Vroom By The Sea
The sunny parts of Italy on a bright orange Vespa
A limencello-fuelled blast through Sicily, Sardinia and the Amalfi Coast on a Vespa the same shade of orange as Donatella Versace.
Welcome to the highly anticipated sequel to Vroom With A View – a ride through the sunny parts of Italy on a bright orange 1972 Rally 200 christened Marcello, after legendary Italian actor Marcello Mastroianni.
Marcello was the perfect Vespa for a final ride before fatherhood.
He was bright and brash and made every other Vespa on the road look dull. Even when he was on his stand, Marcello had hairy-chested swagger.
Like Sophia in Vroom With A View, Italians loved him, showing me a side of their country tourists rarely see. His mere presence elicited free beers from barmen, swoons from young women and beeps and whistles from other drivers.
Thanks to Marcello, this most Italian of machines, I was able to experience the true heart of this fascinating and fun-loving country.
“Fast, fun and full of brio … just like Marcello“
Sydney Morning Herald
Start your journey now
Here’s some great news. Vroom By The Sea is available as an eBook on Amazon right now. You’re just a click or two away from the tutti-fruiti good times of riding a bright orange Vespa through the sunny parts of Italy. Ciao bella!
Photos from the trip
Please forgive the poor quality of the images in this gallery. The originals are in a storage unit in Australia, so I’ve had to use images from when the web was slow and high resolution was a curse rather than a blessing. I plan to visit my storage unit some time this year. When I do, rest assured, the image quality will improve dramatically.
Robert Buthlay
4 years agoIs there anywhere I can buy the book Vroom by the Sea? Vroom with a View is by far my favourite book. It Brought back many memories of my days with a Vespasian. Superb.
Peter Moore
4 years agoHi Robert,
It’s a tricky one to track down. It’s out of print in the UK, but I think you can still get it in Australia. I know Fishpond.com.au are selling copies. And you can usually find secondhand copies on the various Amazons.
If you have a Kindle, it’s always available as an eBook. If you look on the page above you’ll see direct links to the various territories and a link to the Apple eBook version as well.
Bob Fogel
4 years agoJust finished Vroom by the Sea. It took me back to our visits to Positano, Ravello and Sicily along with some destination ideas for our next trip to Italy. Previously read Vroom with a View, which I also enjoyed.
Peter Moore
4 years agoThanks Bob – always nice to hear that I’ve helped bring goof memories back for my readers. And I appreciate your kind words for both Vrooms.
Cheers
Peter
Paul Underwood
8 months agoJust finished this book and thoroughly enjoyed it. I also own a rally 200 and feel inspired to do a similar trip on it… I had already planned to ride my 1958 lambretta to the site of the old innocenti factory … but maybe something on the rally.
Thank you for sharing your experiences in this superbly written book.