VBB: To rat, or not rat,
that is the question?
Italian stallion Christian meets an old soul on the road,
and finds they shareapassion for scooters...
D
uring the past few years, my
scooter andIhave had
plenty of adventures. Most
recently,Istumbled upon a
whole series of characters
well worthy of respect andagood mention
in these pages. Never before this moment
though, haveIencountered such a
singular and eccentric-minded person as
this one I’m about to describe...
Squeezed between two ofthe most
touristi cItalian regions (Lazio and
Toscana) isavillage near the mountain in
which Nicolai works asahumbl evehicle
bodywork specialist.Imet him during one
of my last explorations in the deep South,
since passing through his village is a
sensorial experience.Travel tip: If want an
authentic taste of Italian passion and
gesticulation, visit the ‘osteria’ or ‘frasca’,
not ‘bar’ or ‘trattoria’. The former are
establishments for local villagers and are
usually equipped withalong wooden
counter and small wineglasses. The key to
success isabranch exposed up to the
main door.Ifyou see it, halt your scooter
wheels and enter the premises, but
beware... nobody will understand your
English tongue. Dark and deep tasting red
wine will be your only chatting companion,
but you will spend the most interesting
time of the day just by looking at the
toothless, heavy breath, snorting elders. It
was in suchaplace Imet Nicolai.
Exhausted and annoyed, due to a
double road-related mistake,Iwas ready
for adrink. Afteradisgusted look at
myself and my ‘NegraVespa’ Inoticed
Nicolai in the corner,ashestarted to stare
at me constantly.Idid not want any
trouble ending up withalad vs grandpa
riot, soIoffered himaglass of wine.Two
hours and three bottles laterIwas sat in
his shed.We had enough grumblings
between us to fillapileofbooks to the
top! Poverty,youth,Vespas, death, gals,
concrete vs forests, pollution, two-strokes,
best oil and so on.Iwas just getting ready
to depart when Nicolai grabbed my
camera strap and pulled me inside his
laboratory.Since he wasabodywork
specialist, you would expect to find old
tools, paints and plaster.Nothing of that
matter.AVBB 150 onarecovered
‘Osteria’ wooden counter,rags, apair of
solvent-proof black gloves, three spatulas,
aseries of plastic bottles filled with
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