Page 43 - Decadence

OSTERIA DEL 36
PARMA
It was Saturday evening on the Mille Miglia and we had just raced from Rome to Parma on the penultimate leg of the 1000 mile historic race.
We had parked up the car for the evening and walked through the park into the centre of Parma where the Mille Miglia cars were still arriving. The town square was full of restaurants and fans, but we wanted to nd something more authentic, Jenny did a quick search and we were headed into the small back streets sheltering under our umbrella until we found our restaurant, but it was full. They sent us down the street and to the left, another local spot, also full. But they recommended another place, again down and to the left.
Result, they had a table. What we didn’t notice was the door covered in Michelin stars, it turned out this was the oldest Osteria in Parma and what followed was one of the most memorable meals ever. True Italian hospitality and authentic mouth-watering food, amazing.
Osteria del 36 Via Saf 26/A, 43100 Parma PR Italy Tel +39 0521 287061
NORMANDY COUNTRY CLUB
LE MANS
We found this one during the Le Mans weekend, we booked in here for the night of the race and as we arrived we were immediately captivated by the views and location. It was about 40 mins from the circuit and our plan was check in, have dinner and return to the race for a few hours during the night. As we swung in to the main reception area we parked between Ferraris and golf karts, it was early evening and the members were still on the greens of the golf course almost oblivious to the 24 Hours of Le Mans that was happening a few miles away.
We checked in to our two-bedroom apartment in a rustic cottage like building that was a short drive from the main reception and overlooked the swimming pool, then went back to the main club house for dinner. Sitting out on the terrace with a view across the golf course we had an amazing meal that frankly took us by surprise, the wine list was perfect with obviously lots of local wines. The restaurant was so good we had to remind ourselves we had a race to go back to.
Normandy Country Club Belléme - Domain du Golf de Belléme, France. Tel +33 233 851313
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