While Josh nurses his knee (which had to undergo surgery this month…or else!) our intrepid reporter Julia was able to take his place on the Ride with Scoot! trip through Tuscany, Italy. She will be posting updates from the road on this blog. Today’s installment covers the beginning of her trip…

09.17 & 18, 2011

Day of Arrival:

Dark out, early flight out of San Jose wasn’t too bad. The 8:10am departure meant be there at six. Only slight (eyebrow raised) concern was the x-ray machines at security. This was the first that I had to stand with hands over my head like a thug with a wrap-sheet, and it wouldn’t be the last for the day.

Check in at the counter was fantastic. I got special attention from the service counter person since I had four flights to get to Florence, Italy. I miss that personal touch, the confirmation that luggage and me are all going to make it to the destination. Not certain if “they’ve” proven that the self-help kiosks actually save time for all types of passengers. Business class, ok, yes. My mom and apparently me – no. Anyway, it was a nice start.

First flight San Jose to Denver – no sweat, lovely onboard service and coffee.

Second flight Denver to Boston – just enough lay-over to grab a bite to eat, you know the pre-made, cellophane wrapped sandwiches and a bottled water. Hydrate hydrate hydrate. Tom Selleck on the safety placard, funny.

Third flight Boston to Munich – funky passport check and by this point sad my beau ain’t going to be on-board beside me. Lufthansa definitely had an agenda for the flight – busy, busy, busy.

Fourth flight Munich to Florence – I got to go through a passport check point – yeah, another stamp in the passport. The terminal was downstairs at a curbside bus stop. Buses picked up passengers and drove them around the building to their flight awaiting take-off from the tarmac. The plane had two of those rolling, uncovered staircases to climb aboard. Flight was fun – small plane (AVRO_RJ85), big whirring engines felt like I was going to some uncharted island, where the water is gassed and no-gassed.

Descending into Florence, red-orange tile roof and another and another and another… sounds outplayed, but it is what it is -silvery-green olive and cypress trees – personal gardens with a few apple trees and tomato plants and more tomato plants – Oleander and rose lined lanes – rolling hillsides – it is beautiful.

Tipped off ahead of time, I took a cab from the airport to the hotel about a 50 min. drive – expensive at 90 Euros, but worth it after the long, travel time and the unforeseen train employee strike, which a few other group riders got tied up in. Usually, there is a less expensive route using bus and rail lines to get to Regello. (www.villapalagio.it)

So, as we approach the base of the road to the hotel entrance, wouldn’t you know it, there is a racing event, the 3rd annual Formula Challenge MAXI Caz Racing – Il Tricolore Sbarca in Toscana. – Domenica 18 Settembre 2011. What luck! And I was in the middle of it. Cabbie drove through pit lane, passed the yellow tape, and asked the orange-vested event coordinator to let us through. With race cars scooching around the nose of our car, we entered the race track, veered around the hay bale obstacles, ascending the hill to the hotel, Villa Il Palagio. Wow, what a start to a great week!

Ursula, Edelweiss Bike Travel tour guide

Ursula, our tour guide, met us in the hotel lounge area, covering introductions and making sure we were all on the same page for safety, daily schedule, food, etc. We covered expected paperwork (insurance, driver’s license, and deposit); keys in hand, we were introduced to the scooters.

One couple was detained by transportation snafus, but the rest of us: Jeremy, Tim, Steve, Cathy, Edward, John, and myself, Julia, were in attendance.

The Group (L to R: Jeremy, Steven, Ursula, Edward, Cathy, John)

As I’m getting to know people, John from Florida told me about his Kymco. Being seen and heard is a concern for many riders. John has hooked up an air horn, increased the brightness of his headlamp with something a bit racey, and added visibility towards the back of scoot, a fire engine tail light mounted to his toolbox.

Many are motorcycle enthusiasts looking to spend a Roman Holiday scooting about on Piaggios and slathered in buttery cream sauces and puffed pastries. This trip is about seeing the major attractions in the area and eating homemade food, a nurturing experience in comparison to prepackaged everything to make our lives easier – does it?

Among many dinner conversations, the indirect topic of convenience came up. Tools are created to make things easier. Facebook makes it easy to update a large number of people with the same weekend details at the same time, saving the ten hours of one-on-one phone calls, but does it keep us close or are we monologue-ing. Do we nurture our relationships? Do we trade convenience for closeness? How well do we know our online friends and would they help you out of a jam? My guess is that the experience varies from person to person based on their approach to using the tool and may find a varying level of success at staying genuine.

Good to know – the France tour and Edelweiss Bike Travel advertising in Scoot! encouraged two riders to sign-up and inspire friends.

Sign above: This sign is used on narrow roadways and means that the cars facing the direction of the red arrow must stop, yielding to the traffic on the opposite side of the road. When the lane is clear, then they may proceed.