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As expected, we awoke to a white world. Although the snow covering was less than a week ago it was still enough to keep the kiwi contingent in Bromham happy.
The little freeze in pictures
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Tag Archives: Poppie
Grooms for the girls
The girls usually have a haircut every 6 to 8 weeks. The last time they were groomed was in Siena at the end of October – 10 weeks ago. Jean had given them the occasional trim along the way but they were pretty shaggy so their first groom in the UK was quite extreme. Poppie survived relatively unscathed but poor old Daisy ended up with the Bichon equivalent of a number 1.
The only redeeming feature is that her coat will grow back – and in an English winter quite quickly we hope.
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- Daisy after her groom
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- Daisy before her groom
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- Poppie after her groom
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- Poppie before her groom
Making themselves at home
It’s easy to tell if the girls are feeling at home. The more couch they take up, the happier they are. Now we just need to figure out where the humans sit.
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- Daisy relaxing on the couch at Firsdene
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- Daisy and Poppie on the couch at Firsdene
Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow.
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This gallery contains 8 photos.
Within 48 hours of arriving in the UK we were treated to the first snowfall of winter. We awoke on Friday to 3 centimetres of snow on the ground with more falling throughout the morning. The backyard of our friend’s … Continue reading
Keeping the girls warm this winter – warning cute alert!
Winter means warm clothes. That means both us and the girls. So when we made the last visit to our dog groomer in Siena we did some winter coat shopping for the girls. The buying criteria was two-fold. Firstly, warmth for the girls on cold winter days and secondly, out-right cuteness.
In Troyes it was cold enough for the girls’ coats to be used and after a walk in the brisk 4 degree temperature we all adjourned to the bar for drinks.
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- The things Poppie puts up with
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- Daisy, still unimpressed, with G
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- Daisy was unimpressed by – everything
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- Poppie in her Italian hoodie coat
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- Jean and the girls in their winter woollies
Girls on patrol
Villa Greta has a resident family of cats that live a little further along the property. Four cats and a kitten to be precise. You get the impression that they usually spend quite a bit of time at the villa entertaining the guests and generally doing what cats do best.
Poppie spots a cat
With the arrival of our girls everything has changed.
The moment a cat comes down looking for some attention, or their dinner, Poppie goes onto full alert. After 5 weeks you think there would be some kind of truce but no, one cat sitting on the steps outside the gate is still more than enough to wind Poppie up. Daisy, as you would expect, is a little more circumspect about the whole thing.
The traditional Villa Greta greeting
Every time we arrive back at Villa Greta we are met by Daisy and Poppie. They are so pleased to see us and it doesn’t matter how many times we come and go we always get the same rapturous welcome. For those of you who don’t know them Daisy, being nearly 15 years old, is the slower one. Poppie is the one with her favourite toy in her mouth.
It’s officially home
You can always tell when the girls feel at home. They start barking at everyone walking past and go nuts when anyone visits. Based on this, as of last Wednesday Villa Greta became “our place”. For the next few weeks anyway.
Pups on tour – a feeble excuse for yet another cheesy dog photo
With space at a premium on the drive to Positano, we had to find room for the girls in amongst the vast quantity of luggage we had filled the car with. Daisy travelled in style in the back seat on a stack of blankets and pillows which raised her to around window height. Great for her as she had a view of every person, car or bike we passed, but bad for us as she barked at every person, car or bike we passed.
Poppie travelled in the front on the knee of the lucky passenger. Poppie has eaten well in Italy and her current weight of 7.2kgs does, after a few kilometers become quite heavy. This necessitated regular stops to allow the poor passenger to regain some degree of feeling in their lower legs.
Oh the glamour of travel.
It’s a dog’s life
Morning in the cottage means chores – dishes, bed making, vacuuming, all the usual stuff. Recently the girls have started watching this happen from the safety of the couch. Neither Jean nor I can make a move without two sets of eyes tracking us.
If we show any sign of deviating from the routine, all hell breaks loose.
Poppie relaxing
Poppie was sitting on Jean’s knee this morning as the sun was streaming in through the window. For Poppie this is about as good as it gets.
Roman Holiday
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.
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- Jean and Girls at the Pantheon
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- Girls get a well deserved drink
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- Team enjoying lunch at Piazza Navona
Villa Greta
A couple of photographs of Villa Greta taken from across the road.
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- Jean and Poppie on the terrace
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- Villa Greta
Girls out and about in Positano
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.
Welcome to Positano
We arrived in Positano on Saturday after a 5 hour drive from Tuscany to the warmest, friendliest greeting from the staff at Eden Roc Hotel. We aren’t staying at the hotel but have rented a villa they own called Villa Greta. The villa is situated just along the main road, 10 minutes easy walk from the hotel.
When we arrived there were fresh flowers on the table, wine and fresh fruit in the fridge and a home made cake on the bench. A lovely touch by the hotel we thought.
Compared to our cottage in Tuscany the villa is huge and everyone is enjoying the additional space and various mod cons – like a dishwasher.
The dogs have recovered from the drive south and have settled in. They already bark at everyone walking past on the street – much to the delight of the locals.
We normally arrive at Positano later in July but the good news is that the weather is great and the temperature is around 30 degrees. The town doesn’t feel packed and the superyachts are just starting to arrive in the bay. The bonus is that we can use the hotel facilities – pool, bar, restaurant, did I mention the pool, etc – so we have the best of both worlds.
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- Positano from Villa Greta
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- Villa Greta front terrace and entry steps
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- Villa Greta lounge and kitchen
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- Villa Greta lounge and bedroom
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- Villa Greta lounge looking out – dogs not included
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- Villa Greta bedroom
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- The villa is literally hewn from the cliff as the downstairs loo shows
La dolce far niente 