an English Daisy in Sicily ........
One
March day in 2011, whilst working at Ruth Kaye Design in Primrose Hill in London a lady who we knew
fostered rescue dogs for a charity called All Dogs Matter walked past with a
tiny 8 week old puppy that had just been abandoned that day, she was all
wrapped up in an orange Ikea blanket. The puppy was gorgeous and she knew it.
I went
home that evening and told my husband, we checked the All Dogs Matter website
and found her. My husband made an appointment to meet her and it was love at
first sight for both man and dog, we called her Daisy.
We vowed
that we would never leave her and that meant taking her to Sicily with us.
Therefore twice a year we make the long journey to Sicily by car, it has come
to be known as The Puppy Road Trip.
The
Puppy Road Trip starts at the Eurotunnel with an overnight stay in Dijon in
France then through the Alps and the Mont Blanc tunnel down to Genoa in Northern
Italy to board a ferry to Palermo which takes 20 hours in the comfort of a dog
friendly cabin with Fido Park for walkies and business on the top deck. The
trip is worthy of its own future Blog, so keep posted.
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| living the celebrity lifestyle |
Daisy
has now visited Sicily five times and has become quite a local celebrity.
Daisy
has visited Mount Etna (she finds the volcanic rocks rather hard
to climb), she has been wine tasting at the fantastic Gambino Vineyard, visited
the house from the Inspector Montalbano’s television series in Punta Secca, enjoyed many a cool bowl of
water and a spoon of granita at Bar Vitelli in Savoca which was made famous in
The Godfather Part One and she enjoys her Friday evening passeggiata in Taormina with a visit to her
preferred restaurant where she has her favourite table reserved and ready.
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| on Mount Etna |
In our
commune within Giardini Naxos she is adored, a walk to the beach that should
take us ten minutes sometimes turns into two hours. First she has to say Ciao to everyone sitting outside our local coffee
bar then when we reach our piazza she has to say Ciao to all the old men who are sitting debating
life, politics and football. Then she is surrounded by children, first the
girls who think she is a cuddly toy and then the boys who want her to play
football with them. Once we get past the piazza who knows who we will meet!!!!!
There are so many colourful characters.
We even
had a gentleman once who asked if he could buy her a gelato … of course it was an offer she could not
refuse.
On her
morning walk after a dip in the sea and digging a few holes, she sits and has a chat with the local fishermen.
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| digging holes in Giardini Naxos |
I have
lost count how many times we have been on a walk in Giardini or Taormina for
someone to come up and say Ciao Daisy Bedda (Hello Beautiful Daisy) … Bedda is Sicilian
dialect for beautiful. They have even stopped traffic if they are in a car.
My
adopted Sicilian big brothers children always come after school to play with
her and sometimes if she is lucky they give her a cool bath.
We
always make wonderful new friends when Miss Daisy Doo is in town.
All
Dogs Matter have many wonderful dogs who are all looking for a forever home
just like Daisy found. Or even if you can foster, please visit www.alldogsmatter.co.uk, they are amazing people.
We are looking forward to the next Puppy Road Trip … I will keep you posted.
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| a late night Gelato in Taormina |
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| at Inspector Montalbano's house in Punta Secca |
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| retracing the steps of The Godfather at Bar Vitelli in Savoca |
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| Wine Tasting at Gambino Vini in Linguaglossa |
