No support crew—just the two of them, the road and a vehicle Gabrieli knows “like a trusted horse—slow, but reliable”.

The Vespa is not just a romantic or nostalgic choice; it’s a practical one. Gabrieli has owned many over his lifetime, but he knows this model—a PX, which he considers “the best model Piaggio ever made”—in every detail.

He’s crossed the Alps and travelled across Europe on the scooter already, knowing how to repair it in any condition. So much so that, just a few days before departure, Gabrieli had to completely dismantle his vespa due to a broken crankshaft.

It took four days of intense work, with Leonardo by his side, before the Vespa could be loaded into the container.

The journey is about seeing the world and sharing an adventure with his son. Leonardo is in Grade 6 in Australia—an age his father considers “perfect” for an experience like this.

“Today I see so many adults focused only on themselves,” Gabrieli points out, “and so many children left to phones, computers and social media.

“They have a place and a value, but they can’t change what’s happening around them.”

Leonardo says he is setting off with a bit of fear, but nothing too dramatic. He likes new places, food and different cultures.

He had already travelled with his father to Thailand, where together they rode a scooter along the road between Chiang Mai and Pai, a trip with 764 mountain curves. It was first taste of the road, of adaptation, of discovery.

Along the way, challenges will be unavoidable. Gabrieli speaks about them clearly: engine overheating, long climbs, high altitude.

Two points in particular are a concern: an area near Tibet and the Pamir Highway in Tajikistan, which reaches an altitude 4600 metres.

“There, you have to listen to the Vespa, hear the sounds, adapt the pace,” he explains.

“And Leonardo on the back is brilliant—he immediately senses if something is different.”

According to Gabrieli, the father–son relationship won’t change radically, but it will be strengthened. The idea is to become “a team of explorers”.

Theirs is a bond that has been built over the years in the home garage, among Vespas, self-built go-karts, boats and parts taken apart and put back together. The garage is a place of work, play and connection.

Gabrieli has lived in Australia for about twenty years. First London, now Sydney, where he works in film and television as a sound engineer, sound designer and musician.

Originally from Trieste, Gabrieli says he felt immediately at home in Gordon’s Bay. His own father never left Trieste, so perhaps it’s for this reason that the journey carries special weight: passing on to Leonardo something he himself did not receive, but built on his own.

The philosophy guiding this journey is radical in its simplicity: the world is not a dangerous place.

“We’re too focused on ourselves,” Gabrieli says, “and we forget that we’re among other people.

“When you go into people’s homes, into their places, you really understand them. You sharpen your intuition. And that’s the only thing that gets you through certain places.”

From Bali, the journey is only just beginning. Once the Vespa is unloaded from the container they’ll hit the road—making their way through Central Asia and the Caucasus, all the way to Italy.

Stage by stage, we will try to follow Gabrieli and Leonardo’s journey: a slow, imperfect, real journey. Just like life.