a tired dog is a good dog

Saturday, April 12, 2008

Wome-twip to EMILIA ROMAGNA-Wavenna...giovedi 4/3 08

We awwived at the twain station in Bologna( yes Joey..the whole town is named after Balony, hehehehe..how gweat is that???????)


Thewe waiting on the platfowm was Opus and Roscoe's Mom ,Cyndi, with a welcome sign and giftses fwom my fwiends..they wewe supposed to stay home fow safety
This is Cyn...she lives in Emilia Romagna(that is the name of this wegion), and wuns gweat pawsonal touws! She knows evewything about the wegion..she's fwom Amewica and hew Husband is fwom Italy and he's an Awchitect and a teachew.

if any of you evew go thewe you should contact hew..cause she's tewwific!!
Esperia Travels your personal key to Italy Cynthia Abbott Zalambani info @esperiatravels.com
Thewe's a lot of weally pwetty covewed passageways in Bologna...the people awe vewy nice..(don't let that gwumpy-looking lady on the left fool you)..it's a oonivewsity town..one of the oldest Oonivewsities evew
The vantage point on top of the fountain was much bettew to see the piazza
It was less sunny hewe cause it's fuwthew nowf than Wome, but it was still nice enough to sit outside
We had some baloney samiches, and then look what I found...can't have a day wifout it, hehehe
thewe wew lots of school kids awound..I can take them ow leave them..Mommi pwefews to leave them
aftew lunch, we went back to the twain station, and caught the twain to Wavenna,the city has ancient owigins..fwom the 5th to the 8th centoowies, it was the capitol of the Westewn Woman Empiwe of King Theodowic of the Goths and otf the Byzantine empiwe in Oowope
Wavenna is bootiful...It is the city that keeps the mowtal wemains of Dante and keeps his memowy alive wif lots of impowtant cultoowal events.small enough to explowe easily....
evewyone is on Bicycles
look who snuck out of the house(it's Opus and Roscoe) .........................don't tell theiw Mom

We played and hided while Mommi and Daddi went to visit the Basilica..this is the biggest baftub I've evew seen..I think even Daddi would fit in it
This is inside the Basilica of San Vitale..the gweatest tweasuwe of the eawly Chwistian Ewa
the mosaics awe the most spectacoolaw you have evew seen!!!just look at those colows!
in the gawden outside all you heaw is biwds chiwping..it's peaceful and lovely
These next pictoowes awe in the Mausoleo di Galla Placidia
the intwicate mosaics glisten..thewe is one pawt whewe it's a dawk blue sky, wif golden staws..and the gold takes youw bweaf away Mommi says(she was still bweafing when she came out, so I don't know what she's talking about)
When my pawents had enough of gawking, we wewe weunited fow a family pictoowe
just outside the Basilica, I wan inot a young Whippet..it made me miss my whippet Waggle fwiends..we had a good westle and kiss and then wewe on ouw way
Opus and Woscoe's Mom was such a cutie and lots of fun..not old like my pawents
Aftew dwopping off ouw stuff at the hotel, we went to the Piazza del Popolo(Wavenna used to be a lagoon city like Venice, but the canals wewe closed doowing the pewiod of Venetian Woole at the end of the 15th centoowy)
now it's an elegant gweat squawe...pawfect fow sitting and having a dwink and watching the popolo walk by, hehehehehe

We walked awound neaw the piazza fow a while
This Dante's tomb..whewe his wemains awe..I think that means all his stuff is thewe(I guess like my toy box)
This is Daddi ,Cyn and Danilo aftew the dwink...
they dwopped me off at the hotel, Opus and Roscoe and I sat in the lobby fow a while

we decided to play while the pawents went fow dinnew
(the hotel is in a fowmew Villa..and has a libwawy, gawdens,living woom, and dining wooms as well as halls to wun awound in..pawfect fow playing)


they got home pwetty late and we all went to sneep , cause we had to get up weally eawly to catch the twain back to Wome..we loved it hewe and hope to come back..thewe is so much to see and we bawely had enough time to see a bit of it..plus I want to play wif Opus and roscoe some mowe..these guys awe FUN!
The nice lady at the hotel got up extwa eawly to give us bweakfast in this simple little dining woom, heheheh (Mommi said she would not like to clean that chandeliew..but I think it would make a gweat swing)
We wewe expecting the nowmal caffee latte and wolls and cownetti(we love all that), but look what they gave us..this is nuts!!!!(the little wound donuts on top wewe filled wif custawd)
Cheese and cold cuts (prosciutto etc.) and little wawm spinach filled tawt
fwesh peaw cake, ricotta cake, othew cakes, stwudel...we had to taste evewything..you don't want to keel ovew on the twain fwom stawvation, hehehehe
back to the twain


this is the way to the station in Bologna whewe we twansfew


see you back to Woma
CIAO

32 comments:

Stanley said...

