pet animal: October 2010

Happy Halloween 2010

I have a bit of a love-hate relationship with Halloween. On the one hand, I usually get lots of treats. On the other hand, Missus always 'tricks' me into getting dressed-up. Don't believe me? Check out my 2007, 2008 and 2009 Halloween costumes.

So, I woke up this morning with some trepidation as to what Missus had in store for me. Would I be a witch? A monster? An ogre? As it happens, the costume Missus had in mind turned out to be even 'scarier' than all of these things put together!

Remember Lady Gaga's outfit at the 2009 VMA Awards...

Lady Gaga in her 'unusual' outfit. Now, let me introduce you to...

...'Lord Gaga'.

"Gaga ooh la la... Want your bad romance..."

This year's photo shoot was a real challenge...

...it was driving me gaga!

...so much so that I soon fell asleep.

Lord Gaga zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz...

Happy Halloween to my little monsters from Lord Gaga!

Avignon, South of France

I know, I know…it has taken forever, but finally I have a chance to tell you about the last leg of my holiday in Europe with my humans. Following visits to Monaco, Nice and Barcelona we finally started the long journey home to Italy. On the way back, we just had time for one final stopover in the town of…

…Avignon in Provence, France.

Avignon is a charming place which is steeped in history…

…For instance, here’s me and Missus in front of the famous Saint Bénézet Bridge (or Pont d' Avignon)

And here I am looking ‘windswept and interesting’ with the city walls in the background

Avignon is particularly renowned for being the home of several popes during the Middle Ages.

Me and Dad posing at the Palais des Popes.

And yours truly with the Notre-Dame des Doms cathedral in the background.

Whilst taking in the historic sights of the Pope’s Palace, something more unusual caught my eye – a giant elephant standing on its trunk. Honestly...

...See what I mean? (I bet you thought I’d been drinking too much French wine!).

The excitement was too much and we had to sit down for the obligatory café lunch.

Alright folks, that's the end of my summer holiday posts. I hope you enjoyed.

Woof!

P.S.: Dad was touched by all of the birthday wishes he received and he wanted me to send a big 'Thank You' to everyone on his behalf.

Forty-Five

Today is a special occasion for us because it's my human Dad's birthday and he is now officially forty-five! Yeah baby, FORTY-FIVE and FABULOUS!!!

To the world's greatest Dad and husband...

Happy Barkday and we 'woof' you so much!

Happy Birthday my dearest and sweetest, not a day goes by when I do not think of you and how empty my life would be if you were not here. - The Missus

My Super Saturday with Lovely Lucille

For weeks now, my Missus has been trying to plan a get-together with my great blogging friend Lucille and her humans. Well, we finally made the trip over to meet them on Saturday and what a fantastic time we all had.

This is Lucille. She's booti-ful three year old Great Dane.

Our meeting place was the maginficent Lake Garda, Italy's largest lake. Here's some photos from our day out...

Me and Dad and Lucille with her Dad, Mario, setting off on our walk along the shores of Lake Garda.

Yippee! After a short time, our humans decided it would be OK to let us off leash for a while.

"Come on Lucille, let's go swimming."

Of course, Yours Truly is right at home in the water.

Lucille, on the other hand, is a true 'lady'. She categorically refused to get her hair wet!

Bah! I had to play my water sports alone!

Soon we were back on leash continuing our walk...

...with Lucille leading the way!

Before too long, we found ourselves in the lovely town of Lazise. This is me and Dad with Lucille and her Mum and Dad - Nicoletta and Mario.

Following a short stay in Lazise, it was time to make our way back to the cars. Hooray more time for fun and...

...swimming...

...and more swimming (with Nicoletta and Mario cheering me on!)

As usual, Lucille decided to stay firmly on dry land!

Just in time for some portrait shots...

The lovely Lucille.

Me and Lucille...

...and finally, the whole 'pack'.

What a wonderful day out and such lovely friends to share it with. I can't wait to meet up with Lucille, Nicoletta and Mario again soon!

Barcelona

A few weeks ago I told you about the first two legs of our holiday to Monaco and Nice. I'm sorry I wasn't able to continue the story of our travels earlier, but I'm back on the case now.

Following our stay in Nice, we headed out of Spain to the next destination on our trip...

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...Barcelona

Barcelona is famous, amongst other things, for the quirky architecture of the late Antoni Gaudi. Here's a picture of the world renowned architect....

...and here's a picture of yours truly in my hotel room. Luckily, we were located directly opposite one of Gaudi's famous works: the Palau Güell.

Look at the candy coloured spire-like chimney tops on the roof in the background. The view from my room was never dull!

During our visit, we got to see a few more of Gaudi's creations...

...like the Casa Milà...

...the Casa Batlló...

...and, of course, the Sagrada Família.

The architecture inside the Sagrada Família is fantastic!

Of course there's a lot more to Barcelona than the works of Gaudi. Let me show you around..

Me and Dad taking a stroll down at La Rambla, which is only a few yards from our hotel.

The vibrant street is in the heart of the city and it is busy day and night.

Next, here's a few photos taken in Barcelona's old town.

The building behind me is Palau Reial.

This is Barcelona Cathedral.

And here's me and Dad next to a poster commemorating the reign of General Franco. Franco was very unpopular with the people of Barcelona.

From the old town, let's take a walk to Barcelona's historic port area of Barceloneta...

Me and Missus in front of a monument to Christopher Columbus. I seem to recall seeing this guy once before during our visit to Genoa.

Me and Dad taking a rest at Port Vell.

Next, we took a long (very tiring) walk up the hill of Montjuïc...

A view from the top of Montjuïc looking down on the city of Barcelona.

Here's me and Dad in front of the Castell de Montjuïc.

And here I am inside Barcelona's 'Estadi Olímpic de Montjuïc', which was the venue for the 1992 Olympic Games. Unfortunately, I wasn't allowed to take a run around the track!

On the way back down Montjuïc, we managed to get a few more 'family shots'..