The 24th meeting was held near Vevey, on the Swiss Riviera, from 9 to 12 September 2010. The weather was warm and sunny, and the event was attended by 121 participants, 61 Montreals, and 7 other cars. An illustrated report of the meeting was published in the December 2010 issue of "Alfa Romeo Driver".
The meeting, which was organised by Bruce Taylor and Beat Trinkler, was based at the Centre de Formation du Léman (now called the Hôtel du Léman), a very pleasant hotel in the picturesque village of Jongny, in the heart of the vineyards above Vevey. This hotel has an idyllic situation in a private wooded park with a superb view over Lake Geneva. Shuttle buses were provided for the convenience of participants accommodated at other hotels in the vicinity.
The programme included a parade through Montreux and a paddle ship cruise across Lake Geneva via Villeneuve to Le Bouveret. The participants then visited Swiss Vapeur Parc, the largest and most complex miniature railway park in Europe, with 2km of track.
The Montreal cavalcade also made a short drive to the pretty alpine village of Champex-Lac, nestling in a high valley in the Mont Blanc Massif. The return was by a scenic route with some interesting driving. Here are maps showing the roads that we took from Martigny to Champex, and for the return from Champex to Martigny.
The programme included a guided tour of the Château de Chillon, Switzerland's most-visited historic monument. During the meeting, the Montreals also participated in the Vevey-Retro event, which was attended by 678 classic cars, and featured the Alfa Romeo Centenary in 2010. On registering their cars, the Montreal drivers were given a small souvenir gift, and a welcome aperitif was served for them in a marquee by the Registre Suisse Alfa Romeo. All the cars then made a short balade (45-minute round trip), led by the Montreal cavalcade with an 8C Competizione pace car. This excursion passed through the Lavaux vineyards, a UNESCO world heritage site. A police car rollover attraction was present at Vevey-Retro, and there was a wheel-changing competition and activities for children, such as a car drawing competition with prizes.
On return from Vevey-Retro on Saturday evening a gala dinner was held at the hotel, with live music by the award-winning Cosa Nostra New Orleans jazz band.
Here are some photos from the 2010 Montreal meeting:
Here are some photo albums from the meeting:
This YouTube video shows many of the Montreals (followed by other classic cars) setting out from Vevey-Retro for the balade.
This video clip also shows the send-off of the Montreals from Vevey-Retro behind the 8C Competizione pace car.
This video clip includes brief shots of the Montreal excursion to Champex-Lac.
This short clip shows the Montreals in the hotel car park.
A DVD of the meeting by Bruno Wolf is available to both participants and non-participants. It may be ordered from Bruno for CHF 25 (including delivery to addresses in Switzerland) or EUR 25 (including delivery to all other countries). Payment may be made by PayPal.
A report of the meeting was published in the December 2010 issue of the AROC(UK) magazine "Alfa Romeo Driver". Copies of the magazine, which includes a 2011 calendar, can be supplied by the AROC Shop for GBP 2.50 plus postage.
For participants who wished to extend their stay on the Swiss Riviera, either before or after the meeting, details of some additional attractions in the region were given on the Montreal meeting information page (archive).
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