O-H M-Y D-O-G!!!

Dolce Dolce Astaroni!

Your trip just gets better and better! The food alone was worth it, but you got to go to meet Opus and Roscoe's mama & dad too!! I'm a little jealous, but stinkin' happy you got to do that.

I think I would ask for a doggie bag everywhere I ate to take everything I couldn't stuff into my mouth for later. It sounds like everyone you met was super good to you (probably because of you - they all fell in love with you I'm sure)!

What next? What next?

My girl said your parents have their priorities straight when they travel ~ make sure you eat well, hang out with the locals, and be sure to laugh a lot and have a good time. (Sounds like words to live by... hehehe).

Gooberlicious love & smooches,
Stanley

Molly the Airedale said...

OMG, all the food is making us drool! You weren't kidding when you said all you did was eat! hehehe
The mosaics are spectacular! What a trip you're all having! We're glad that Opus and Roscoe entertained you, Asta!
We can't wait to hear more!

Love ya lots
Maggie and Mitch

Daisy said...

I am so excited that you got to meet Opus and Roscoe's mom! That is so neat! And your trip to the town of baloney looks so wonderful. You all did a great job of taking photos, too. It looks so beautiful there! I am glad you found gelato everywhere you went.

Scruffy, Lacie and Stanley's Place said...

Asta! DID YOU SIT UNDER THAT CHANDALIER??? Oh my...it's a good thing ur mom lit candles the day before...I was terrierfied just lookin' at that thing...wonder how long it's been hangin' there!!

So Dante's Tomb is his toybox? So ours our called Scruffy's tomb, Lacie's tomb and Babystan's tomb??? Hmm...think people would come to see them? Could we sell sovenirs? WOOT...pocket $$$!!

Asta, I can't believe how much history you know. We are well versed in Pittsburgh history and such, but who the heck were the Goths? We thought those were the weird kids on the school bus here...ya know?

I did some highlights and lowlights for Mumsie...hmm...they look better than my hair er fur.

Love ya girl, my Bestie!!

Lacie

Peanut said...

My mom wants to know if your mom gained 20 lbs eating all that great food.

Dexter said...

Asta-
I am so glad to finally meet you. I wasn't going to go to your party since I didn't really know you, but Lacie said she totally needed Mango suds for the water balloons.

Anyhoo, glad to meet you at last. You sure do have big adventures! Going to Rome? My momma gets nervous going west of 485!

Giant slobbers,
Mango

Noah the Airedale said...

Asta, how did you not double in size eating all that delicious food??? That breakfast was enormous.
We can't wait for your next posting and we're learning heaps, you know so much.

Hugs and tail wags
Noah Willow Tess & Lucy

Patience-please said...

Holy Moly what yummies everywhere you go! Can't wait to see what's next!
And HOW FANTASTIC you met a whippet on your travels!!! He looked like a nice friendly fellw.

wags from the whippets

Lacy said...

woofies and burfs, wowzers girlie, ur triwp just keeps on gettin better and better..me likes bologna tooo...opus and roscoe's mom iz bute ti ful...heehee loved her sign..dose paintings on the walls r pawtastic...perfect place fur ur mommi da artist...lol and mama says ur mommi and daddi r not old...she says we get better with age like fine wine...wattever dat means...

b safe,
rocky
bear and
angel lacylulu ;)

erin said...

Dear Asta,
First of all, welcome home! We've been enjoying reading all about your trip to Rome. It looks like you had terrific adventures there. You are so brave! A true urbanista! I would have been so scared of all the statues there. Also I'm so glad to know that you got to fly under your mommy's seat and not in the cargo area. Thank you for sharing all these great pictures!
Woof,
Keeley

Mr. T-Bone Beasley said...

Those pictures were so awesome! That was so nice of you to take your humans to Rome with you!

Slurp!
Mr. T-Bone Beasley

Angel MoMo and Charlotte said...

