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My family decided to visit Europe when we found out my sister was chosen to go on a trip to France for the World Cup in 2008 with DriveAway Holidays, sponsored by Peugeot. We thought we would join her in Italy – I can’t let my sister have all the fun now can I?

I have to admit the flight felt like it was never going to end and was very tiring, but when we finally arrived in Rome we were all excited again. We collected our car from Rome Fiumicino Airport and the Europcar depot was easily found with numerous signs pointing us in the right direction.

After the papers were signed and completed, we found our vehicle and to our surprise we were upgraded to a sporty Alfa Romeo Station Wagon so we were ready to drive in luxury like Italians in our Italian car. Our confidence was knocked a little though when we struggled trying to find our way out of the parking lot! Who would have thought it would be so complicated?

Luckily we hired the Seymour GPS which definitely saved a lot of time and fights! The GPS made our driving and traveling a lot smoother and more straight forward, which is exactly what you need on a holiday. Rome was truly spectacular with lots of historical attractions and museums to visit. My sister got engaged in the St Pietro Cathedral while we were there which made the trip even more special. It was very romantic and sure did bring tears to my eyes!

My favourite attraction in Rome was the Trevi fountain. The tradition is to toss a coin in the fountain to make a wish, and then toss a second coin to one day return to Italy. Hope it works!

From Rome we drove to Naples and with the help of our GPS, driving wasn’t as hard as we first thought. Soon we were used to the crazy speeds on the motorways and driving on the wrong side of the road, it all didn’t seem so strange anymore. In Naples we booked the Amalfi Coast tour and the views were truly beautiful. In Positano, we sampled the strong taste of the famous Italian liquor Limoncelo and some mouth watering local chocolates.

From Naples we drove on to Milan for an overnight stay and then continued to Florence. Florence was remarkable and we were all amazed at the famous artworks. I studied these works in high school so it was pretty amazing to stand right in front of them. I absolutely loved Michelangelo’s David statue, if I had the chance I would have stared at it all day!

Our car rental experience ended in Venice at the Pizzale Roma near the ferry terminal. After all our shopping, our luggage seemed a lot heavier than we expected but we managed to drag them along.

Venice was my favourite place in Italy. Ancient buildings built on top of water, it was so unique and wonderful. We had the chance to take a ride on the gondolas through the canals and under the bridges and we chose the perfect timing as it was sunset. Our hotel was right beside Louis Vuitton and Prada so we did lots of window shopping!

After Venice we booked a flight to Paris. The Eiffel Tower was our favourite attraction and when we reached the top, there were amazing views of the city. Although it was very crowded with tourists due to the World Cup, it was definitely worthwhile, we were so overwhelmed with the views that the crowds didn’t really bother us. At night the Eiffel Tower lit up with lazer light shows and in the colours of the World Cup winner, South Africa, which was pretty amazing.

The car rental in Italy gave us the freedom to explore many towns and hidden gems between our destinations. It was sheer pleasure driving a luxury car in Italy with the help of our handy little friend the Seymour GPS. I highly recommend a car hire and GPS system to anyone traveling overseas. This was a family holiday that was exhausting with the numerous attractions we saw in a limited time, but it was a beautiful experience, one I hope I am able to experience again.

Ferrari merchandise producers will not be happy after what was an abysmal weekend’s racing. The much vaulted car and driver combination that had proved so competitive during the winter testing period faced serious troubles throughout the weekend. Merchandise producers and sponsors will hope this is a singular occurrence and will not set a trend for the rest of the 2008 season. Ferrari will have to up their game to compete with rival Formula 1 team, McLaren.

The Melbourne race weekend saw a sublime performance from Lewis Hamilton in both qualifying and the grand prix. Ferrari however will be worried by mechanical difficulties and poor driver performances from both the reigning champion Raikkonen and Massa. Merchandise producers and sponsors will be unhappy with what was a mediocre performance at best. Before the weekend had begun, Ferrari had found themselves strong favourites to dominate the entire weekend like they had done in the previous season. They do however leave Melbourne with a solitary driver’s championship point and one constructor’s point.

The nightmare for Ferrari began with engine difficulties for Kimi Raikkonen during qualifying meaning he started the race in a lowly fifteenth. Massa did little better, only managing fourth on the grid despite having no engineering problems until the race had begun. Merchandise companies and sponsors will be piling on the pressure to Ferrari management to ensure the problems are recognised and dealt with quickly and efficiently.

The difficulties first became apparent during Saturday’s qualifying session when Raikkonen’s Ferrari experienced a fuel pump problem that hampered his lap time. Strangely Massa faced stiff competition not just from both McLaren’s but also from the BMW of Robert Kubica. Massa’s fourth should have been enough as at times the pace of the Ferrari F1 ‘08 was clearly fast enough to cut through the pack. Unfortunately for Massa his fourth didn’t convert into a podium position because of yet more engine difficulties and a spin in the first corner resulting in a replacement nose cone.

Raikkonen was close to achieving some points as he quickly scythed his way through the pack, the new traction control legislation however gave the Finn some difficulties as he span off twice due to driver errors when attempting to overtake. This will worry merchandise companies and sponsors greatly as the former champion buckled under the pressure and could not find consistency in the Ferrari car; if he cannot race more smoothly this season could prove extremely difficult for the Finn who is vying to keep his driver’s championship.

As well as driver difficulties for Raikkonen, close to the end of the race he had to retire with yet more problems with the Ferrari F1 ‘08. The team would not have achieved a single point if it hadn’t been for the disqualification of Ruben’s Barrichello for illegal use of the pit lane under safety car provisions. This lucky break is clearly the only thing Ferrari management, sponsors and merchandise producers will be able to salvage from a disastrous weekend.

Both the Ferrari F1 cars will be sent back to the Maranello plant in order to diagnose the problems that caused so much stress this weekend. They will hope the diagnosis will be speedy as the team only have a few days until testing starts for the Malaysian Grand Prix. The general director of Ferrari was quick to dispel the fears of merchandise companies, sponsors and fans by stating that this was purely a blip in the season for the team. Winter testing had put the team miles ahead of the rest of the pack and the pace of both cars was evident, at least during periods of the race. Ferrari will have to find this pace consistently to achieve the podiums they so strongly desire.

With rivals McLaren already thirteen points ahead of the Italian team after one race weekend thanks to a race win and a fifth from Heikki Kovalainen, Ferrari are already lagging behind. In a race that only saw seven of the competitors finish, the carnage brought about by the new regulations was apparent, although rustiness on behalf of the teams and drivers may have something to do with many poor results. Ferrari will be hoping that they can expel the gremlins from both their cars in time for Malaysia and lay down a strong performance to counter the brilliant start their rivals McLaren experienced.