiful mix of narrow streets and medieval architecture which was a pleasant suprise. We returned, waited, saw the parts arrive, waited a little longer and finally the Duchess was returned to us, brakes now fixed! Parts and labour came to an unbelievably cheap €132, so if you have an XJ40 and need work doing on it then drive to Viterbo and see Mr Ferruzzi!

Good to go, we set off and decided to head for Rome via Bracciano. Some beautiful countryside awaited us, as did Italian roads and a healthy 4 litre straight six engine; All in all a good place to be! The whole experience was topped off with Queen's Greatest Hits 2 blasting out from the stereo, as it has pretty much the whole journey; We only brought the one tape, but what a tape! Bracciano is even more beautiful than Viterbo, and after a quick walk around we sat down to another amazing Italian meal.

The final stretch involved a blast through central Rome at rush hour to reach the finishing point at the Piazza Navona (completely ignoring the rally oranisers suggestion to park on the outskirts and get a taxi in). Suffice to say it was rather hectic and Itallian driving is a unique, slightly daunting and rather enjoyable challenge. We arrived parked up and took a few happy snaps to proove the car reached Rome.

Satisfied with our success, we again braved the rush hour for an entertaining drive to the hotel in Ciampino, right past the Trevi Fountain and the Colliseum! We even made it back here without being crashed into, despite the best efforts of both Locals and Si.

That's it, mission complete, journey over, success. Final statistics:

Average Fuel Consumption: 23.9 MPG
Fuel Used: 60.7 Gallons
Ave. Speed: 42.7 MPH
Total Distance: 1453.1 Miles