riding the Falzarego pass in the Dolomites

a cloudy sunday
a couple in need of fresh air and freedom
a vintage lambretta
a pass in the Dolomites, between Agordo and Cortina d'Ampezzo

wildiary: a photo log from wildays 2018, the festival for motorbike and outdoor enthusiasts

a few weeks ago, our lambretta, Marco and I had the chance to attend, along with hundreds of other motorbike & outdoor enthusiasts, to Wildays, a crazy festival at the racetrack of Varano de Melegari in Emilia Romagna where we spent 3 days surrounded by wilderness, vintage, gasoline, cool people, aperitivi and music.

for a very long time I've been looking at the motorcycle scene as something very far and different from our taste, experience and expectations. two different worlds. probably since our road trip to Vietnam, where we rent a vintage Ural sidecar, I've been feeling differently, seeing a bigger and bigger common ground made of shared excitement and passion for being on the road on two wheels, no matter the size or the age. 

and, speaking of shared passions, this field trip gave us also the opportunity to fulfil a longstanding dream of Marco: a visit to the Ferrari's factory and museum in Maranello. 

romantic weekend on the roads of Collio, on the border between Italia and Slovenia

busy days and weeks, and then suddenly, like a breath of fresh air, a couple of days just for ourselves: riding together under the spring rain, drying up under the warm golden light of the afternoon, exploring new roads, tasting new things, finding our temporary hideaway in the woods.

as much as I can enjoy our daily life, jobs and routine at home, I love our lambretta weekends away. they kind of charge my batteries.

this time, we went a few kilometers east, to the famous wine region called Collio Goriziano in its italian part, and Brda when you cross the national border and enter to Slovenia.

riding a vintage scooter in wintertime: Ryo's snowy lambretta road trip to Hokkaido, Japan

a few weeks ago, I was working on a post about riding a vintage scooter during winter, when the images of an incredible and snowy road trip started filling my social newsfeed. they were the amazing updates of Ryo Mochizuki's journey to Hokkaido, the northernmost region of Japan. these pictures suddenly made me feel incredibly inadequate to talk about the subject, considering just my limited experience, so I've decided to ask someone who clearly knows a thing or two about riding a lambretta in wintertime, even in a snowy area: Ryo's himself. 

curious already?

here's my interview to Ryo Mochizuki about riding during winter and his lambretta road trip to Hokkaido. 

quirky museums near Milan, part 1 (of 2) : the scooter & lambretta museum

let's go to Milan and check something off that list

I am a list maker. I make list everytime, for everything. I have dozens of bullet points to (sooner or later) check off, they are on the files in my computer, handwritten and hanging on the board next to my desk, on the pages of my many notebooks. one of those list is named "Marco and Silvia's places to visit", and, since it came to our attention, several years ago,  that a lambretta museum existed, of course it entered the list, to be finally marked with a satisfying tick a few weeks ago: our pilgrimage has been done. 

ride a vintage scooter through the Grossglockner Hochalpenstrasse, Austria's most beautiful panoramic road

riding a lambretta through the Grossglockner Hochalpenstrasse

since I had found out about Grossglockner Hochalpenstrasse, a panoramic road in Austria which, on paper, seemed a wonderful way to spend one of our lambretta weekends away, I've been hoping to find a lovely autumn day to enjoy it to the fullest.

good weather was an indispensable requirement to confront the long road and the highest mountain of Austria. since we were planning our little trip for mid-October, of course we weren't completely sure we were actually going to leave until the day before: we checked the weather forecast everyday that week, but even when the nice symbol of the sun steady showed up on our screens, we've never dreamt we'd be so lucky! we have ridden through Austria's highest scenic road on the best autumn day you could imagine, with blue cloudless sky and a view made of stunning mountain peaks, snow and those amazing warm tones that you can find during October in the Alps.

I will never forget it, it has been one of the most beautiful ride of my life, so I've prepared this detailed post to share all the informations with you ♥

my lambretta alphabet: letter #B

i diari della lambretta's illustrated abc

B for Bettinelli

early autumn alpine weekend in Cortina d'Ampezzo

the pink hues of a Dolomites sunset

we started the new season in our own way, by taking a couple of days by ourselves, to go to the most beautiful town of the Dolomites, our dear Cortina d'Ampezzo. 

in spite of being quite close to our home, less than 90 kilometers, even when we visit for a day or just an afternoon (it happens), the chilly air and the stunning alpine landscape don't fail to make me feel happier, somehow clearer and recharged. it's mountain magic, nature magic. 

we visited some old spots and tried new ones, starting with a lovely glamping experience at the international camping Olympia, where we rented the cosiest wooden tent.

the blue hour  in Cortina, outside our wooden tent at camping Olympia 

where to stay while roadtrippin' in Andalucia: our airbnb guide

charming cottage in Jerez de la Frontera

before our road trip in Andalucia {you can find the itinerary here} I've spent hours browsing Airbnb looking for dreamy cottages, cozy farms, cool yurts, enchanting cave houses (and even a  super cool airstream!)... now that the trip is over, and we had the chance to personally test some of those places, I don't want to waste this precious list of locations, that I think could be useful to someone who is planning a trip to southern Spain. especially if you, like me, are particularly picky when it comes to holiday accommodations,  as I'm usually looking for places I can remember {possibile in a good way!}, not impersonal or banal. 

if you are on my team, I hope you like this small selection: there are pictures and desctipion of 4 airbnbs where we stayed, and, at the end, the full airbnb Andalucia wishlist. 

