This Classified Ad is for one "personal private driver tour guide with travel advice and + vehicle and equipment + meals on the road” and for you to have the right to reserve your seat on this overland travel adventure trip, for one unique tour starting around the first days of December of 2007, this travel adventure, that I’m organizing, a unique travel adventure trip down here in South America for only 3 other travellers apart form my self, the idea is starting out here in Buenos Aires, a cosmopolitan city full of live and exotic sights, we will be visiting unique buildings, lighthouses both in the city and on the Island of Martin Garcia some 40 miles by River …. As well as a day crossing to Colonia in neighbourhood country Uruguay, visiting the old Portuguese town of Colonia, some 300 years old …… After a day or 2 here and around these places we will carry on travelling towards Chile, going via Rosario, Cordoba and then Mendoza, seeing the Pampas, the Andes Mountains visiting Wine Bodegas, wonderful unique sights, searching town by town for Arts and Antiques, for those especially interested in old tractors steam engines we will also be hunting them, likewise for those insulators collectors, and visiting Museum and Art Galleries on all mayor stops, this adventure is not only about “hitting the road, jack” but also looking out to a parts of the world, that are rapidly changing and it might be one of the last times do see and document it before “man and the weather” change it for ever…. See sights and sounds like maybe have been the same for hundreds of years, remote villages, high up in the mountains or across in Chile. So we will be also crossing over to Santiago de Chile, the Pacific Ocean, Valparaiso, and then down south to the Big Island of Chiloe, this mystical and magic island, with hundreds of churches and strange wooded buildings over the sea, lighthouses and many islands to visit, and then back crossing over gain the Andes mountains, back across to Argentina, Via Esquel, Route 40, Ruta 40, seeing and travelling on trains, crossing lakes and bays, on paved and unpaved roads, hunting antique tractors, visiting lighthouses and museum, buying art and antiques and sleeping in small towns and villages some times in top notch boutique hotels other time in down and out places… Bariloche and Puerto Blest, for those by now tired out can catch a flight back to Buenos Aires, then home, or for those willing to spend Christmas and New Year in this part of wild South American and in style can carry on with me …….. Eating and tasting local foods and drinks, as well as wines … the idea is to have a total adventure in places I have already travelled to and others that I’m not familiar with. All this, for an adventure, that could well turn out to be ……… a drive of a life time. We would be travelling in a 4 wheel drive vehicle, 4WD this is a good on and off road vehicle, with all the equipment necessary also for camping out a night or 2 on the road, when its nice to ….. so far the idea is still being worked on, so its subject to some change, all I wanted to check out with this auction is if there are any possible candidates who would be willing to accompany me…… at the same time we would be documenting the trip for deferent purposes… I have worked out some kind of cost for the trip, its based on a daily rate per person, this doesn’t include any extra expenses but only the use of the vehicle and me driving it (included all running costs of the vehicle, me, there the 24 hours helping, couching and providing information on the sights we will see ) and insurance, it would be US $190 per person per day of adventure, minimum days 21, calculated on a base of 3 passengers and if all seats are occupied and sold here at auction, today or in future run up auctions. Great trip for a family of 3, friends, or adventurers who never got the chance to be one…… and why not just for those lovers of art and antiques who want to experience pure fun a dn the sport of hunting down items, village by village town by town ….. All other expenses; from trip down, to Buenos Aires and back home, from food lodging here and on the road and all personal expenses all the way to medical costs if any, all , and each expense for each person, are apart, are to be paid by each of the individuals doing the trip, and you can do this threw your local travel agent or any way you feel fit in doing it. There are some risks involved so its best only to do trip if you are in good health and to let me know of anything before hand. Some information on myself, Lonely Planet has me listed as a “friendly and bohemian art dealer guide” on page 49 of its latest edition of Lonely Planet Guide for the city of Buenos Aires. This guide was written by Sandra Bao, and is just out, by the way, a great in view to our City. I'm also known on Internet online magazines and forums where I publish my insiders’ articles and inputs for travellers & dealers on art to antiques dealers, just Google my name! Or Yahoo! I’m a qualified eBay seller with great feedback! And I have been on line on eBay since 1998. That goes back a long way for Internet users. So if you are interested in Art or Antiques, and you are thinking of travelling to Argentina Chile or Uruguay please feel free to email me…….. Please feel free to contact Bob Frassinetti: For more information: Email: Bob Frassinetti. Press here to see all topics on Art, Antiques and Travel Information for Buenos Aires & Argentina:Everything on Art, Antiques, Collectibles as well as travel information for Buenos Aires, Argentina, Chile and Uruguay. Phone me thru Skype, ID: Bob_Frassinetti or you can also chat with me thru Yahoo, press here: Yahoo Contact Find me on MySpace and be my friend! Or Phone: +54 911 4475 3983 or in B's A's: 15 4475 3983 ) Invest in Argentina Real Estate an uprunning opportunity with a Future Read The Buenos Aires Art Dealer a e-zine magazine on Art, Antiques & Collectibles from Argentina. The Buenos Aires ArtDealer, Argentina.

