Sepia ink, white gouache on brown paper
We stopped at Bar 2000 at 7am on Friday for a calming cup of coffee after I took the first step to fulfilling a dream.
The dream is to buy a Vespa 50 - egged on, I might add by Katherine Making a Mark who suggested it was the ideal vehicle for me to sketch from in the Italian countryside. Up until Friday all I had actually done was sketch a Vespa 50!
On Thursday night our friend Chris called me to say he had hired a couple of motor scooters for the day and didn't have to return them until later Friday morning. This was it! My big opportunity to see if I actually had The Right Stuff to actually ride a motor scooter - and ultimately, a Vespa.
The dream is to buy a Vespa 50 - egged on, I might add by Katherine Making a Mark who suggested it was the ideal vehicle for me to sketch from in the Italian countryside. Up until Friday all I had actually done was sketch a Vespa 50!
On Thursday night our friend Chris called me to say he had hired a couple of motor scooters for the day and didn't have to return them until later Friday morning. This was it! My big opportunity to see if I actually had The Right Stuff to actually ride a motor scooter - and ultimately, a Vespa.
I did!!!!!!!!!
Not very fast, and suitably humbled by being passed by an octogenarian woman with her handbag dangling off her handlebars.
Anyway, I'm still only dreaming about the Vespa at this stage - it could be a fatal folly.
Anyway, I'm still only dreaming about the Vespa at this stage - it could be a fatal folly.
18 comments:
nice sketch!
I went on one of those motorised bikes (not as stylish as a Vespa :>) ) as a teenager in France and wondered why my friends were all shouting at me - I was doing really well after all -
- then I realised
I was driving on the wrong side of the road! < blush >
I think you should go with a Harley.
Brava, Robyn! I have ridden a scooter, but wouldn't have the nerve these days,with all the hoons on the roads.
Oh, and brava! for that brown paper sketch. It's really lovely, even on crappy paper!
Wonderful! You look like you were born to ride a Vespa........
I've got a very strong mental picture of you riding the Vespa out on the open road......with Dermott riding pillion. Or are you going to tie the lead to the handlebars and make him run behind? ;)
loving the toned sketch.
go for it! the Vespa
beside you know you will have loads of fun.
Robyn had to tell you I just finished lettering half the envelops for an international wedding. Half are from the States here and the other half are from Italy. It's been interesting.
For pity's sake, someone tell her:
(1) It's 2008, not 1958; and
(2) She ain't Sophia Loren.
Oh, and she can stop scribbling on my brown-paper lunch bags, too. The colours come through onto my sandwiches.
Vivien - I still have to stop and think if I'm turning into a road where's there no traffic - 'Now which side was it?'
Sharon - I was looking at a Harley parked in our street this morning. Fantastic! I know you are joking and you'd really know what a joke it is if you saw what I went through to get on that scooter.
Dinah - I'm largely all talk. This Vespa may never happen. And thanks re the brown paper sketch - I'm loving coloured grounds at present - largely due to Turner and Lautrec. And I kept thinking of Jack (partner of Jill) who mended his head with vinegar and brown paper. I thought if I get the Vespa, I may well need it too.
Katherine - I've thought of tying Dermott to the front and telling him he's a Husky - then I wouldn't have to deal with the accelerator which I find has a mind of its own.
Toni - Thank you. I bet you had fun spelling all those Italian names. Is this wedding in Italy? Perhaps you should get an invite ;)
Dermott - I wasn't trying to be Sophia Loren - more Audrey Hepburn. And, for your information, you're more Carlo Ponte than George Clooney!
I too was thinking that Dermott should be in front pulling. But that would probably be worse than the throttle. Especially if he saw something interesting, you might have an off road experience.
My goodness, Jeanne, I hadn't thought of that! Our town is the cat capital of Tuscany! Ha, ha what a funny sight for anyone watching. I think I'll pass on Dermott Power.
I read your post and the oddest thing was happening as I read. In my head I could hear the theme from Rocky and I found myself cheering you on....You GO Robyn! Go for it, buy it, pass up the old lady with your sketch bag hanging from the handlebars!!!! I do think you'll also need to learn to ride wearing heals as I saw all the popular girls wearing their heals on their bikes in Rome!!!!
I agree with everyone GO FOR IT. Will give you amazing freedom to explore those little alleyways and country lanes. Only time I've been on one is when Clive and I hired one for a week on the island of Guernsey during our honeymoon!! It was great fun. Loved the idea of the cat pulling power!
By the way have presented you with the BRILLANTE WEBLOG AWARD - take a peep at my today's post to see details.
Marta - I can't even walk in high heels on our cobbled streets but I must confess, I can't think of a Vespa without imagining myself perching on the seat in a tight skirt and killer heels. However, neither item has been let out of my wardrobe for some time.
Joan - Many thanks for that award! :)
Have you read Vroom with a View by Peter Moore. He's an Australian guy who bought a 1960s vespa on the internet, and went off to Italy to travel round on it. You may have read some of his other books, but I like this one best. Because of the old vespa, he meets all sorts of people, and the guy he bought it from was great to him.
Thank you very much for the award. I'll have to try to find time to deal with it.
I'm very impressed, Robyn! I hope to get a ride on your Vespa when I come to visit....
Great job on the building. Soon you'll be one of those "crazy Italians on scooters" who were flying by me on the Tuscan roads when we were there.
I live just south of you in Umbria and a Vespa or Lambretta seem to be the only true transport in the area. Its a dream of mine as well to own one and I am madly trying to save and convince myself that I can cut down expenses to buy one. At the moment I am driving a '69 bright purple VW camper with a blown exhust so a scooter would be a quieter option at the minute.
Neal.
Thank you all for encouraging this folly - I shall hold you all to account should I find myself lying under a Vespa at the side of the road!
Neal - I will keep my eye out for your distinctive VW Camper!
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