My wife and I just got back from a 10 day trip to Italy. I loved the fact that I never had to drive a car once- and wished we could have suck an efficient train system back here.
I also was interested in what bikes people road on a daily basis. I saw a few "roadies" decked out in Lycra out on their carbon fiber rockets, but the average person riding around town on their way home from the store I found much more interesting.
I don't think I saw a single bike helmet over there, and people road in whatever dress clothes they happened to be wearing. When the rain poured down in Florence I realized what a wimp i was for owning a full set of rain wear for my bike when I could have just ridden down the street holding an umbrella like I saw the locals doing!
There were specialized bikes for the post office workers and plenty of electric bikes for use on all of the crazy hills we found in towns like Siena. Many times I saw people ride until they hit a wall of a hill and then just get off and walk. There was no downshifting to a smaller gear, as many of the bikes didn't have any. It was just a matter of fact that you ride where you can and walk when you have to. I was also amazed at the bike handling skill of the average grandmother as she snaked her way down a crowded street full of dumb tourists ( like me!) without ever putting a foot down.
Here's a few of the bikes that I saw while I was there.
Jon