Some of the best surprises occur during travel. Two Julys ago a friend and I stopped in Venice on our way to a Sicilian archaeological dig. Little did we know that we had chosen the riotous weekend of La Festa del Redentore, Venice’s annual summer party second only to Carnevale. What’s more, had just won the World Cup a few days before. As we exited the Peggy Guggenheim museum at the end of our very long first day, we heard radios blasting Bob Sinclair’s Love Generation, raucous Campioni del Mondo cheers, screeching horns, and revving engines— the sound of thousands of boats parading down the Grand Canal. We quickly elbowed our way onto a crowded vaporetto going the opposite direction against the tide of puttering dinghies, wide barges, and sleek Venetian powerboats decorated in colored streamers, flowers, balloons, and even new paint. Their owners and friends celebrated aboard with fresh bottles of spumante, while onlookers applauded from the waterfront decks of Renaissance palazzos. That night we vied for a prime oceanfront spot on a bobbing dock along the Riva degli Schiavoni to view a spectacular hour-long fireworks display complete with neon signs for PACE, the green-white-and-red Italian flag, and even tulip shapes.

I was reminded of this Venetian summer surprise when I took an early train to Modena this past weekend on a mission to visit La Galleria Ferrari, forty minutes outside the city. While waiting for the midday bus I wandered up to Piazza Grande in the centro and suddenly found myself surrounded by 100 red Ferraris parked amidst great activity in the main square. Because all of their hoods were pointed in the same direction, they looked like a brilliant school of tropical fish ready to bolt at any moment. Some were convertibles, some were hatchbacks, and some had full backseats, but all of them were classic low-lying vehicles with silver rims. Fathers wearing red sweatshirts were photographing their sons in the trademark red and yellow Ferrari logo baseball caps, while others were discussing the merits of various engines and running their hands in awe along the cars’ smooth and shiny outlines. The sight of so many of these magnificent automobiles during this casual Sunday morning raduno di Ferrari was enough to keep me smiling the entire day, but to add to my happiness no more than 15 minutes after I arrived did all of the owners retreat to their respective vehicles, duck into their seats, start their ignitions, and begin a well-choreographed departure as each Ferrari drove single file through a gauntlet of hundreds of screaming spectators.

Only a stroke of exceptionally good luck brought me to Modena and Venice at these times. Travel is always exhilarating and exciting, but its unexpected events make it most rewarding.