Sunday 26 September 2010

Mad Dogs and Englishmen

Well folks, autumn is now well and truly upon us here in Italy. In a way I'm glad - this summer was a 'scorcher'. The temperature rarely fell below 30°C (90°F). For a dog with a classy 'fur coat' like myself, the heat was a real challenge. However, that never stopped me and Dad from getting out for our daily noon walks.

This gave Missus the idea to come up with the 'cheeky' montage in the video below (with a little help from Noel Coward)...


I've got a bone to pick with Missus! I know that Dad is an 'Englishman', but who the heck is she calling a "mad" dog?!?

Wednesday 15 September 2010

Nice!

Bonjour!

Comment allez-vous?

Following our brief stay in Monte Carlo me and my humans made the short hop down the French Riveria to spend two nights in...



...the Cote d'Azur or the city of Nice to be precise.


Here's me and Missus with the French tricolor flying overhead.



As usual, Dad led the way as we explored the city.



Nice had everything you would expect of a charming French town.



...including all of the fabulous colours...



...and the enchanting fragrances which make the region of Provence so world reowned.



On with our tour, I couldn't leave any place without 'making my mark!'



After a while, I paused for a quick photoshoot with Missus in Nice's old town.



Before too long, it was time to stop for a bite to eat.



Here I am!



I have to say, I was impressed by some of the antics of France's own Golden Retrievers. Look at this guy whom we stumbled across. He didn't even get a treat for his trick!



After our stroll around the old town, we headed down Nice's Promenade des Anglais. The building with the dome is the famous Hotel Negresco.



Here it is in close-up.



Just in time for a quick rest. Phew!...



...before some more posing pictures. First, me and Missus on the promenade...



...then a group photo with me, Missus and Dad. (Sorry - I was a bit distracted).



Here's me and Missus with the booti-ful Mediterranean Sea behind us. Unfortunately, we (I) weren't allowed to go down on the beach...



...but we sneaked down in the evening anyway. Hee! Hee!


Nice is so nice! I wonder where we are going next???

Au revoir!

Tuesday 14 September 2010

Monte Carlo or Bust!

Woof! Woof! My humans have decided to go off on another holiday jaunt and yours truly got to tag along again.

I wasn't sure where we were headed but they told me to expect something 'exotic'. After a four hour drive, they didn't disappoint me...

View Larger Map
Woo hoo! Monaco was our first stop!


The home of the late Princess Grace and the Grimaldi family was just the place for a jet-setting 'Golden Boy' like myself.


Don't believe me? Check me out in front of my 'new' car! (Ignore Dad! He's just the chauffeur!)


And here I am in front of the world famous Monte Carlo Casino.


The Casino was booti-ful.


...and the day was perfect to go for a stroll around Monaco's streets of gold...

...but first of all I had to master Monaco's darned escalators!


Me and Dad (looking out of place!) in Monaco.


Anyway, we were soon down by the marina admiring the yachts.


Man, I've got to get myself one of those someday!

Well, we only spent a few hours in Monaco/Monte Carlo. However, that was only the first lag of our holiday. I'll keep you posted on our next location.

Friday 10 September 2010

Lake Como

Hello! Is anybody there?

I know - it's been an eternity since I last posted a blog. Unfortunately, my laptop 'died' on me and it has taken longer than expected for me to get back on my paws.

Anyway, I'm now back in the blogosphere and raring to share some more of my adventures. Let me start with a posting about my visit a few weeks ago to...

...Lake Como. Let me show you around.

Here I am in the charming town of Lake Como, checking out the view from my hotel room window...


... and this is the view itself. It's brilliant, isn't it?


Once we got settled, we decided to take a stroll along the esplanade.

Man, the lake looked so inviting. Dad had to hold on tight to stop me from diving straight in for a swim!


The obligatory photo pose with Dad. Smile!


Of course, Missus also wanted to get in on the act. Here we are posing with the scenic mountains in the background...


It was truly booti-ful staring out at the sunset across the lake.


Suddenly, I spotted something even more interesting than the sunset...


This is Charlie, a tri-colour Cavaliar King Charles Spaniel.


Pretty soon, Charlie and I began to strike-up a conversation. Apparently he's been living in Como for a while and he knows everything about the place. This prompted me to ask a question on the Missus' behalf...

My question was: "Where's George?". I was referring, of course, to George Clooney, who is often at his house on the shores of Lake Como.



Unfortunately, according to Charlie, George wasn't in Como on the weekend of our visit. He was back in America filming a movie. I can't tell you how disappointed the Missus was!

All too soon it was time for Charlie and me to say our fond farewells. Don't we make an 'odd couple'?

On the second day of our visit, we all decided to take a boat journey along Lake Como to the booti-ful village of Bellagio.
This was our journey from Como to Bellagio.


All aboard! Me and Dad on the ferry.
Of course I'm no stranger to boat rides. In fact, I'm quite a 'sea-dog'. Don't believe me ? Well check out this link from my time in Holland.

Me and Missus. I was supposed to wear a muzzle when on board the ferry...


...As you can see, it didn't last long!


I soon settled down in my favourite spot to admire the views from the boat.


The scenery was breathtaking for the entire journey. Lake Como is famed for its mesmerising views with terracotta rooftops staggered across the mountainous shores.


After two hours, we finally reached Bellagio. I'm sorry to say that we didn't get too many pictures of the village itself. The reason was, as soon as we got off the ferry we ran into this fella...

TA DA! Meet Joe. He's a four year old Golden Retriever who has recently arrived in Italy from Canada! I thought that I was a big boy, but Joe is huge. He's very handsome as well.


Once we had got acquainted, Joe showed me the best spot in Bellagio to go for a swim!


Look at us! That’s Joe on the left and yours truly on the right. We were having a blast!


Joe soon got tired in the freezing water, but I couldn't get enough of it. Eventually Dad had to drag me out! Dang!


Joe (on the left) and me posing for the camera for one last time before we had to say goodbye. I hope we’ll get to meet up for a swim or to play zoomies again in the not too distant future.



Before it got too dark, we had to leave Bellagio (and Joe) and head back to Como...

Back to my favourite viewing spot on the ferry.


I tried to get my 'sea legs' for a better view of the scenery...


...while Missus just lapped-up the atmosphere with a glass of 'bubbly'.


All-in-all, we had a fantastic weekend in a wonderful place.

Ciao!