Thank you for sharing your wonderful experience with us Chappy! Congratulations on winning the trip of a lifetime, as well as conceiving your first child (during the trip, perhaps?!). I can't wait to read about the rest of your exciting journey.

 

After reading that I feel like a 'poser' calling myself an AMG enthusiest. You thought of so many things that never would have entered my mind. Major Kudos to you and your Wordsmith-i-ness!

 

Very, very close.

 

LOL, I wish!

 

Laureus - Day 3:

We elected to take it a little easier Monday, after another fun-filled evening at the Laureus Welcome Party, as well as another late night at the Hotel Arts’ bar. Our wake up call was scheduled for 9am

After breakfast, we decided to see some of the things around town that Barcelona is known for. We began by visiting the Sagrada Familia, the famous Antoni Gaudi cathedral that has been under construction for the past 124 years (more here: http://www.greatbuildings.com/buildi..._Familia.html). We signed up for the tour (in English) and had the opportunity to spend a few hours there. It was very cool! Nearing lunchtime, we found our way to another Barcelona “must see” area: Las Ramblas. We found a great little place for lunch and had a bottle of wine with our meal. The wine here is very inexpensive, but very good! We enjoyed our lunch and people-watched for over an hour. There are many street performers on Las Ramblas and I took a couple pictures from the seat at the restaurant.

After the tour of the cathedral and wandering around Las Ramblas for a while, we decided to head back to the hotel for a quick nap before the big evening. After all, tonight was the Black Tie affair…we wanted to be well-rested. Our travels that day also took us by the departure point from where Christopher Columbus set sail for his voyage. The historic monuments and architecture are absolutely stunning in this city.

Here are the pics I took around town…

 

Las Ramblas....can you spot the street performers?

 

We got back to the hotel and crashed for a couple hours before getting ready for the Laureus World Sports Awards. I was excited too, as I purchased a tux for this trip and was ready to play “dress up” for a glamorous evening. I made certain we had our invitations and passes for the event, and decided (as I had done the evening prior) to shed myself of the camera and just enjoy the evening. We left the room and headed to the lower lobby for another red carpet affair, this one being held at the Parc del Fòrum. We passed Cuba Gooding, Jr. in the hallway and he gave us the comment “Lookin’ good!”. We wondered if anyone noticed how we were blushing after that brief encounter.

The lower lobby was buzzing with lots of guests dressed to the ‘nines’. A quick flash of the guest passes earned us a spot in a new S-class, with the appropriate “Laureus” stickers on the side of the car. This drew a lot of attention on the drive over. Our driver deposited us on the red carpet and we briefly held the media’s attention as the flash of cameras intensified upon our arrival. We noticed some television cameras and press numbering at least a hundred. Again, I teased my wife “Guess who???, Ahhh…nobody lol…” pretending to be an inquisitive photojournalist. We smiled and concentrated on not tripping over anything…we were too shy to “work the carpet”. In retrospect, that would have been fun too!

We enter the venue and show our tickets for the evening. Row 9! Not bad! Our seats were just down the row from Flavio Briatore, the Renault F1 team Managing Director…I’m a little ahead of myself though….

After checking our tickets, we were escorted into a security area and checked through metal detectors, then down into an open area where there were large screen televisions that showed the arriving guests from our vantage point. We introduced ourselves to a very charming German couple who we spent the next hour or so with, enjoying the hors douvres and, of course, plenty of Cava…we watched as McLaren-Mercedes F1 driver, Juan Pablo Montoya and his wife pulled up in the CLK-DTM roadster, making a very grand entrance. The celebrities were endless! Bernie Eccelstone, Monica Seles, Michael Johnson (Olympic runner), Roger Federer (who ended up winning the World Sportsman of the Year), plus many, many others that I just couldn’t put down here at the moment.

We were asked to move into the auditorium for the ceremony to begin. Teri Hatcher and Cuba Gooding, Jr. were the co-hosts and each of the awards was presented by legendary sports figures, actors or, in one case, by His Majesty Juan Carlos, the King of Spain. Just prior to the ceremonies opening, they had quickly edited a video montage of the arrival of the guests, just an hour or so prior. My wife and I were briefly highlighted on the video, walking along the red carpet! As mentioned previously, our 9th row seats granted us seating within closer proximity to some of the winners and more distinguished guests, including Dr. Klaus Meier and DaimlerChrysler CEO Dieter Zetsche. Flavio Briatore was about ten seats away from us.

