I was recently on a trip to Italy. Before leaving for our trip, we found a tour that allowed you to drive a 1960’s Fiat 500 car through the Tuscan country side just outside of Florence. Well this became a must do!

Turned out the day of the tour, it was just my wife and I. So this turned out to be great.

Each car has a name. For example, Andrea (co-owner of the company) is standing near Giacomo. Just in front is Roberto and the red one is Paola.

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The green one (4th from the front) is Olivia who is apparently racy which Andrea drove. I drove Paola.

The weather was just great for the event. Andrea gave me a 3 minute lesson on double clutching going out and into the next gear and the other features of the car, like the toggle switch for the wipers. Then we hit the road. Double clutching when the car is off and parked is way different when moving! Taking off in first gear was easy and getting onto the main road. This is where I almost stalled and had trouble getting into second and third. Pulling off to the right and with Andrea waiting up ahead I finally got it into the gear and off we went. The gear throws were really long so that took a bit of getting used to. Once I got used to the double clutching and gears, it was a blast driving the car around the scenic country side.

The drive was wonderful with stops for photos and some history of the area.
If anyone is going to be in Florence Italy, I would highly recommend this tour.
More information can be found at http://500touringclub.com/.

Now since this is site is for car enthusiasts, some photos of the car I drove. Enjoy!

The original engine, the 'pancake' engine, the car and us in the car.

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