"Who Let the Dog Out?"

"Bau Bau Bau!" Bau-bau Cosmobaubau; bau, bauoooo bau bau "Cosmo!" .... huh?

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.

Where has all the Panettone Gone?

Ciao Zio Tony Fans! While the Holiday Season has drawn to a close and all that remains of our Yuletide celebrations are a couple extra pounds to see us through the Winter, here's a peak in the rear view window at Christmastime in Milano ....

It seems that somewhere among "Sleigh Ride" and "Silver Bells" there should be a song about "Street Lights in Milan",


... "Meet me in Piazza alla Scala at Christmastime",


... or "How much is that Panettone in the Window?"




Actually, now that the Holiday Season has passed, my biggest lament is, "Where has all the panettone gone?" Just like those who say it's only proper to eat fruits in season, I guess the same goes for Milano's hometown "Tony's bread".

And so, as well, we're only treated for a few weeks of each year to the musical light show at the Castello,


... the lighted tree on Piazza Duomo,


... and the sparkling blue dome in the Galleria.


(Although, thank goodness, the days of gelato lasts forever!)

Now, with the turning of one year to the next, I'm lucky enough to look back at all of the Seasons in Milan and find the weeks around Christmas to be my favorite. So, I wish you all, and hope to do so again, ...

"Tanti Auguri" from Milano!

This Stinco Don't Stink

Ciao Zio Tony fans! How’s the weather back home? Oh, here? ...well, the good thing about cold & rainy days arriving in Milan is that means the first snows of the season are falling in the mountains! So, when the skies cleared for a bright blue weekend a few weeks ago, my friend Max and I made for a day “in montagna”.

In particular, we headed for “Valle Brembana", about 25 miles north of Bergamo and two hours outside Milano, which Max knew as a teenager when his family, like most Milanese, would escape the dreary metropolitan winters by fleeing to the mountains.

(view webcams at http://www.orobiemeteo.com/eventi.html )

If you’re like me and had spent most your Italian vacations in the wine-country valleys, coastal villages, and historic cities of a Fodors-esque travel guide, you might be surprised to discover how much the alpine culture permeats “la Dolce Vita”, lying tantalizingly just beyond the reach of most Italian itineraries. Honestly, if you’ve been able to hack day-tripping through places like Tuscany or Sicily, your next adventure should be treking through the “Prealpi” mountains which ring the northern borderlands with Switzerland and Austria. The trails are fantasically marked and frequented even in winter, when walking sticks and hiking boots give way to “sci di fondo” (cross country skis) and "ciaspoli" / "rachette di neve" (snow shoes).

Best of all, because this it Italy, you don’t have to worry about packing trail-mix or power bars for lunch because - although this ain’t the only place in the world with snow capped mountains - this is the only place that I know where they come covered in polenta!

I’m talking about the Italian “rifugio”. As the name “refuge” implies, I imagine they came about as places to hunker down when the elements would kick up a fuss. Of course, these simple rustic buildings with bunk rooms and wood burning stoves are found above the tree line in many places other than Italy. But, leave it to the Italians to carry the point that if the purpose is to be out of the nasty, then you might as well be enjoying yourself! So in Italy, the word “rifugio” conjurs up steaming mounds of polenta, "pizzoccheri" (broad, buckwheat flour pasta), braces of roasted meat, stewing pots of “brassato” (beef braised in red wine), and other hearty mountain fare served with wine and finished with a cafe' and grappa - that is, not just a place to dry out your wet socks.

Ok, I know that you've already peeked ahead and I really can't add much commentary to these views; so, I'll let you get back to the picture book stuff ...

Here's getting to the end of the valley "Val d’Arera", to the east of "San Pellegrino"(yes, that where the bottled water comes from) and just beyond the town of "Oltre il Colle". We're headed to the center peak, "Pizzo Arera" ... the refugio where we'll have lunch is just above the snow line.


Keep in mind, we were only at mid-November so you're looking at just the first snow-cap dusting of the season. About an hour and a half of easy up-hill hiking found the first patches ...

... and really started to open up the views.


While Max gives you the lay of the land, listen in the background for the church bells chiming down in the valley.



Our immediate destination was the rifugio "Capannna 2000" (you can see it in the bottom right as the starting point of a ring of 12 rifugi along which you can trek & overnight - like a constellation of rustic B&B's, all above 5,500 feet). The "2000" means that Capanna is at 2000 meters (6500 feet) ... and after lunch we'll press on to 8000 feet up the slooping peak behind it.

( http://www.vallibergamasche.info/rifugi/rifugi.html )

But, as you've heard me say said before, that goes along with figuring out what to do between meals; so, first things first ...

The headliner on the menu was "stinco di vitello" (meaty veal shin bone) served with polenta. We took a plate of local cheeses along side and, adding to the homey feel of the place, drank the house red wine in used-up Nutella jars, festooned with cartoons. (We'd come back to enjoy the ricotta and chocolate torte after burning a few more calories.)

Of course, the proprietor hosted a healthy collection of naturally flavored grappa, to settle the meal ...

... and fortify our return into the cold ...

... for another hour's trek up the ridge ...



... where these views waited for us to the North,




... East,


... South,


... and West

Yep, not a silvered olive grove, vineyard covered valley, Roman ruin, or soaring (man-made) cathedral in sight ... so, I hope these impressions help you open a new mind's eye view of "nostra Italia".