The awards presentation was great and we were treated to musical entertainment as well. Jamiroquai performed three songs and kept the crowd lively during the middle of the program. Towards the end, the Laureus Spirit of Sport Award was presented to seven-time Moto GP Champion, Valentino Rossi (http://www.roadracingworld.com/news/...article=25847). At the conclusion of the awards ceremony, the thousand or so guests were ushered into a very large banquet room with a sit-down dinner for everyone. We were assigned a table right next to Valentino Rossi’s table (he sat about two feet behind me!). Turns out, Brian, the other AMG Private Lounge Guest, was a motorcycle racer himself and was absolutely in heaven getting to chat with him and get a photo. He was very gracious and accommodating….and very cool….Valentino was the only one in a tux and yellow Converse hi-tops!

We enjoyed our dinner (awww filet mignon AGAIN!!??) lol…and chatted with the other guests at our table. We didn’t want the evening to end, but was getting tired after 1am or so…we decided to skip the dancing and head back to the Arts. We had plans to sleep late the next morning. We made our way to the underground parking garage and there are dozens and dozens of Mercedes-Benz S-Class, E-Class and Maybachs waiting to shuttle the partygoers back to their respective destinations. We climb in and relax for the ride back, thinking about the day and re-living the previous days in our minds. What a weekend this had been! I refused to allow myself to think about the 1pm departure we had scheduled the next day….after all, we still had one more night at the Arts!

 

Wow, Chappy...I'm still drooling over the great time you and your wife had....Congrats on the baby...I'm sure you guys are sooo excited!!

 

congrats Chappy!!!!

 

Just Beautiful!!!

 

Holy crap Chappy ... I had no idea you were over there. What an awesome trip!

Funny thing too - I just last night got back home from a week in Barcelona myself. It's my favorite city in the whole world - this was my 5th visit there. But I didn't get to go to such a fancy-pants sports award show!

I'm chuckling though - one thing you notice in Barça, other than a few taxis here and there, out on the streets Mercedes are pretty rare ... I sure didn't spot any AMG's while I was there

(They were having a big motorcycle race at the Circuit de Catalunya there this past week, but nothing car-wise, I don't think.)

 

Awesome!!!!

 

We need pics!!!
Just kidding.
Thanks Chappy.
If there are any difference you can remember, please tell!

 

I always though CL and SL are the best looking cars in MB line up. I cant believe CL is going to look like a damn lincoln.

 

Now that guy (whoever he is?) is really lucky stood on the pit wall to the left.

 

Chappy!!!

Super Congrats to you & your wife on your trip and your expectant child
and thank you for spending the time to narrate your trip with us.

Great pics too!!!

It was extremely illuminating and informative.

Now that's how a thread is suppose to be like!!!

Hmmm, now I wonder if they have any MB/AMG baby seats??!!

 

That is my good friend, easty....

 

lol...believe it or not, I've seen some posted in this site!

 

I'm new to this site and to AMG,
but after having my CLK55 for about a week now, and seeing the type of devotion and following AMG has, as demonstrated by Chappy in this thread and some others on the site..........I think I'm hooked for life!

Chappy.....great stuff man!

 

HEADS UP, GANG.....

Three more FREE trips were just announced on the AMG Private Lounge. I am, unfortunately, ineligible for the next ten months....

But, SOME lucky bloke from MBWorld could be the next happy winner!

The link to the AMG Lounge is on the first post of this thread.

Good luck to all!

 

Hi Chappy, I just checked out the Private lounge, but couldn't locate the annoucement or a link to the "event"...

Could you post a url?

thanks!

 

Chappy, Ditto I could not find the post for the trips.

 

Once you get inside, click on "Community" and "Discussion Boards"...then look under "AMG Information"....it's the top two stickies.

Best of luck!

 

So much for globalization...