šµ Vespa Rally š¤ TiranĆ«, ShqipĆ«ri
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It's been many years since I lived in Albania, but the most fond memories were my nightly "xhiros," or strolls around the village in the evening.
The "xhiro" is a national pastime, and it is likely you will have great fun if you xhiro every evening, and you may even find a scooter rally.
ā The "Xhiro" šØāš¦Æ
Once upon a time before @Sreypov and the @KidSisters came into my life, I lived alone in Shqipƫri, aka Albania. I must say I really enjoyed my life in Tiranƫ, and Albania is still possibly my favorite country in the world.
Albania doesn't have the best reputation, and it is the poorest country in Europe, but those are actually things that often make a country have a more open visa policy.
The amazingly Albanian word, "xhiro," which mean you could translate as a stroll in English, but the Albanian "xhiro" is much more than a stroll.
In the evenings, most Albanians dress up in their finest threads and come out of their dwellings to take a stroll around the town or neighborhood, check on the welfare of others, socialize, stretch their legs, grab a snack and head back home.
I did a xhiro almost every evening, and it is still among the most fun I have ever had in my life without spending any money.
šµ Italian Surpise in Albania š¦
I took a slightly different xhiro route every evening for nearly 4 months, and I always made new friends or saw something of interest every time.
Sometimes an exploratory xhiro led to an awesome accidental discovery, such as this vintage Vespa scooter rally being held in the Bloku district.
In the Bloku I heard ska music playing, and being a former Vespa mechanic/tuner and ska fan, I headed towards the sounds and found a scooter rally, what a random surprise.
It was a lively scene, and I didn't have any clue there was a scooter scene in Albania, as I hadn't seen many Vespas or Lambrettas in the few months I had already been there.
I passed through the rally and snapped a few shots along the way. The baby-blue smallframe limousine scooter caught my attention, and seemed to be the highlight of the rally.
On my way out, I passed a beautiful mint-green PX with a sidecar. The mood was very festive, and definitely not your average Albanians. I wished I could've stuck around for longer, but I was headed to meet friends for dinner.
If you ever find yourself in Albania, you must "xhiro" every late afternoon/evening. Do this and you will make friends for life and see the way ordinary Albanians spend time outside the home.
š THANKS FOR READING š
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I always thought the Vespa scooters were cute and looked like fun! š
I love them so much too. This is the one I still have in the USA, although I don't get to ride it much as I don't live in the USA. You like old barns, and strangely enough, some of the places I find old AllState scooters are old barns in the midwest. Sears Roebuck used to sell Vespas in the 50s and 60s in the USA, but they were badges as AllState, the in-house Sears brand.
Here's a pic of my beauty.
I did not remember that Sears Roebuck sold them in the 1950s/1960s! I may have seen them in the catalogue when I was a child, but paid more attention to the dolls and such! LOL! Your Vespa is such a pretty thing! š
I must say listening to you talking about your travels is just as interesting as reading it :)
One question: Do you have any idea what engine they used for the limousine vespa?
ehm..second question: Do they race these things? :)
Of course there much more serious questions but lately a friend has been thinking about replacing the engine of a tuk tuk with a 1100cc motor. Seeing these Vespa's made me think of an engine swap... Imagine going from 125cc to 650cc...Sounds idiotic right?
Check this out:
I have seen that video once upon a time, but that is just overkill. There is a business in the UK that can stuff 250 and 450 dirtbike engines into Lambretta frames, as they are tubular.
The Vespas are unibodies, so engine swaps require a lot of engineering and customization. This is ony my favorite Vespa videos on the web. His bike sounds a lot like mine, but I never attempted any drifting.
The only drifting I do is when I play Forza...loool....but wait..as kids we tried it with our bicycles tho. Back then I think we called it "voluntarily asking for an up and close meet n greet with asphalt" :) or trees...or gutters...or stone walls.
ps: That sound reminds me of my first time on a 400cc two stroke bike. The only way I went was wheel up after every attempt to go full throttle...lol
(let me check if I can find a random vid of a Vespa wheelie)
Yup...
perfect
I love it very much, they make me miss my Vespa.
Our bike in Cambodia was not a Vespa, just a look-alike. Our bike was a Honda Giorno, but it was a very loud and peppy two-stroke.
Hiya, @lizanomadsoul here, just swinging by to let you know that this post made it into our Honorable Mentions in Daily Travel Digest #894.
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Thank you @pinmapple and @lizanomadsoul.
You are very welcome @justinparke šā¤ļø
Wow, this is the first time I hear about a Vespa meeting. Incredible! There are some really funny pieces in there. š
I've been to several scooter rallies in the USA, but never one overseas. It made me long for my Vespa back in Indiana. A sidecar is a dream of mine, but first I have to strike it rich.
Congratulations @justinparke! You received the biggest smile and some love from TravelFeed! Keep up the amazing blog. š
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