Ohh, sorry ... it just that I've really been working on my Italian lately and I thought ... well, I mean we spend a lot of time trying to undertanding you and I was hoping that ... oh, never mind, who am I to complain ...
"Ciao Zio Tony Fans!" This is Noblegold Cosmopolitan Jr. Mint AX, MXJ speaking. If that's too much for you to bite off, you can just call me "Cosmo!" Yes, I could tell you what "AX, MXJ" stand for; but, let's just say I'm part of the same superhero crime-fighting league as my pal Zio Tony.
Oh yeah, ZT & me go way back; we've been around the block together a few times. So, when mom asked me if I wanted to go visit my ole' romping buddy, I was like, "Waggggg! Pack up The Big Green Bone and pooh-bags and let's go!".
But, then she added, "So, you really want to go to Italy?", and my ears went up like ... "Wha?" ... I knew peeps like going to Italy, but would a furry four-footer like me like going to Italy?
Well, when we arrived at the airport in Milan you should have seen me jump up and fall over when I saw Uncle Tony! Boy oh boy, I was glad to see him; and, although he didn't shriek and get all waggy, I could tell he was just as happy to see us too. Seemed like old times ... the pack was back!
Seeing that it was around first-feeding time and Mom hadn't slept as well as I did, Zio Tony says what she needs to get her back on her hind legs is a proper "cappuccio e brioche" ... and I'm like "Huh?", 'cause the closest I could translate that to was, "wanna Greenie?" But hey, it get's better than that ...
S00ooo ... we saunter up to a great smelling humanfood place that ZT called a "pistacceria" and then ... without breaking a trot ... we juuuuuust walk right in ... TOGETHER!!!
Maybe that doesn't sound like such big belly rub to many of you. But, having spent my whole life being treated like .... well, let's face it ... a dog in the so-called land of "The Dream" - where every day is as likely as the next to be a nighmarish re-play of that horrible "Snoopy Come Home" scene - being able to walk into that little cafe like a real "best friend" was like ... like walking into a whole new way of life.
Oh yeah, and there were brioche crumbs EVERYWHERE! ^o^
Well, after Mom & ZT had woofed down their cappuccini & brioche and I had licked up as may crumbs as Mom let me get a way with, we high tailed it to the Zio Tony lair to secure The Big Green Bone and then pattered our paws on the pavement, touring the sights & smells of Milano.
Over the next couple of days we did those things that go with being in Milano ... you know, like walking around the Castello and Parco Sempione,
... visiting the Brera District and the Piazza of the Duomo,
... and, of course, shopping.
But the waggiest thing about it all was that no matter where we went, there I was.
What I mean is, whether Mom and Uncle Tony wanted to grab an Italian hot chocolate (Mom would have to tell you why it's sooo much better than the American stuff), browse in a fashion boutique (like when ZT took us to a crocodile skin workshop and ordered me a real bitchin' lead ... ohhh yeahhh, the ladies like it), or eat at a nice restaurant (my new friend at "Ponte de Ferr" gave me HANDFULLS of chicken, CHICKEN I say!), there I was hanging out,
.... and going everywhere,
... and all doing those things that Milanese do,
... even if I wasn't wearing orange pantaloni.
So after a couple days in Milano, I was really digging my new role as an Italian "cagnolino". But, when I saw Mom pack up The Big Green Bone I knew the pack was getting ready to move out on another adventure ... to a Winter Wonderland called Trentino.
Well, I'm no stranger to snow I want you to know. But, the white fluffy snow fields on Mount Bone-Bone-dy (or whatever they called it), was like the craziest make-a-dog-go-zoom stuff you could ever imagine.
BOW, did I get zoomie ...
WOW that was fun!
But, again, the waggiest part of all was coming off the slopes to dry off,
warm up ...
... and hang with my peeps.
So, that's how we spent our days in Trento. But then, we packed up The Big Green Bone again and lit out on the final leg of our "Who Let the Dog Out?" world tour.
And what a curious place we visited next! The moment I stuck my nose into the wind as our big growling waterbus zig-zagged along the water way, past peeps bobbing in boats and waves lapping against colorful crooked buildings (lurking with cats I'm sure!), I could tell we had arrived somewhere like nowhere else.
It was like the city had given up streets for water and we were hopping in & out of boats like they were cars!
And there was always something different to sniff out, wandering off the beaten path, along the quite canals and alleyways which Uncle Tony said make "La Serenissima" one of his favorite places in Italy.
And in the evenings we'd warm ourselves at the bar of a peculiar establishment with a curiously un-Italian name.
What, with beautiful women smothering me kisses, rich men buying me drinks, and white-jacketed bartenders calling me by name (and slipping me chicken-liver croquettes), how could I resist the allure of celebrity?
But such glorious dog days were bound to end. So, having left our mark on the “Leone di San Marco” we returned to Cosmopolitan Milano and then finally back to home-treat-home.
And now, when the day is 1/8, 1/4, 3/8, 1/2, 5/8, 3/4, 7/8, and done, I lay my head on The Big Green Bone to nap and dream a dog’s dream of chasing cats out of the backyard, zooming around the agility ring, and devouring chew bones & chicken treats ...
... and of laying under the table at yummy restaurants, smelling the sights of old enchanted places, and taking a “cappucio & brioche” with my best friend ...
Because dogs like going to Italy even more than people do.
2 comments:
Certainly sounds like Cosmo enjoyed his stay in Milan and Trentino as much as I did. Cant say I envied him the sliding around in the snow tho. How did he do with his Italian--or were the barks multilingual? Wise Owl
Zio Tony -
Great pictures and commentary. Where will Cosmo go next? Auntie Helen
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