Overview
In the summer I turned forty I bought an old Vespa on eBay and rode it from Milan to Rome.
The Vespa was a beautiful coffee coloured ’61 model with saddle seats and a little too much chrome. I called her Sophia after Sophia Loren and the Italians loved her as much as I did.
From the Italian Alps to the hilltop towns of Tuscany she showed me a side of Italy very few people get to see.
Favourite Photos
The Colosseum, Rome: This is me and Sophia outside the colosseum at the end of the trip.
I look happy and I am. I finally got to Rome and and spent a morning buzzing around the city, whizzing past the remnants of antiquity and ignoring a police woman blowing her whistle to tell me I was going the wrong way.
F.A.Q.
How did you find riding in Italian traffic?
How can I tour Italy by Vespa without buying one?
When can I buy the eBook version?
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Really enjoyed the book and the slideshow. I have just ordered Vroom by the Sea so hoping for more of the same again.
I have read everything published and am a seasoned traveller. I wish I could come up with a good idea to give some travel writing an interesting edge the way you can. Have thought about following in the footsteps of Laurie Lee and writing an up to date “As I Walked Out….” with a guitar as opposed to a fiddle but would have difficulty financing it as I have to work to pay the mortgage. Maybe when I retire unless you do it first!
Keep at it.
Noel
Absolutely loved this book, the characters, places and humour took me on an amazing journey through Italy, loved it
))
Hi Jude – thanks for that. Glad you enjoyed it so much!
Loved the first book and as soon as I’d finished I started the second book. Brings back so many great memories of family holidays in Italy, even sat on the steps of the same well in San Gimignano and ate gelato’s as Peter did in A Vroom With a View. Sad there wasn’t much about Montepulciano, we had a fantastic week there and if you didn’t stop and have a meal there Peter you missed out, some of the best we’ve ever had in Italy!
Hope to move to Italy next year, Abruzzo or La Marche, if you ever do the East coast Peter, come and visit, you’ll be very welcome.
Cheers
Ian Baxter
UK
I’ve been into Vespas since 1995. Here in America they were very very rare back then. I worked a bit in a Vespa shop helping a bit with restorations and learning how to fix them. I thoroughly enjoyed your book. After seeing Roman Holiday for the first time, in my early 20′s, I decided I had to do what you ended up doing. I’ve not been able to yet, but still have the dream. Thank you for letting me live vicariously through you, until I get to visit Italy (and England) and do my own tours on a Vespa.
Ciao from Florida.
-Susanna T.
yes, I stink at spelling. I just caught my ill typing of the word Italian. do over.
I went crazy with nostalgia when i finally got around to the book. In 2002 I was watching “come September” and when I saw Rock Hudson take Gina Lollobrigida around the Italian countryside on a vespa i decided that was for me!!I happened to have a ticket to italy inmy desk at the time. I wondered if you could go far on one of those, but gave it a try, renting a scarabeo 125 in Milan. Apparently, you chose the same route as I did…. linking up with the road to Pavia that stretches along the canal. I laughed when you recounted the first roundabout. I had made the same mistake as you did and also ended up on the “big steel bridge” on the Po. My bike broke down outside Bobbio, as did yours, and i, too was turned away by someone who had a room, but for reasons that were unclear, wouldn’t rent it to me. Unlike you, however, i turned around in La Spezia, then convinced of the feasibility of scooter travel. I have since done five trips, including all six national parks in the Dolomites, and on my 50th birthday i went from Milan to Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia, Montenegro, then to the southern tip of Albania and then to Greece. Just like you, everyonewas amazed that i came from Milan. I do have an advantage in that i speak fluent Italian, but other than that, i felt like we were on the same trip! Let me know if you need a bi-lingual sidekick and I’ll be there!!
Hi Peter,
I’ve just read your fantastic travel log – Vroom with a View. You took me away from dreary England to a wonderful sunny country and introduced me to your new friends – loved every page. I’ll take my wife soon, maybe not on a Vespa as much as I’d like too. Bikes are our normal holiday transport.
And what a tease – to only mention the slide show at the end of the book. Brilliant. The images are captured in your writing. May you please add titles to the slide pictures so that I don’t take my wife the wrong citadel.
thanks again and keep writing. I’ll be getting your collection asap.
Graham
What a read! This book takes you right into the heart of Italy… the reality of the words stream of pages as if you are in Italy yourself. I read Vroom with a View just prior to travelling to Italy for a wedding, and needless to say I was highly inspired by your adventure Peter. The characters you’ve introduced us too form a great part of the story, and combined with the “incidentals and accidentals” that occur when travelling, make this a must read book. I have told many friends about it since, and I can only hope they are also enjoying it as much as I did.
All the best!
