Category Archives: The Dogs

The book of the blog

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As a WordPress blogger I receive a stream of emails about changes and improvements to the way WordPress works. The vast majority receive a cursory glance and are consigned to the trash.

One that arrived recently caught my attention. A company based in Germany called Feedfabrik could take any WordPress blog and make it into a book – both as a hard copy printed book and a soft copy PDF.

Given we had just reached 100 posts it seemed only sensible to make use of this offer. To that end, for those of you interested, below is a PDF booklet of the first 100 Toscanakiwi posts. The file size is 7.3Mb.

It is best viewed with the page setting “2 Up” in Acrobat.

Toscanakiwi – The First 100

About Daisy – Part 3

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Our girl has shown a steady recovery over the last week. She’s gone from not being able to walk without falling over to something close to her usual waddle. She is still wobbly and when she tries to shake herself ends up flat on her stomach with legs splayed.

Her revised heart medicine has also kicked in and, touchwood, she hasn’t had a seizure in over a week. Mind you with Jean and I running around after her every need there hasn’t been a lot of stress on her heart anyway.

One thing that has fully returned is Daisy’s attitude. She’s almost back to her cantakerous old self, and seems ready to take on the world, or more likely, other dogs, children, anyone who dares to come near the cottage, anyone who looks at the cottage, anyone who comes near the car, you get the idea.

The movie started out as some footage to show the team at our Italian vet clinic her improvement over the last week but it got a bit out of hand. We have nothing else much to do, really.

About Daisy – Part 2

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It’s Friday evening and Daisy has had her ECG and there’s more wrong with her heart than right.  Having said that, the cardiologist has altered her medicine to best suit her condition so there’s a bit of life in the old dog yet.

Pictures of Daisy's big heart at work

When we arrived back at our vet, Julia had talked to the cardiologist and apparently he agreed that Daisy was a medical miracle.

Her inability to walk without falling over has been diagnosed as Idiopathic Vestibular Syndrome and not anything to do with her heart.  It means a loss of balance and co-ordination – a lot like a big night out on the town by the sound of it.

Best Google it for details but it’s something that just needs to work it’s way through her system with some assistance from medication.  Some drugs that they usually prescribe for this syndrome would be bad for her heart so they’re off the list.  That means there’s no quick fix and she will gradually improve over the next month or so.

Until she recovers she will need to be carried everywhere – and I mean everywhere.  For up to a month?

About Daisy

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The more observant of you may have noticed that there have been very few posts over the last few days. That’s because we have been busy looking after Daisy. She is not well and it seems her old age is catching up with her.

Last week she had two seizures in the space of 24 hours where she collapsed and did her best impersonation of a dead dog. Both times she recovered, picked herself up and soldiered on in her own unique way but it gave us a huge fright and she was off to the vet in record time.

Daisy has a heart problem and takes medication to manage it. Julia our vet thinks the medication needs to be changed so Daisy has had a thorough check-up, X-rays and now is booked in for an ECG this afternoon at a cardiologist in Florence. (We didn’t know there were dog cardiologists but apparently there are.)

Sick Daisy and friend

To complicate things in the last 24 hours she has started to fall down a lot when walking (or even just standing) which meant another rushed trip to the vet and further discussions in a mix of English and Italian and occasional arm waving.

It seems that the falling down is probably not related to her heart and is something else – most likely a neurological infection that is affecting her balance. The catch 22 is that we can’t treat the infection until we know what state her heart is in as that will affect the medication used to fight the infection. So we are waiting for the ECG to be done this afternoon. It is a long wait.

Daisy of course doesn’t know all this medical stuff and just thinks life is miserable. She has to be carried everywhere as she has given up walking. And her favourite treats and even Jean’s famous roast chicken dinner won’t cheer her up. Right now she is asleep in the bed next to me with her head buried as far under the pillows as possible.

If I were her I would do the same.

More photographs

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Gentle readers, I have just updated our photo album with all the latest shots used on the blog and a bunch more.  Click here to see them.

Relaxing on the Cote d’Azur

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Before leaving New Zealand we had planned a weeks stay at Villefranche sur Mer on the coast just west of Nice. It was an ideal place to drop off our Peugeot lease car and collect our Renault lease car and to take a 4 day break from our holiday.

