Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
OFF THE BEATEN TRACK
VESPA TOUR
There's a certain romance to touring Tuscany on the back of a Vespa, Italy's iconic scooter that re-
volutionised travel when Piaggio launched it from its factory in
Pontedera
, 25km southeast of Pisa, in
1946. The 'wasp', as the two-wheeled utility vehicle was affectionately known, has been restyled 120
times since, culminating most recently in Piaggio's vintage-inspired GTV and LXV models. Yet the
essential design remains timeless.
The complete Vespa story, from the Genovese company's arrival in Tuscany in 1921 to its manufac-
turing of four-engine aircraft and hydroplanes, WWII destruction and rebirth as Europe's exclusive
Vespa producer, is grippingly told in Pontedera's
Museo Piaggio
(
www.museopiaggio.it
; Viale Piagio
7; 10am-6pm Tue-Sat) , in a former factory building.
Should Vespa's free-wheeling, carefree spirit take hold, hook up with Florence-based
Tuscany by
Vespa
(
www.tuscanybyvespa.com
;
Via de' Lamberti 1) or
Entroterra Viaggi & Turismo
(
www.entroterraturismo.com
;
Via Rosa Agazzi 28) in San Miniato for your very own Hepburn-style
Vespa tour.
Drinking & Nightlife
Most of the student drinking action takes place on and around Piazza delle Vettovaglie
and the university on cafe-ringed Piazza Dante Alighieri, always packed with students.
The local Denominazione d'Origine Controllata e Garantita (DOCG) is Chianti delle
Colline Pisane, and though there's no Pisan Denominazione d'Origine Controllata (DOC),
Bianco Pisano di San Torpè, a Trebbiano -dominated wine with a delicate, dry flavour, is a
popular substitute.
Sottobosco
MAP
CAFE
GOOGLE MAP
(
www.sottoboscocafe.it
;
Piazza San Paolo all'Orto; 10am-midnight Tue-Fri, noon-1am Sat, 7pm- mid-
night Sun)
This creative cafe with a few books for sale and funky furnishings induces love
at first sight. Tuck into a doughnut and cappuccino at a glass-topped table filled with
artists' crayons perhaps, or a collection of buttons. Lunch dishes (salads, pies and pasta)
are simple and homemade, and come dusk, jazz bands play or DJs spin tunes.
Bazeel
MAP
BAR
GOOGLE MAP
