Vroom With A View : In Search Of Italy's Dolce Vita On A '61 Vespa Paperback / softback

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...