A holiday from our holiday if you will.

We stayed at our old favourite Hotel Welcome, right on the water, and were joined by Mike, Charmanie and James who had arrived in Nice a few days before us. This break was a chance to explore Villefranche a little more, sample some of the local cuisine, spend some time at the beach and soak up the atmosphere of the French Rivieria in peak season.

In the week we did all this. What else did we discover?

1) Much like other places some food is good and some isn’t

2) Meals tend to be less expensive and better quality further from the waterfront

3) The exception is La Mere Germaine right on the waterfront which we tried. Great food since 1938

3) Sitting on a beach is therapeutic no matter where you are in the world

4) The majority of French women have an urge to go topless on beaches. Some really, really shouldn’t

5) French service is more surly than Italian service but does warm up if you become a repeat customer

6) The girls are welcome everywhere we are which is great

7) Chateau Eza is always a great place for a drink – which costs about the same as a meal anywhere else.

It must be an Italian thing

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On the car trip home from Slovenia we were driving south from Bologna towards Florence on the A1 – Italy’s main north/south motorway – when we passed a flashing sign warning of an accident ahead and after another kilometre we gradually slowed and slowed and then stopped.

Both southbound lanes were blocked by cars as far as we could see. Clearly there had been some form of accident ahead and the road was blocked.

When it became clear the delay was more than just a momentary stop all around us car engines were turned off and the drivers and passengers got out of their cars to have a smoke, stretch their legs, have somethnig to eat or drink, or just chat with other motorists about what may have happened ahead.

Now we were not used to this behaviour but quite clearly in Italy this is what you do when there is a delay. No one seemed to be getting anxious or stressed, everyone just smoked, stretched, ate, drank and chatted until the traffic eventually started moving again about 25 minutes later.

This movement was short lived and 300 metres further down the motorway we stopped again. Same drill – the cars emptied out and the impromentu social gathering reconvened. We did our bit to amuse the locals by taking photos of the traffic and having Jean and the girls pose by the car.

After another 15 minutes we were on the move again, this time for good.

Roman Holiday

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After the departure of Gill, Andre, Josh and Jordan to Venice and Slovenia, the remaining team headed south along the A1 to Rome.  We arrived on Saturday and drove around Rome (scary) dropping Mike and Charmaine at their apartment, their rental car at the Hertz depot and then finding our hotel.  We had discovered a place to stay – Hotel Barocco – online.  It is located on Piazza Barberini and, importantly for us, it welcomed dogs (unlike the hotel we usually stay at in Rome – Barberini).

The temperature over the weekend was around 29 degrees so the girls could come along on our walks.  They got to see the sights and, more importantly, for them sample the smells of Rome.

The first night we left the girls in our hotel room when we went out for dinner, thinking they would sleep after the drive south.  We arrived back at about 11pm and were informed by a slightly disturbed front desk clerk that the girls had barked and kept other guests awake all evening.  We were in danger of being evicted.

Barking struck us as unusual as the girls are normally quiet unless disturbed.  It turned out that a poor housemaid had gone into our room to turn down the bed and was met by a barrage of barking, growling and general dogginess.  She left the room in double quick time but the damage had been done and girls kept on barking.

Suffice it to say from that point on we made extensive use of the “do not disturb” sign when they were in the room and in the evenings the girls came along with us to experience dinner in some of Romes most popular restaurants.

Girls out and about in Positano

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Today the girls got their first taste of Positano with a walk from our villa to Eden Roc Hotel and back.

The stop at the hotel was an excellent chance for a drink and to catch up with Carlo who manages the bar and restaurant.  As always he had some great tips for places to eat in and around Positano although tomorrow evening we will be enjoying his hospitality with dinner on the terrace overlooking the bay.

On the way back to the villa Jean and the girls posed for the classic Positano photo.

We’re off to Positano

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It’s time for a holiday from our holiday.  That’s right, the whole Mowday clan is moving from Tuscany to Positano (on the beautiful Amalfi Coast) for a fortnight.  We’ve rented an apartment which is owned by the lovely people who also own and run Eden Roc Hotel, our favourite hotel in Positano.  Updates to follow.

