Greetings Lunch - Genzano, December 8, 2012

Clear skies but intensely cold, all in all a beautiful day compared to the weather forecast that had predicted heavy rain and low-altitude snowfall for the Immaculate Conception weekend due to a low-pressure system from Iceland, bringing unexpected sunshine after the strong thunderstorms that had paralyzed the city on Friday evening.

{gallery}rallies/genzano-7738{/gallery}

It wasn't a real gathering, but rather a traditional lunch during which we reviewed the past year and planned the next one's activities. Above all, we exchanged best wishes for a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year with friends who share the same genuine passion.
For this reason, despite the particularly heartfelt holiday in Rome and the first holiday weekend in December, which brought many out of town and just as many into the pre-Christmas shopping streets, not to mention those forced to stay home to put up the Christmas tree, we gathered in good numbers (36 to be precise) for this delightful occasion, which over the years has become an unmissable event. The President was unexpectedly absent, busy with the late olive harvest in his native Sabina, but he did not fail to extend his best wishes to everyone in attendance by phone. While the crews ensured a good turnout, the same cannot be said for the cars, which many owners preferred to keep warm in their garages for fear of the cold and rain. An excessive concern, typical of Italian mothers, for robust creatures, born in other climates and accustomed to going out in far worse weather conditions, whose engines undoubtedly benefit from the low outside temperatures and are too often subjected to much greater stress from overheating, when we think we're getting the most out of our beloved English cars by long mountain climbs on the sunniest summer days. The presence of sedans (including Roberto's beautiful Magnette ZA) and modern cars predominated, which is why Francesco and Rino deserve even more solemn praise. They arrived at the meeting, last in line, in the 1934 PA, notoriously without a top, oblivious to the freezing temperatures even though they were decked out like two authentic Eskimos.
Little to say about the ever-enchanting route that wound along the Via dei Laghi, as it has been experienced several times, year-round. The restaurant selected by Roberto deserves special mention, not only for the quality of its menu (the wild boar maltagliati and suckling pig were excellent) but above all for the beauty and variety of its surroundings, which gentlemen drivers and navigators were able to explore far and wide before lunch, pausing in particular to admire the rich collection of wines in the cellar, which they would shortly attempt in vain to drain.
In conclusion, a New Year's Eve Lunch that is significantly different from the many that crowd our agendas these days, contributing to making the needle on the scales rise excessively and then forcing us into rigorous diets or copious sweating in an attempt to partially and tiringly shed the pounds gained too quickly, and which translates into a truly fun and original way to end the year in serenity and friendship while already anticipating the polenta that will inaugurate the 2013 motor racing season.

Claudio N.