Well, 23 days, 5 countries (almost 6), 2391 miles, 565 litres of fuel, we're back in one piece.
Mpg worked out at 19.2 - better than I feared considering the type of driving involved. Hood down 80mph cruise, hood up 100mph with the odd squirt well into 3 figures. Car behaved impeccably and what an engine!
Only disaster was when I dropped the nsf wheel into a hole at a toll booth - a combination of a lowered Spyder and a wife with short arms - so made a mess of that. Horrible graunching noise!!!
Couple of tiny chips in the lacquer coat that weren't there before we left.
The FD roll bars and Eibach springs have transformed the handling, virtually flat through the Alpine passes.
New steering wheel really comfortable, great feel whilst twiddling through the hairpins.
Lots of tunnels on our travels and I now understand why JC slows down, drops a few gears and floors it. I had thought about deleting the back boxes but the mods I have already carried out have made it loud enough.
Random musings..............
Didn't see one other Spyder.
Tom Tom foreign place name pronounciation is ****.
Dutch drivers religiously adhere to every speed limit.
German drivers do not slow down in the wet - scary autobahn speeds, mental.
Italian drivers very respectful to Maserati Spyder owners - seemed to love seeing it.
Is Japan empty??? They all seem to be travelling in Europe.
Took me 22 days to pass my first Willi Betz lorry - where have they all gone?
Europe is a Marmite-free zone, thankfully.
Not one hotel offered in-room coffee making facilities - missed my wake-up coffee!
European food, generally, is ****. Had better Italian food in Newcastle and even Austria. Love pizza, but even the traditional Italian food was not what we expected.
Lauterbrunnen, indeed Switzerland, is beautiful.
Milan is a s..t-hole, never seen so much rubbish scattered around and every building is covered in graffiti.
Drinks are expensive - €10 per pint in Milan. OUCH!
Verona is beautiful.
Alpine scenery is magnificent, and the fact that you have to access Alpine passes to get anywhere is truly fantastic.
For opera buffs, La Scala not a patch on Vienna, but Verona an experience not to be missed.
Fantastic holiday, something I've always wanted to do. Probably wouldn't do it again, I'm too old, getting more crotchety and fussy and I know what I like and want. So it's back to aeroplanes, roaming the world that is still safely accessible and I'll save the Spyder for weekends and UK wandering. Got an itch to revisit Applecross and The Pass of the Cattle! Next summer maybe.......watch this space.