Poppie ready for the trip to Positano.

Jean and the girls in the Campo

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I thought I had posted this photograph before but looking back, I haven’t.  It’s the day the whole family went to Siena.  And in true form Jean is looking lovely, Poppie is looking cute and Daisy (partly obscured) is, well, see for yourself.

The Mowday family in the Campo, Siena.

Daisy is getting old

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Daisy had her 14th birthday in January.  This would make her about 85 in human years and like any elderly person she is slowing down.  Things that were easy for her a year ago are now a challenge.  A walk around the property in the evening wears her out, her back legs seem to have a mind of their own occasionally, and when she does the head to tail shake on the tiled floor often she ends up flat on her stomach with legs splayed.

Admirably she take all this in her stride and soldiers on.

She is still her cantankerous, independent, stubborn old self.  She dutifully protects the cottage from any potential intruders including Mrs Patrizia and Fabiana when they deliver our fresh laundry or simply call in for a chat.

Daisy sleeping

Lately Daisy has struggled to jump up onto the bed at night and will grudgingly accept a helping hand up when it’s offered.  If no help is forthcoming being Daisy she simply finds somewhere else to sleep – in this case on my neatly folded clothes on the shelf just inside the bedroom door.

What’s the travel accessory you should never leave home without?

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I used to think it was noise cancelling headphones.  But I was wrong.  Headphones might be good for the luxury traveller taking short jaunts to foreign climes but for us long term, hard core, down to earth travellers the perfect companion is a Leatherman Blast.

My "must have" travel accessory.

I was given the aforementioned tool for my 50th birthday – thank you Charmaine, Mike and James – and it has proved invaluable.  It can cut, screw, saw or slice pretty much anything.  Whether it’s mundane tasks like tightening a screw on a wobbly pot handle or more exotic uses like an ice pick to de-ice a dodgy fridge, it’s ideal.

Recently it was put to use erecting some temporary wire fencing around our terrace to give Daisy and Poppie some indoor/outdoor flow without the chance of them doing a runner.

Mission accomplished thanks largely to the Blast.

One warning, if you bring something like this on holiday don’t pack it in your hand luggage.  The 4 inch knife blade might be a bit tough to explain to those nice gentlemen from Homelands Security.

Poppie meets the new fence.

Dogs in hotels, bars and restaurants

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The concept of taking our girls into a bar or restaurant in Wellington is inconceivable.  Here it is the accepted norm, in fact hotel and bar staff are quite surprised that we would even ask if it is possible. “But of course” was the standard response matched with a look of surprise.

So for the last week (and in the UK also) the girls have learnt about eating out. We always thought that Poppie would be good around other people, food, noise and the bustle of a bar or restaurant.  We weren’t quite so sure about Daisy.

Our friend Andre nick-named her Walter (after grumpy Walter Mattau’s character Oscar in the TV series The Odd Couple) because she would sometimes greet him or the kids with a growl and a nip at any hand that was in reach.  It’s fair to say Daisy isn’t good with people.

In a bar or restaurant she potentially was dynamite.  And the first times we went into assorted pubs in the UK she had her moments – and a fair bit of time out on the street being walked up and down to cool off.  On one occasion she exceeded herself and christened the pub carpet but, as someone pointed out, it was no worse than what happened to the carpet on a Friday night anyway.

By France she had the whole thing under her belt (or should that be collar) and no matter whether it was a half full local bar or a packed fine dining restaurant she behaved herself perfectly.

Up to a point.  The only thing we have to master now with Daisy is other dogs.  Daisy plus any strange dog means chaos because Daisy clearly thinks she’s a German Shepherd.  She has no fear of other dogs and barks and snarls at them, anytime, anywhere.

It’s good we have something to work on over the next few months.

Invading Europe

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It was as simple as driving to Folkestone, flashing our passports at a seriously un-interested french customs officer sitting in a little booth and boarding the channel tunnel train.

Onboard the Chunnel Train.

Thirty five minutes later you drive off at Calais and head into Europe. Importantly remembering to drive on the other side of the road.

Bon Jour France.