Having had a delightful birthday (hers) luncheon with my daughter at Berkeley City Club in Julia’s (i.e.,  Julia Morgan of architectural fame, who designed hundreds of buildings including this club and Hearst Castle to name a couple), and with nothing else to do on a Friday afternoon, I trotted over to an Alfa Romeo dealership in Berkeley and took a test drive in an Alfa Gulia ti.

So this is my old lady’s dream, to have one more great car in my life. A very nice young man pulled it out of the dealership lot and turned it over to me a few blocks down. Now, downtown Berkeley is not the best place for a test drive, but within a few turns we were on a deserted side street. A perfect place to the put the pedal to the metal and experience that Alfa Romeo smile as it took off like a bat out of hell. Not, of course, the power of the top of the line Quadrifoglio model, but then again, not the price tag either. And how badly do I want to get arrested for speeding at my age…not.

I sunk down into the luxurious interior with it’s wood paneling, softer than soft buff leather seats, adjusted the driver’s seat that moves every which way at the touch of a button to make even a 73 year old back with its attendant aches and pains quite comfortable. I start to imagine long rides on the open road. Although I may have to cave and get the “regular” model with it’s smaller wheels in order not to feel every bump in the road. But then again, with that choice I can’t have the cool rims. Beauty…pain…beauty…pain! Such a dilemma!

The only glitch, of course, is the lack of funds. Do you think a Go Fund Me campaign would fly? Help this elderly woman buy a car beyond her means. Well, one can dream and if I could settle for the “regular” edition, perhaps it is doable. Stay tuned.