Dan
Hi Dan – glad to hear you enjoyed Vroom so much and that it gave a real sense of ‘being there.’ No greater compliment for an author!
Re: The characters. As you probably found out yourself, there’s no shortage of them in Italy. The nice thing is that I’ve remained firm friends with many of them – especially Filippo and Marco in Livorno. I’ve been to both their weddings. In fact, my daughter was the flower girl at Marco’s.
Thanks too for recommending the book to your friends. Word of Mouth is the best advertising around. Cheers!
Hi Peter
Loved Vroom by the Sea and the slideshow, showed us a part of Italy most don’t see . Marcello seemed to outshine Sophia, what will you use next ?.Love your books just re-reading the earlier ones takes me away from the cold dark days here in the U K . Keep it going Peter
Regards
Alan
Thanks Alan. Funnily both Vespas hold equal affection for me. Sophia was very understated and sophisticated. Marcello was loud and a lot of fun. The Italians loved both of them equally too, though I’ve got say each attracted a vastly different demographic!
Hi Peter, I’ve dicscovered you and your books recently thanks to amazon.com suggestions. Unfortunately I’m in Bulgaria right now and unable to buy the printed editions. I hope that you’ll be able to offer the ebooks soon.
I’m positive that I’ll enjoy the book.
Since the topic is very close to me – kind of dream of mine
I wanted to ask you something – how did you manage to buy your Vespa in Italy and register it? The registration seems to be the problem that is why I’m trying to gather useful info.
Thanks in advance!
Best regards,
George
Hi George – as a foreigner I couldn’t own or register an old bike (I think there is something in place for EU citizens to buy and register new Vespas). I had to use an ‘Italian’ solution. Basically I kept the Vespa in the name of the person I bought it off. He registers and insures it and as a rider I’m covered. Involves a bit of trust on both sides, but it worked for me both trips, on both Vespas.
Peter…..I got back today from a week relaxing in Penang with my family, and following a recommendation from a friend (who has a Vespa), I took along “Vroom With A View” to read. Well, I just loved it and (excuse the old cliche) could not put it down! What made the “journey” more relevant for me is that I also was born in 1962, and although my 40th year on the planet seemed to slip by with no milestone achievements, I am (as you are) rapidly zooming towards the half century, and I have been looking for inspiration to “mark the occasion” with some sort of challenging adventure. My focus keeps coming back to Australia, and one of the few regions that I have never explored is the Kimberley region, so this is on my agenda for 2012. I have two quick questions…..firstly, have you ever done much writing about Australian travel and your experiences (and if not, is there anything on the horizon?) and secondly (or should that be thirdly?!), which book of yours should I read next? (Part of me doesn’t want to spoil the whole Vespa/Italy thing by reading another “same, same but different” book…..I think I want the words and images to linger a little longer…..! Thanks again for an excellent read! Cheers, Michael.
Hi Michael – glad you enjoyed Vroom with a View. As to what book you should try next, the sequel, Vroom by the Sea, kind of suggests itself!
Re: Australia. I did a big trip around Australia that I hope will become a book. But that’s another year or so off. The Kimberley region is amazing. You could do worse than mark your 50th adventuring up there.
just reading vroom with a view, with great interest, myself and my wife are riding to pisa, pontedera then onto verona from the uk in june. we are travelling on our vespa gts 300. what an adventure we cant wait, your book has inspired us more. thank you steve.
Guys – you are going to have a brilliant time. And a considerably more comfortable one than me on GTS 330s. Have a blast!
I am a former news reporter and enjoyed you book very much.
A good friend of mine knows I enjoying reading travel books and gave me, “Vroom with a View” for Christmas. I thought it was well written. I felt almost like I was traveling with you. I would write down some of the places you mentioned in your book and then log on the World Wide Web and look for photos of those very same places.
I now look forward to reading more of your travel adventures.
Tim
Hi Peter,
What a fantastic book Vroom with a View is! My wife and I have just got back from a road trip from Dunblane in Scotland, to Italy over 2 weeks. We travelled in my Classic Mini, and got smiles with people coming up to speak to us wherever we were. We stayed in Carate Urio, just up from Menaggio and reading the book again back home, reminds me of the sights and smells of the most beautiful place I’ve ever visited.
There are so many parts of the book that we can relate to from our trip, it’s uncanny. Having also got a love for all things Vespa shaped, and because of your book, I plan on purchasing one soon. Thanks for producing such a wonderful read.
Jonathan
Ciao Peter,
I live in Turin in the north of Italy and a year ago whilst browsing through some travel book titles on amazon.co.uk, I chanced apon Vroom with a View and the subtitle : In search of Italy’s dolce vita… caught my attention and so I promptly ordered it to read for my summer holiday in Tuscany. Although I don’t own a Vespa OR a car for that matter, I thoroughly loved reading that book and really enjoy the way you write and describe your adventures. I even made some detours in Tuscany, paying a visit to some of the little towns you described in your book.
