Tonight MINI USA took us to dinner at Fifteen, an unusual restaurant near the hotel. It was a great chance to chat with MINI friends old and new, as well as enjoying some good food (and drink!). And Rauno Aaltonen signs “MINI the book” gifts for each of us, and tells us stories …
Tomorrow, it’s the long trip home! Would I come to MINI United again? Depends …
Rumour here is that MINI United 2009 will occur, partly because of the 50th anniversary of Mini, and probably in England – if so, I think I’d probably make the trip because I can also see family & friends. But if it’s elsewhere in the world, perhaps not.
Unlike the wonderful MINI Takes The States last year, there wasn’t much chance here to meet people and make new friends. The short event, and many activities, mean everyone spends much time waiting for or participating in some event; there’s no central area where people just hang out – under the big tents, the music tends to dissuade friendly chat, and in the open air (when it’s not raining), it’s all cars and not people.
MINI United has a very different flavour to MTTS, and I prefer last years USA event (of course, I may be biased!)
M&I / GBMINI 
i hope its in the uk!!!!
Fifteen! Wow I didn’t know that Jamie had put one of these in Amsterdam. Very Kool, was the food good? The look is very diff that the one in, I think, London.
Since the £ is valued higher then the € and there for it’s way expensive in UK would that make it less attractive to most of us in the USA to travel there for an event? Or am I totally off base?
On the anti pasti plate what was the white stuff?
Your brief post event analysis was interesting Ian. I’d like to hear more of your thoughts as to what sense was kind of lacking there and how it might have been improved. Do you think the multiple languages present create a bit of a barrier? Did the wide-open spaces of the track kind of diminish the scale of the event? How long did it take to go back and forth to Amsterdam? I think you’ll have trouble topping THREE STRAIGHT MINI EVENTS like this any time soon!
Ian and I talked about MU vs MTTS Sunday night and I have to say I respectfully disagree. At least in my experience I enjoyed MU far more than MTTS – and I loved MTTS so that’s saying a lot.
Thanks Gabe … I was thinking on the flight yesterday, how there are many different “typical” MINI owners.
Some, like the Dragon folks, enjoy somewhat “fast & furious”; some (like MINIsOnTop) like to hang around & chat; some clearly love to be “party animals”.
For me, MU was more of a party event and less of a meet & greet. For you, being “the center of attention” under the tent, and enjoying the late nightlife, I understand you’ll have a very different perspective 🙂
Hmmmm . . . well I guess that kind of answers our questions. ;-( 😉
Hummmm, Now Ian was that sort of a well disguished…
still wondering, what was that white stuff on your Anti Pasti plate?
No slur intended to Gabe – he *was* in the center of the event area in the WRR tent, and had somewhere to sit and meet folks without the loud music.
As for the “white stuff”, I think it’s buffalo cheese with pesto
Kinda thought it might have been a humus or something like that but if it was buffala it looked like one of the creamer versions generally used to make Insalata di Caprese, in Italy.
It’s good to Gabe or Ian, I’d say. The rest of us can only dream.