The Bon Vivant's Choice 3. - The Grand Tour
I recently spent a week with the new Bentley Continental GTC in the hills of Lake Garda, and honestly there’s no need to convince me of the joy and beauty associated with a good old grand tour - or my love of Bentley for that matter. As a man who’s ultimate GT car is the Continental T (if feeling the influence of the South of France, the Azure of the 1990’s), I appreciate the art (it’s something to be perfected) of moving at speed without rushing. More specifically, moving between destinations of refinement and tranquility whilst savoring the period of travel which adjoins the morning cappuccino of one place to the evening negroni of another.
I say it’s an art. And that’s because for the vast majority of people, traveling (and the car) is a laborious task which connects where you’ve been to where you’re heading. But since the dawn of motoring, the “grand tour” was hailed as the ultimate trip, often linking the good folk of rainy London with the sun-soaked shores of Cap-Ferrat. My experience in the 4th generation Continental reminded me of finding beauty in the journey - whether its loading the car with your trusted brand of luggage, or sitting comfortably at 150kph with the roof down.
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A great place to start is with the music, for this sets the mood and tone for the drive. Take the time to curate a playlist before setting off, with a mix of fast, upbeat tracks for sunny stretches of the motorway, and slower, more mellow ballads for overcast skies or slower parts of the journey. And then come the initial stops for food or coffee. When in Milan, I never head onto the road without a mandatory breakfast at COVA on Via Montenapoleone - it’s just my ritual, and you can choose yours.
The point of the grand tour is not to reach your destination with haste, but to savor the joy of transit. So, music is one small layer to reaching peak euphoria, another (rather obvious) consideration is the company. But what makes the grand tour worth leaving the house for is most importantly the destination. The more years I spend on this fine home of ours, the more I realize the beauty and charm of the Alps, particularly in winter - the grand hotels, the skiing, the layering of suedes and cashmeres.
But nothing professes a grand tour quite like the summer months. For me, long days are only a blessing when sat on a terrace or somewhere in the countryside in a linen shirt or light knit. As the sky turns that lilac/orange, and the last of the sun’s rays disappear over the horizon - a cigar in hand, slow music in the background, and the soft murmur of conversations across the restaurant terrace or around the dinner table. A destination promising these simple pleasures makes a grand tour truly special in my eyes. And when your time in this locale comes to its end, you load the car, and head to the next destination, where the concierge are ready to greet you once more.
I always associate the grand tour with images of warmer pastures such as the rolling hills of Spain, the long promenades lining the French Riviera, or the tree-lined gravel roads of Tuscany. But it isn’t limited to just one place, nor is it tied to a particular type of car. Sure, the sun helps, and driving a 600bhp cruiser with all of the luxuries you’d require for lengthy periods of driving can help, but ultimately, good company, good music, and a great destination transform any trip into a grand tour - it just makes the grand a little grander when the destination is Hotel Splendido!
Happy Saturday!
Azzam
You can find some of my travel essentials here: FPM Bank Spinner 68 , Acqua di Parma Due Pezzi, A Collected Man Watch Roll, Elie Bleu Cigar Case
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