Andalucia on the road: 13 days, 1000 km, 2 (vintage) wheels

if you dream about visit Andalucia someday, if you are planning a trip to Andalucia, if you are just curious about our road trip in Andalucia by lambretta, in this post I'm sharing our day by day itinerary on the road for a 2 weeks long trip, with some personal notes, tips and the usual illustrated map, of course.

Andalucia on the road, illustrated map

Collezione Salce, vintage poster museum in Treviso

there was a time when advertising posters were artworks. I am clearly just one of the many fans of this almost lost form of art (as I stated many times). 

Mr. Nando Salce was a bright and wealthy man who had been playing in the adverts lovers team in the best possible way: born in 1877 in Treviso, at the age of 17 years he started to collect affiches and continued doing that till his death in 1962. with his will, he donated the entire collection of more than 25.000 posters to the Italian state. 

a few weeks ago, a new museum finally opened in the historic center of Treviso: Collezione Salce, so now we can all enjoy the artworks and share Mr. Salce's passion. 

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.

spring weekend in Veneto: welcome to La Scuola b&b, a charming school - themed guesthouse

cherry blossoms, lambretta, some time just for us, and a charming, romantic retreat on the hills of our beloved region: these were the ingredients of our last weekend on the road. how could I ask for more? 

the road to Lusiana, passing through Bassano del Grappa, Marostica and the cherry tree road | watercolor map

newsletter

hi ♥ 

I love to have a blog, and i diari della lambretta has been a cozy place that I feel comfortable in (and inspired by) for quite some time now. 

anyway, I feel the need of a new tool to communicate with you. my plan is not to stop updating i diari della lambretta, but to improve my relationships with you, without -for example- the mediation of Facebook. 

the first idea is the creation of a newsletter. if you have been reading i diari della lambretta, if you like my travel style, or the lambretta/vintage wheels world, or my illustrations, I'd love if you sign in. 

I'm planning to share with you:

* some cute illustrations, mostly mine but not always, mostly travel-related but not always

* the latest blog posts from i diari della lambretta

* new products or news from on my e-shop

* stuff that I think you may find interesting 

* pics and informations about nice places I've been to 

on my honour, I promise that I will not spam you. I'll be moderate and, I truly hope, interesting. 

I've always been a BAD pen pal (some of you are already aware of that), but I've always loved the idea of being one. maybe this time I will improve myself.

the newsletter will be written in english or italian, depending on your preference when you sign in. 

ah, I almost forgot, you can do it here. 

the first (e)letter is going to be sent as soon as spring begins! 

love rides! Valentine's Day 2017

for all the lovers who ride. happy valentines! 

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.

ひさしぶり! I'm back ♥

smells like forest spirit

long time no see! ひさしぶり です, the Japanese would say.
oh, I've been missing this place. I really thought that my blogging time was over, that the constant lack of time and the general incostancy had killed it. maybe they had, maybe not yet.
when I started this diary I was a post graduated student with a steady boyfriend with many dreams and longing for adventure. now, it's difficult to find enough time to go and live the dreams and adventures. but they are still there, along with the desire to tell stories about them, with words, photographs, illustrations.
so here I am, giving it another try. this little blog has given me so much, in terms of connections, inspirations, motivation, (I actually think all of my current jobs derive - in one way or another - from this blog) to leave it like that. (and, I confess, I still think it's really pretty.)
so, I hope you're willing to read i diari della lambretta again.
love,
Silvia

p.s. picture taken in the Cansiglio forest a couple of months ago

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.

spring smell

a few things that have been inspiring me lately: 

1. spring is my favourite season. as i have said before, it feels like the opening of lambretta season to me. i can't wait for more and longer rides, outdoorsy weekends and picnics. 

the lambretta picnic picture comes from here.

2. due to wedding planning {i feel repetitive, please let me know when i start to be annoying and i'll cut the wedding talks} i've been spending a remarkable amount of time on Pinterest, where i fall in love everyday with anything that involves flowers, like this tutorial "3 ways to make your home smell like spring", or this lovely lambretta with a flower basket. 

3. i took five calligraphy lessons, for five weeks. when i signed up for the course, i daydreamed about writing the invitations with beautiful italics lettering. then, i found out that hours and hours of exercise are mandatory for the kind of results that i had in my mind. so, i used my own calligraphy for the invites, but still love to browse beautiful calligraphy on Pinterest, like this one.

4. i've met the tear calendar of Flow Magazine from the Instagram feed of Sara, fell in love instantly and simply had to buy it. now the minutes that go from the moment i get up to the moment when the coffee is ready are even more special cause i can discover the new day's lovely illustration and words.

still looking for more spring themed inspirations! have you found anything special these days?