VROOOOM!!!! Bllluuurrrrr! Car Racing in Valencia

In August, there are going to be Formula 1 Grand Prix Races in Valencia!!

We don't have much experience with car racing. Matthew went to a few races in his life and vaguely remembers there being cars. I went to one Indianapolis 500 race with Matthew. I remember thinking that Matthew typically drives that fast in Chicago. Back home, we have NASCAR video game. I get seasick when I watch the video while the kids are driving.

We thought, "Hey, there are going to be Formula 1 races in Valencia around the port!! That's cool! Let's go!" We don't know anything about it but, then again, we didn't know anything about America's Cup before we saw it here in Valencia last year. (Psst. It is SAILING, not soccer like we thought.)

A few weeks ago, we rode our bikes along a stretch of the race track. It isn't a circle; there are lots of sharp turns. We marked the dates on the calendar (August 22-24) and then looked on the internet to see where we go to see the race.

Cough Cough Tickets started at over 200 euros per person. Cough Choke So, needless to say, we figured we would just get as close as we could, listen to the VVVRROOOOOOOMMMM!, and then just watch it on TV or read about it in the papers.

Then Matthew found information about a Formula 3 race in July to test the new track AND whew the tickets started at around 20 euros! The difference between Formula 1 and Formula 3 is just 2 but the difference between the ticket prices was 180 euros! We liked that math. So, Matthew decided to go with Bronson to the races.

Even better, Sara called and said that they could watch the races from her mother's balcony right above the track and in view of the starting line. Matthew and Bronson were "off to the races."

Bronson, as the only boy, was morally obligated to go with his father. As it turns out, he was a little intimited by the deafening, bone rattling noise. There isn't a font big enough to show in capital letters how loud it really was. But, let's be honest. Bronson was just a prop. Matthew loved it!! I mean, he hasn't driven that fast in over a year since he left Chicago. He misses it.

I even snuck over there to watch, listen, and feel a few laps. I picked out my favorite car and cheered it on! Shortly thereafter, it got in a crash and was hauled off the track. Just my luck.

Sorry. I don't many good photos of the cars during the race. They were pretty much just a blluuurrrrrrrrrrrrrr.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/abrownell/sets/72157606747626743/




UPDATE - AUGUST 24th:

Matthew, Bronson, and I came home from the Formula 3 races (above) with a lot of exciting stories. Besides that, you could feel the energy building in Valencia with people and signs and concerts and other events leading up to the Formula 1 Grand Prix. By the weekend of the race, everyone in the house wanted to see it.


Sara called again. Pilar, Sara's mom, could have rented out her condo to Formula 1 enthusiasts. She didn't. Instead, she opened her home to friends (and a couple of strangers - see below).

I think the view from Pilar's living room was better than we could have gotten from the grandstands. We could see the starting line, a pit stop exit, and two curves. Plus, we were out of the sun, we had great company, great food and real bathrooms. (You know, I have a thing for real bathrooms.) We could also watch race extras on Pilar's TV.

We brought what I thought was a lot of food ... until I saw what Sara's family put on the table. Pilar prepared mussels and other appetizers, Sara whipped up some gourmet dishes (with her eyes closed), and Beatrice (Sara's sister) brought drinks and a cake for Eva's birthday.

Interesting cultural difference here: In the United States, you typically bring something (food and/or drinks) when you are invited over to someone else's house ... especially when "you" are 11 people. But, Pilar was insulted that we brought food and that we wanted to help serve and clean-up. She expected us to sit and talk and watch the race while she, Sara, and Beatrice prepared the food, served and cleaned up after their guests. (My brother, Robert, would LOVE it here. Hee hee.)

We consumed the food and company and we were consumed by the energy and noise of the cars zooming by. We were so consumed, it took us a while to notice the two strangers on the balcony. Apparently, two young men from Austria simply rang the doorbell and then asked Pilar if they could come in to watch the race. "Of course," she said. Why not? My mom would have done the same.