Sporty & British: Grand Prix, Wimbledon & Stevie Nicks

Hello dear Rocca readers,

Here is Claudia, your founder.

As the beach girl that I’ve always been, summer is my favourite season. This means toastie sun, cooling swims in the ocean, warm nights, tanned skin, natural highlights, and so on. However, I love sports as much (or even more) and my English boyfriend knows it well. Despite the VERY wet, cold and grey weather prediction, (don’t quit, there’s good stuff coming) we flew to the highlands for 2 weeks of amazing sports and music events.

VIP on the Fast Track: The ultimate F1 experience

I grew up with F1 playing on the background during Sunday lunch, as my father was a great fan of the sport (all sports, really). Besides the exciting race start and finish, I never really understood the hype and found it quite…boring. Thanks to the Netflix Series Drive to Survive (which is brilliant, add to list) my interest has been growing immensely and attending an F1 Grand Prix made it’s way to the top of my bucked list.

The invite came through the Italian beer brand, Peroni, who is the sponsor for Ferrari (this is where it gets good). We had the pleasure to attend the qualifying day of the British Grand Prix in Silverstone, VIP style (IYKYK). Wearing my cute summer dress and soaked sandals (anything for the look) we visited the Paddock and lounged in the Peroni hospitality. Great food and drinks, fun chats, 3 rounds of racing and… a Q&A with the Ferrari Team Principal Frederic Vasseur. With his sassy sense of humour, strong French pronounce and a sneaky smile on his face, he had all guests laughing to tears within minutes. What a charmer.

Hot Tip: The qualifying day is the absolute best day to attend as you get to see the 3 races instead of 1. Also, try to do it VIP. It’s one of those events that unless you have a screen and a cold drink (in my case a cup of tea because #portugueseintherain) in your hand, you’re clueless about what’s happening.

Serving style: Wimbledon charm

After heading back from the GP, we made our way to tennis heaven – Wimbledon. This mystical and magical event hosted by the Royal family, with all players in classy all white tennis sets, perfect tailored suits and the iconic strawberries and cream, felt like a scene out of a classic movie. Every detail is thought out, the energy is vibrant, and there’s an inexplicable nostalgic flair in the air. The grounds are breathtaking and the atmosphere is absolutely fantastic. Having attended several tennis tournaments, I can say this is the true gem for the tennis purists. Also, great for the fashionistas, you’ll feel like you’re in the middle of a fashion week (Yes, please).

Hot tip: You will want to save this – if you buy a ground pass, you can sign up for court tickets resale for a very, very cheap price. This is how it works: you get up really FREAKING early and make your way to the ground. When the doors open, you’ll loose all composure and run to the resale tend where you will sign up for the ticket resale (from those who miss / leave early) at the price of 10 pounds. Yes, 10, not 100, not 1000. The resell ticket money goes towards charity (well done) and you get to watch your favourite players for 10 POUNDS. You’re welcome.

Travelling back in time: The gypsy queen of rock

After two great sports events, we finished off strong at the British Summer Time – the Hyde Park music festival. Before I go any further (and to make it extra dramatic) I need to give you a little context. Fleetwood Mac is my all-time favourite band. The Rumours album has been on repeat for the last 25 years and I idolize Stevie. Last year we were #blessed with the Daisy Jones & the Six series in which Riley Keough (Elvis granddaughter, btw) plays a very Stevie-inspired character. If you’re a fan, please watch it (the first 2 episodes are slow, but once the singing starts…oh boy).

When my dad passed at the age of 77, the song Landslide became his, as the lyrics could’ve been written by me. So there I was, 5 years after his passing, 3 years after launching the Rocca and 3 months after leaving my job and be a full time entrepreneur, watching Stevie Nicks perform Landslide while my faced was covered in tears (PLEASE TAKE A BIG BREATH / BE SEATED)… with Harry Styles. Yes. Harry Styles. Let that sink in.  

So, here’s my suggestion: consider England for a future summer holiday. Besides these events, there are dozens of others happening at the same time, and If you don’t mind the occasional rain, I promise you’ll have the best time! Who knows, Harry Styles might pop up! That alone is worth the trip.

Cláudia x