2007 Summer Update

Submitted by Andreas Dharmawan on Tue, 2007-05-29 01:00.

Dear Spirited Drivers:

First of all, thank you for your feedback and support – especially those of you who shared stories and beautiful pictures. Thank you. I just came back from my 10 month sabbatical traveling in South America, Europe, and Asia. Now, that I am back, I am excited about spending more time on Driving-Vacation.

Here is a sneak preview of what will be coming up…

Between Summer 2007 and Spring 2008, I am planning to lead several European driving-vacations. We want to visit the beautiful, scenic, glacial Lake Como, a lake of glacial origin in Lombardy, Italy. After some spirited driving through the Italian Alps, we will rest in the picturesque town of Bellagio perched on the shores of Lake Como.

Another driving-vacation destination is the French Gorge in the southern France, also known as the Grand Canyon of Europe. Top Gear’s Jeremy Clarkson claimed this region has the most treacherous roads in Europe. When we are not driving, we will spend some relaxing days in the Mediterranean coastal town of Nice, the French Riviera Cote d'Azur Cannes, and the James Bond’s Monte Carlo.

One of my favorite cities in Europe is the magical, dream-like city of Amsterdam. On the way there, we will be driving through the delightful region dotted by hilltop villages of Provence and the luscious French Alps. While we are in Amsterdam, we will take canal boat rides, admire the reflection of the lit ginger bread houses and the charming bridges on the canal water, having the Rijsttafel dinner, and maybe getting some magic mushrooms. Stay tuned for the stories.

Some exciting news for Driving-Vacation

The Driving-Vacation team has recently grown. Chris from Indiana and Edwin from Ohio joined the website development team. Jeanney from Washington DC joined to help with content. We plan on making information on points of interests and routes more easily accessible.

Soon, we will release YouTube (RS4 in the French Gorge) and Interactive Map integrations so that our spirited drivers can share not only photos, but also videos and maps of their routes.

As always, if you have suggestions or comments on other things that we can do to make this a better site, please let us know.

Mark your calendars!

In my neck of the woods, I will lead a weekend Driving-Vacation through the twisty coastal and mountainous Highway 1 in Northern California, starting from the romantic city of San Francisco. If you are interested in joining any of these trips, please send us an email.