CDM has had an opportunity to turn this into an art form. Mucho practice it appears. The tricky part of this is finding "the" bike. It could take some time while you are there. Would you rather visit restaurants, museums, visit beautiful villages and cities, shop, do a little riding, sit around and drink wine, have a gelato, visit art galleries, or dig around in old bike shops. Wait, don't answer that. Look, there are bikes in Italy to buy, just like there are beautiful bikes to purchase in St. Paul/Minneapolis. If you have the cash and time, this is all possible. We do see bikes to buy each time we visit, but truth be told, we generally find more bikes in Bayern. Probably because our family knows I am very much interested in nice quality, older steel racing bikes that are just sitting around in peoples' garages. That's where the real interesting finds are for me.

By the way Wildwood, please enjoy your visit to a beautiful country. Try if you can to relax in a smaller town for a day with your family. You may notice a very appealing lifestyle unfolding in front of you. We have, every time and region we visit. The big cities you mention certainly have their charms, but we really like the smaller villages and towns as well.