my lambretta alphabet: letter #A

illustrated ABC's of what lambretta world is to me.

a for adventure

Arte Sella: contemporary art in the woods

one of the (many) perks of film photography is that you look at your pictures more often. a few days ago I was tidying one of my drawers and found the roll taken in a beautiful summer day from last year.

it was august and we had just come back from our lambretta road trip in southern France. you may expect we'd take a little break from the road, but clearly we were feeling nostalgic already, and went to a field trip to Arte Sella, an international outdoor exhibition of contemporary art set up between the fields, woods and mountains of Trentino Alto Adige, in the municipality of Borgo Valsugana.

lambretta en Provence: honeymoonin' on the roads of Southern France

Provence road trip, watercolor map 

this post is intended for:

- anyone curious about details and organization of our trip to Provence, Southern France

- anyone going to visit Provence soon, by scooter or motorcycle or car

- anyone planning a road trip by vintage scooter

I really hope you find it inspiring, pretty and useful. and yes, I woud love to read your feedbacks.

vintage tour in Val d'Orcia

Val d'Orcia with a rented lambretta

that's on top of my wish list: to be able to travel with a lambretta anywhere we want. yes, we can drive our own or ship it, but we don't aways have the time to do something like that (not to mention the costs). and to rent an original vintage scooter is almost impossible. almost.

visiting Tuscany on a vintage Italian scooter

the dreamer Dario fought the impossible founding Vintage Tours, an agency renting vespas, lambrettas and vintage cars in one of the most beautiful region of Italy, Tuscany.

foliage ride and hot chocolate picnic. November, Sunday 1st

 when it doesn't get all foggy, wet and grey, autumn can spoil you with days like this one. 

analogue walk in Belluno. October, Saturday 11th

if you've enjoyed the little guide of Belluno, here's some other film photos i took the same day, after a cool lambretta ride, during our explorative walk with Valentina.

wish you a great week  
♥

graffiti | Belluno | fujicolor 200

Belluno | a little guide

i felt it was about time to write some more practical posts about this little corner of Italy where we live in. i didn't want them to be too dry and schematic, i want them to have the same amount of inspirational stuff and charm that a regular post of this blog has. we asked a friend to be our local guide for one day and we had fun playing the tourists, listening, taking pictures and sketching.

the result is this little guide to Belluno, completely i diari della lambretta style: there are insiders tips, illustrations, film photos and some reasons to fall in love with the town. enjoy!

ponte della vittoria {victory bridge} and a look to the city centre | fujicolor 200

7 reasons we will visit Sicilia again {plus: a BIG news!}

why everyone should visit Sicily it's quite obvious. if you can't figure it out yet you either a) don't have enough informations b) are insensitive to beauty.

anyway, i feel that one time is not enough either. Sicily is a region you should visit over and over again. here, i tell you why we will.

charming Marzamemi

July, Saturday 18th. Venice seen from a sail boat

it was going to be just a regular weekend for us. but then the phone rang, and i was asked if Marco and i were up to a field trip to Venice. why not?

Venezia seen from the water | Punta della Dogana | kodak ektar 100

Sicilan colour palette

Noto | Sicilian baroque colour palette

in Sicily, it was the first time i kept an illustrated travel journal updated while we were on the road. the drawings and the coloring of the ones i did before, were made after coming back home.

analogue walk in Palermo

i've never been to a city that resembled Palermo. anyway, as people usually approach new things by comparing them to what's already known, i immediately thought the city has the same decadent charm and distracted elegance that Lisbon and Venice somehow have. but it's also pompous and proud as Rome can be. the open air markets are loud and picturesque, the traffic on the roads is a nightmare. they reminded me of Morocco.

what makes the difference is people

the back of the cottage, the blue entrance to our apartment | nikon F801s + Kodak Ektar 100

i have already told you something about how special our staying in the southern corner of Sicily had been. i have to admit, it was hard to leave.

now, one month after we came back from our Sicilia trip, when i think about it, the first images that occur to me come from our days over there: wandering around Pachino countryside, exploring Vendicari Natural Reserve, drinking aperitivo in Marzamemi, watching the pretty wooden boats in Portopalo di Capo Passero, having gelato in Noto, walking on the seaside, the cottage's blue doors, cozy porch and hammock... ♥

Sicilia on the road, 10 days and 2 wheels

after i had  the 101 film photos developed, my travel journal scanned and i finished the watercolor illustrated map last night, it's time to talk about our road trip in Sicilia, and i'm still not sure i have the right words for this.

Sicily is overwhelming.
there is so much to do and to see {and to eat} in this blessed island that 10 days can be considered as the first, inebriating, sip.

this post is meant to be for anyone who is curious about details and organization of our trip, who is going to visit Sicily soon, or is planning a road trip by vintage scooter.
enjoy!

Sicilia by lambretta watercolor map

July, Friday 17th. a dance with the honey bees

Andrea Paternoster, beekeper, and the honey bees of Borgoluce apiary

their flight is a dance, their voice is vibrant, they are hard workers, skilled in the art of good taste, they are gourmand and love flowers, they are team players, they are the best example of girl power, they vouch for an intact natural environment.

I spent a morning with the honeybees.

alpine botanical garden in Cansiglio. July, Sunday 12th

donkeys on our way back from the Cansiglio alpine botanical garden

how many amazing things we did in July! it confirms itself as my favorite month. i cannot wait to tell you everything about our Sicilia road trip, but we're not quite there yet. {i shared a little preview on Steller yesterday though}

during hot summer days i amore even more grateful than usual that we live so close to the mountains. just a quick lambretta ride and we can step into the enchanting Cansiglio forest, the closest green getaway. 

Flanders on the road | Gent & Oudenaarde

maybe the lovelies view on the river, taken from Grasburg

do not be fooled by similar geometry and architecture, Brugge and Gent have different souls. 

the first is a medieval gem, romantic and cozy, Gent is definitely more lively, fresher and vibrant. 

Flanders on the road | 3 things we won't forget about Brugge

Brugge has a timeless charme. every corner screams romance.
there are horse carriages, chocolate, tiny alleys, fairytales-like houses, bridges, canals, pretty doors, flowers, cobblestones, and so on.
besides the sentimentalism though, there are 3 things we won't forget about our visit to the town.

Brugge Begijnhof and the tree huts of Kawamata Tadashi

Flanders on the road | analogue walk in Brugge

Flanders on the road - watercolor map 

at the beginning of May, Marco and i took a few days off to visit the Flanders.

we visited Brugge, Gent and Oudenaarde, moving around mostly by train. we ate too much potato fries and were absolutely delighted by the beautiful flemish light.

here, you can find our first impressions of Brugge {Bruges in french}, the first stage of our little tour, all analogue, exept one.

Siena, made for travellers. February 21st - 22nd

Palazzo Pubblico - town hall in piazza del Campo

Siena is the Palio and the Palio is Siena. the first of the two most famous horse races in the world took place yesterday, July 2nd, as it has been for centuries, being the Palio di Siena the oldest continually hold festival ever. 

la pappa col pomodoro. a dish with groovy sixties vibes

Rita Pavone is an italian singer and showgirl that used to be very popular in the sixties. she was an icon, like an italian Twiggy {plus, she could dance}.
some of her hits had been embedded in italian pop culture, so even an eighties kid like me know them by line. one of her songs is called viva la pappa col pomodoro, where the pappa col pomodoro is a traditional tuscan soup, made by bread, tomatoes, garlic and fresh basil.
until a few weeks ago, i had never tasted it!