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The insight on a Citroen 2CV passionate collector
Click to join artandantiques Ruben lives in the Western province of Mendoza at the bottom of the Andes Mountains; just 20 km away from Mendoza Capital city. He lives in a small town that looks pretty much like the French countryside. Ruben is a family man who has a strong and interesting passion, his Citroen 2CV. We know for a fact that Citroen and more precisely its 2CV models were milestones in Argentina's auto history, in projection with the role these vehicles have played around the world. Ruben's story is just one of the many passionate stories we have found regarding the strong impact 2CV's have had on Argentines. We chatted with him this morning to know a bit more about his personal story with 2CVs, what they mean to him and a bit more. Ruben bought his 2CV 10 years ago in Mendoza. He bought it from a man who had it for over 20 years and kept the vehicle in superb conditions. His Citroen 2cv was made back in 1964 in Argentina. It has a 14 hp, 425 cc engine with centrifugal engage clutch, Michelin pneumatics, original tapestry, users' manual, radiator tent as well as the original fabric roof top in blue. The model was known as the 2CV de luxe due to some sophisticated details such as the third window, chromed hubs and bumpers as well as side and front moldings. He also has some of what we call the collectors treats: original purchase invoice from 1964. Ruben tells us he has always been passionate about the brand, that he has had 2CVs since he had the possibility of earning his own money. When we asked what the single most important thing was, he pointed out that the first thing that caught his eye was Citroen's history, the way it evolved since the 30s onwards. He recovers the anecdotes we reproduced in our article, since it was amazing the way the vehicle was first received as an unappealing car for the countryside and then it became a world trademark. Ruben is the first one in his family to have a Citroen, but he's sure he won't be the last one, especially because he has passed on his passion for 2CV's to his youngest son, Facundo. When Citroen returned to Argentina during the 90s they opened an agency in Mendoza, and for the opening days Ruben contacted them directly offering them his own original 2CV to showcase on the opening day. However, the company representatives told him that they were trying to detach from the 2CV image, working on a transition into slimmer lines and modern vehicles. Ruben was overwhelmed and upset. He inquires why on earth a firm that has developed such a trademark vehicle would disregard its history! He does not share the new winds blowing under Citroen wings'. While there are frequent Citroen rallies, the only one he participated of was the 2004 Mendoza Citroen Reunion. Citroen fans from around the globe came to Argentina, mainly from the South American region, because the shipping costs to transfer back and forth a vehicle are indeed high. However he recalls upon a German collector who had a 2 engine Sahara model, who traveled half around the planet to take part of the show. Our conversation went on and on, talking about the ins and outs of 2CVs and their history in Argentina. And at one point of the conversation, he tells us that he had written an ode, a poem to his own vehicle. Ruben was kind enough to share it with us, and we transcript it as follows. the Ode is in Spanish, and we have put our best effort to translate it without loosing its intrinsic music. Por la francesa llanura Through the French countryside Se ve la corva figura We see its curveted figure de un 2CV avanzar It's that of the 2CV Su rumoroso motor With its roaming motor 2 cilindros bien opuestos 2 cylinders facing eachother Una lona como techo Fabric roof y doble piso el baúl and a double floor on the trunck Levanto mi vista, y veo I lift my eyes and see En un cielo muy azul A very blue sky Su exquisita y rica historia As I recall its Que viene a mi memoria exquisite and rich history y se las paso a contar Which I decide to share now Se gestó a fines del 30 It was conceived during the 30s Vio la luz en los 40 Created during the 40s Se expandió en los 50 It expanded during the 50s Fue hippie en los 60 Turned hippie in the 60s Intelectual en los 70 Intellectual during the 70s Ciudadano del mundo en los 80 World's citizen by the 80s Y cuando dejó de salir en los 90 al principio, And when it was off production, during the early 90s, Su fama ya era un mito Its world fame turned it into a myth por toda la humanidad for all humanity A la que supo entregar To which it provided con su techito entreabierto With its briefly opened roof aunque sea por un momento even only for a little while el viento de la libertad the winds of freedom Por la francesa llanura Through the French countryside Se ve la corva figura We see its curveted figure de un 2cv avanzar It's that of the 2CV As soon as he finishes his recital, he says: "As I said the words, I feel I'm a crazy lover of the Modern creations, just like Cervantes did with cavalry". No extra words are needed to portray this man's affection and passion for his own car, its history and historical cultural meaning. A passion that finds its way through poetry to reach other collector's hearts. For more information: Email: admin@frassinetti.com Bob Frassinetti. Press here to go back to web blog:Daily Updates on Art, Antiques, Collectibles as well as travel information for Buenos Aires, Argentina. Phone me thru Skype, ID: Bob Frassinetti or you can also chat with me thru Yahoo, press here: Yahoo Contact Find me on MySpace and be my friend!