Concours d'Elegance - Amelia Island, FL
 

Got back recently from 5 days on Amelia Island. Basically, went to go to Concours d'Elegance held at the Ritz Carlton.(My husband is a total car buff). The Concours on Amelia is like Pebble Beach used to be before the crowds got out of hand. We saw some wonderful cars there. The day before the Concours we attended a seminar at the Ritz at which the panel consisted of race driver greats. It was very entertaining.Those guys sure have great stories to tell.

Was afraid before we went that we would have lousy weather, as weather.com said rain, rain, rain. However, we didn't even see one drop, and the weather could not have been more perfect. So much for the accuracy of weather.com.

We stayed at the Hampton Inn in downtown Fernandina Beach. We were both pleasantly surprised at how nice the hotel was. There were lots of great restaurants within walking distance. Some of the ones we particularly enjoyed were Bright Mornings (for breakfast- where we had grits for the first time ever, which we loved), and for dinner, the Marina, Espana, Bretts Waterside, and Joe's 2nd Street Bistro. For lunch, we ate at Sliders, right at the beach (not walking distance). Had one lunch at the Ritz Carlton, and that was the worst meal we had during our trip! Not that it was bad, but we had two (tiny)chicken caesar salads and two iced teas for 35 bucks, and a half hour later we were hungry and had to have another lunch!


After dinner, we took walks thru town, window shopping, and to the harbor, and just soaked up the ambiance.

We both agreed we want to go back next year!









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It's me again. Here it is one year later, just about, and we are looking forward to our second trip to Amelia Island for the Concours d'elegance in March. We're staying at the hampton inn again since it was such a great location. If you are into beautiful cars, this is a highly recommended event.

otc: glad you topped yourself. We have been to the Concours in Pebble Beach twice, and Amelia Island is new to me. I'm not the car buff, though.

I think I will suggest Amelia Island for next year. Last year, we went to a car show in Paris. My brother is the car collector, and DH and I benefit by following him around. I have to talk him into Amelia Island for 2009.

It is also in winter Park, FL October every year. See - http://www.winterparkconcours.com/

bnbt: thanks. It is a shame we missed last October, because those are the marques that my brother follows. Next year, they are featuring Aston Martin and Jaguar, not his favorites. I will have to check to see what the Honored Marques are in Amelia Island. March is a good time for all of us to go to FL, because our parents winter there. But at their age, next year is very questionable...

My DH loves the Porsches, but really drools over all of them.