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. 

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

Reaching Out teahouse in Hoi An | places to ♥ #1

Hoi An can hardly be considered a noisy town, if compared to the busiest Hanoi or Saigon, but, packed with tourists as it is, it's not an oasis of peace and quiet neither. 

7 things about our road trip to Vietnam we keep telling people

"how was Vietnam?"
"tell me all about your trip!"

as soon as we came home from Vietnam, and started answering our friends and relatives questions, these have been the main topics we go on chatting about:


1. vietnamese coffee, or cà phê

after the third one, you'll be addicted to it.

one of the many coffee breaks during our sidecar road trip from Hanoi to Hoi An

Vietnam on the road on a vintage sidecar motorcycle

vietnamese people, watercolor illustration 

since we've moved in together, we have a coin jar with "Vietnam & Laos" written on it. 

as wedding present, our lovely witnesses gave us plane tickets to a destination of our choice, so after our lambretta honeymoon in Provence, we started thinking about the next adventure in South East Asia. 

when we read on the Lonely Planet guide that riding a motorcycle in northern Vietnam is a lifetime experience, that was it. we remembered an old classic, the BBC Top Gear Vietnam special, watched it for the 100th time and booked a flight to Hanoi. 

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.

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

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

let's go: Sicilia by lambretta. July, Wednesday 22nd

another summer, another great lambretta adventure.

we're leaving today, destination Sicily!

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.

Lyon #3 city cycling

our last day in Lyon was devoted to explore the Rive Gauche, beyond the left bank of the Rhone. since we already knew how to orient ourselves in the city, we rent a bike to wander around. from the day our arrive we were aware that Lyon is a real bike friendly town, with handy bicycle paths and a developed bike culture that makes cycling there safer than in other part of the world (e.g. Italy). 

Lyon #2 the gourmand side

a detail of  la Fresque des Lyonnais, a trompe l'œil painted wall depicting 31 famous people from Lyon, as the Lumiere brothers and Antoine de Saint Exupéry 

Lyon #1 analogue walking tour

illustrated map of Vieux Lyon
my first attempt to make a ink + watercolors travel sketch 

analogue Orvieto. November, Saturday 15th

orvieto represents perfectly the kind of city that i like.
i really hoped that my wandering in its charming streets would last longer, but i managed to take a few analogue shoots to show you, who might share my enthusiasm for the striped duomo, the small craft shops, the shady taverns and elegant cafes.