Vroom With a View
In Search of Italy’s Dolce Vita on a ’61 Vespa

"Combining two of my fave topics on the planet and writing about both with wit, style and obsessive hilarity. I do not know a single soul who will not totally dig this brilliant love letter to Italy and its favorite way of getting around.”
--Mario Batali


Synopsis

Peter Moore had to make a decision late one night: buy a Tae-Bo for Seniors video tape and slip into his forties like a ton of bricks or fulfill a teen-age fantasy borne while watching an Italian movie featuring a young, vibrant and very sexy Sophia Loren riding a Vespa in Rome.

It didn’t take long before Moore found "Sophia" (his ’61 Vespa) on E-Bay.  With only blind faith and the soul of an intrepid traveler, off he flew to Milan to seal the deal and start his sojourn from Milan to Rome on a Vespa.

It was love at first sight—the bike had everything he wanted—a few dents and scratches, saddle seats and temperamental electrics.  When Moore sat on it for the first time, he felt like a sharp-suited, Ray Ban wearing young Marcello Mastroianni. 

Riding along back roads, visiting small towns, sleeping in haylofts, Moore shows us an Italy rarely seen—from picnicking in the Italian Alps to rattling through cobbled hilltop towns to gate-crashing France Mayes’s villa.  When Moore’s girlfriend, Sally, joins him for two weeks on the road, his fantasy is complete, “…a summer in Italy on a Vespa with too much chrome and a pretty girl riding on the back.”

But it is Sophia’s delicate constitution we owe the greatest gratitude.  Her need for constant pampering and frequent stops hypnotizes all those who gaze upon her.  The locals graciously invite Sophia (and Moore) into their homes, inns and restaurants to share their memories of their first Vespa; their first serious romance.  

Sophia forces Moore to slow down, giving him time to enjoy the simple beauty of Italy and its people—and heps him experience Italy’s dolce vita.

Author Profile

Peter Moore is the voice of independent travel in both Australia and the U.K.  A former advertising copywriter and website designer, he has visited more than ninety-two countries on his travels.  When he is not lugging his senseless backpack through foreign lands, Peter can be found at home with his new bride, Sally, who he married on Cook Island.  Sadly, Sophia was unable to attend.

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Book Tour Schedule

May 19-21- BEA in Washington, D.C.

 May 21st - VESPA Washington at 2pm on Sunday
2233 Wisconsin Ave., NW, Washington, DC, Tel: (202) 333-8212

May 22nd - McNALLY ROBINSON Bookstore at 7pm on Monday  
52 Prince Street, New York, NY (betw. Lafayette & Mulberry), Tel: (212) 247-1160

May 25nd - VESPA NEW ORLEANS from 11am to 6pm 

May 30th - SCOOTER ORIGNINALI at 6pm 

May 31st - SCOMO SCOOTERS at 7pm 

June 1st - ERICO MOTORSPORTS at 6:30pm on Thursday
2855 Walnut Street, Denver, CO, Tel: (303) 308-1811

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