I have recently ordered Vroom by the Sea as I LOVE SICILY and the Amalfi Coast and also Swahili for the Broken-hearted. I can’t wait to immerse myself in those books and read about your adventures.
Hi Elaine,
Just wanted to say what a fantastic place Torino is! It was on my to do list when in Italy, as wanted to stay at the Hotel Lingotto. I’m a big Italian Job fan (original!) and the Lingotto was where one of the famous Mini scene’s was filmed, on the Fiat test track on the roof. Anyway, we took the subway into Torino, and what a beautiful city. So many lovely buildings, cafe’s, the list goes on! Can’t wait to go back!
Ciao
Jonathan
Hi Jonathan,
Yes, Torino IS beautiful! I’ve been living here for almost 8 years now and I still love going for walks in the city centre and exploring the various landmarks and museums. I’ve seen the original Italian Job film and also been to the top of the Lingotto for a little walk on the ex Fiat test track.
Cheers,
Elaine
Loved the book, loved the slideshow.
I could not get on with the driving just south of Rome, too manic for me, however I have been told that was the worst place and I should try Rural Italy; your book gives me the push to try that! Well done and thank you.
I read this book a couple of years ago, but am now starting to plan a similar trip for next year. I was truly inspired to go and see more of a country that I already love. Great writing, and I hope my trip is as good!
Read The 40 Year Old Vespa Virgin, lot of fun. Would love to read Vroom… any possibility of it being made available for Nook readers?
Just finished. I didn’t want it to end. I loved it.
Just finished Vroom with a View for the second time. loved even more as we have now visited lots of the places mentioned. Great stuff.
Loved Vroom with a view.
I got a Vespa (PX) just before my 40th as a kind of mid life crisis present and I love it. I stumbled across your book when I was looking for some accessories in the web, and bought it as a holiday read, and an excellent choice it was.
I thoroughly enjoyed the book and couldn’t wait to get back on the sun lounger and read the next instalment. I could almost feel the wind on my face and the bugs hit my chest as I turned the pages. I ordered Vroom by the sea before I got to last chapter. Inspired, I am hoping to visit Italy soon although I don’t think it will be on my Vespa, my wife doesn’t fancy riding pillion with me trying to drive on the other side of the road, you never know though.
Excellent work, whats next? Maybe you could get a Vespa with a side car and take Sally and your daughter on a road trip.
fab book, added to my collection of ones written by yourself and other fortunates who get to travel the world. Thanks you, it was a great bed time read and it made me laugh as well as long for time in the future to be allowed to travel.
JUST FINISHED READING VROOM WITH A VIEW AND I DO HAVE A CRITICISM. I’M NOW FORCED TO GO BACK TO ITALY, GO RIDING AND EAT GELATO, ALL BECAUSE OF YOUR TALES…THIS IS GONNA COST ME A FORTUNE BUT HEY, WE ALL DESERVE A LITTLE BREAK EH? LOL
I don’t really read many books but a friend lent me “Vroom” as my Italian wife, four boys and i were planning to drive from Torquay in Devon down to San Vincenzo in Tuscany (via Milan).Six of us in a Vauxhall Zafira driving over 3000 miles (in total) in 2 weeks seemed a little crazy for the annual holiday but reading Vroom every night made me laugh and de-stress as we were travelling in the same region and came across many similar situations as Peter ! Infact i could’nt wait to offload the kids evey day to the pool complex so i could grab a lounger (along with the Dutch & Germans) so i could read a little more ! As i said i don’t generally read books but with this one i’ve become a convert !! It really did help my whole holiday experience in Italy !!! kept a smile on my face (not always easy with four young boys & a Neapoitan wife in temperatures up to 37 *c !!!)
I met a friend of yours in Gig Harbor WA USA He was selling his photos of italia .
Larry Snyder of Seattle WA. USA
11/26/2011
I enjoyed this book and I don’t normally read books, mainly read magazines. I was on a scooter forum as I ride a Honda SH300i and someone mentioned that they had read it, so based on their review I purchased it from Amazon, like the writing style and could imagine the journey and hope to do similar soon but on a Honda purely for reliability. I am now reading Vroom by the Sea and enjoying that also and have The Wrong Way Home to read next. I then will probably not read a book for the next 10 years or so.
I recently left some comments on twitter, but got no response, so got pissed off and deleted the account. I hate all that social networking anyhow, better to get out there and just do it. thanks for a good read.
Hi, aint quite finished reading vroom with a view but need to leave three words that this book means to me ” so bloody jealous” cheers for the fun read