Product Description

It was the late night Tai Bo fitness commercial warning him that life comes to an end after 40 that prompted Peter Moore to chase a boyhood dream. To go to Italy and seek out its celebrated dolce vita from the back of a Vespa. But it couldn't be just any old Vespa. Peter wanted a bike as old as he was and in the same sort of condition: a little rough round the edges, a bit slow in the mornings perhaps, but basically still OK. And it had to have saddle seats. And temperamental electrics. And a little too much chrome. The sort of scooter you'd imagine a sharp-suited, Ray Ban-wearing young Marcello Mastroianni riding. Her name was Sophia. From picnicking in the Italian alps and rattling through cobbled hilltop to gate-crashing Frances Mayes's villa and re-enacting 'Roman Holiday', Vroom with a View is as much a romance as a travel adventure. For not only does Peter win the woman of his dreams, he falls for a side of Italy others rarely see. Along with Sophia, of course...

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #20003 in Books
• Published on: 2005-05-02
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 359 pages

From the Back Cover
He was an intrepid Australian author fast approaching forty. She was a fading Italian beauty from the sixties. They first met on the Internet and together would spend one unforgettable summer travelling from Milan to Rome. Only one thing stood in the way of perfect love . . .

Sophia was a motor scooter.

After a late night Tai Bo fitness commercial warns him that after forty his life will be over, Peter Moore decides to pursue a boyhood dream sparked by watching old black and white movies of Sophia Loren - to putter around Italy on a 1960s Vespa in pursuit of la dolce vita.

But it couldn't be any old Vespa. With the big day just around the corner, Peter wanted a bike as old as he was and in the same sort of condition - a little rough round the edges, a bit slow in the mornings perhaps, but basically still OK. And it had to have saddle seats. And temperamental electrics. And a little too much chrome. The sort of scooter you'd imagine a sharp-suited, Ray Ban-wearing young Marcello Mastroianni riding.

From picnicking in the Italian alps and rattling through cobbled hilltop towns to exploring tumbledown seaside villages, gate-crashing Frances Mayes's villa and re-enacting Roman Holiday, Vroom with a View is as much a romance as a travel adventure. Not only does Peter sweep the woman of his dreams off her feet, he falls for a side of Italy others rarely see, along with Sophia, of course ...

'Moore has a parched dry wit, the solid brass cojones of a true traveller and a rare eye for the madness of the wider world.' JOHN BIRMINGHAM

'Peter Moore is the genuine article, a traveller's traveller.' FHM

About the Author
Peter Moore is a freelance advertising copywriter and website producer who works only to support his insatiable travel habit. He has written for various Australian and British publications, including The Times and Sydney Herald, and it the author of three acclaimed travel books, The Wrong Way Home, The Full Montezuma and Swahili for the Broken-Hearted as well as the classic alternative travel guide, No Shitting in the Toilet. When he's not on the road living out of his trusty backpack, he lives in Sydney with his collection of souvenir plastic snowdomes.

Customer Reviews

More Quality Moore
Peter Moore has always captured the feeling of being a long way from home with nowhere to be and no deadlines. In short, he captures that moment, a week after you start traveling when all your cares disolve and you can wander where ever coincidence takes you.

Vroom with a View in no different.

Taking a suitably sleepy route through Tuscany, Moore sees the countryside at a pace that suits his narrative. His observations are all the more sharp on a vespa that barely and rarely moves.

For those who need a trip away from their desk at lunch time, this book will put you in the Italian countryside, the smell of the wheat, the sight of sunflowers and the conversation of strangers.

Light and breezy, rarely backfires
Combine the humour of Bill Bryson (with whom Moore shares the same editor) and the sprightliness of Tim Moore and you'd come up with Peter Moore. Although not facing the same challenges as in 'The Wrong Way Home' or 'Swahili for the Broken Hearted', this is an affectionate account of a tour around Italy on a forty year old Vespa. It's a fun read with a good tale of highs and lows, complete with a happy ending.

Perhaps better to read after his earlier books, it's good to see Moore is still up to scratch as the self styled 'voice of independent travel'. Make sure to visit his website to see the photos that prove it's a true story! (This is a review of the Australian edition.)

If you feel your life is getting a bit stale...
I just finished reading Vroom With A View and I can highly recommend it!. Reading his books you feel you are traveling with Peter, racing your Vespa with him and sharing a well earned drink and a chat at the end of the day. His observations are not only funny but also honest, respectful of people & their culture, and moving at times. If you feel your life is getting a bit stale, read a couple of his books and see how you can change that, go to the very limit of your possibilities, learn new stuff and do wildly different things when you feel like it.