Ooooooooooh, Asta sissy! What beautiful, beautiful pictures you took. How lovely that you actually met up with Cyndi (and the boys)! the breakfast had me drooling. We don't have half that many lights in our whole house as there are in that chandelier of your simple breakfast room.

SS says that it brings back very fond memories of the region and the hospitality of its people. She spent some 6 weeks in Italy when she was a student a zillion years ago. She still is a student now (how can you be a student for a zillion years? Must be exceptionally dumb, that SS.)

Lorenza said...

Hi, Asta!
The Basilica is beautiful and those mosaics are awesome!
sure it was nice to meet Opus and Roscoe and their mom!
How many pounds did you all gain during the trip??
Kisses and hugs
Lorenza

Sassy Kat said...

Oh I really enjoyed your photos of your trip to Bologna and Revenna. It was nice that Cyndi visited with your mom and dad and I am glad that Opus and Roscoe got to sneak away and see you too. Bet their mom didn't even know that they were out of the house. Cyndi looks like such a sweetie and always was smiling having a great time with all of you. I think the dad of the house too is a nice person and that was nice that the moms and dads got to go out to eat leaving you with plenty of free time to visit with Opus and Roscoe. I need to get to Italy and I sure will look Cyndi up. When I see her I will give big hugs from you and your folks.

Ruby Bleu said...

Oh Asta, I'm just sitting here drooling that food looks so yummy! And meeting Opus and Roscoe's pawrents AND having them be your pawsonal tour guides...W*O*W! I want to go, I want to go!!!

I can't wait until tomorrow to read more!

Lots of Licks, Ruby

Agatha and Archie said...

Drooling, drooling over the food...WHAT a fabulous trip!!! Who knew that Dantes tomb was filled with his toys???Love A+A

Joe Stains said...

wowee, I can't believe you only had ONE sandwich in the town full of Balogna!!!! or is that bologna or baloney? I dunno, its GOOD. I am glad you got to hang out with your kitty friends and that your Mom and Dad got a nice tour from the Cyn.

Cat Naps in Italy said...

Ciao Cara Asta!
Thank you so much for coming to visit us! It was really sweet of you to bring your parents for my human to play with! We all enjoyed you guys so much and hope you know that there is always a room for you in our home when you want to come to Italy!

Can you believe we STILL haven't posted about our visit yet???? Our darn human hasn't allowed us much computer time. The nerve!

Love the photos! Love the visit! Please come back soon with your humans! We miss you guys already!
Love,
Opus, Roscoe and their humans

Mack said...

Oh Asta!
Those pictures are breathtaking! We especially love the mosiacs and the churches!
And the FOOD!?? How did you manage not jumping on the table and scarfing everything down in one gulp? You must be a perfect lady!
Mom and Dad were gonna go to London this fall, but Daddy bought a motorcycle so that plan's out the window! Maybe next year!

Sugars,
Mack

BenTheRotti said...

Asta,

oh my doGness I am drooling all over the keyboard looking at all that scrummy food!!
What an awesome welcome you got at the train station.. star treatment for a star!

love, licks and tail wags..

Ben xxxx

B.T.Bear (esq.) said...

Oh WOW! ASTA! WOW! Wat a grayte trip!

Mummy sez she studeed thoze mozayke thingys wen she waz a teenaiger (Mummy waz a teenaiger????) wen she studeed Histry Ov Art.

Looks like the whippet fella waz a good larf! Glad yu mayde sum new frends!

BTW Good thinkin puttin that bit ov red string on yor hewmans so they don't get lost. Mine's always wondring off.

:@}

Two Schnauzers from New England said...

Hi, Asta and family -

Your whole trip has been spectacular so far. We hope that the whole town was not filled with baloney (hahaha!). Mama tells Papa that he is full of baloney (whatever that means).

Your pawrents don't look old but they may seem that way to you because you are such a young lady! Mama tells me (Hershey) that she has trouble keeping up with me because I am very active.

It must have been great to see Opus, Roscoe and their family. We can't wait for the next set of pictures.

Love -

Hershey and Kaci

P.S. Hope you are enjoying the rest of your weekend. Mama and I are going for a walk later - she has to do homework so I told her she can't come out and play until she gets some of it done.

Moco said...

We are just loving the travelogue of your trip to Rome. Grammie's idea of traveling is to go to the grocery store.

Anonymous said...

Asta my BFF I'm back. I missed use sooo mush whiles use, mommi & daddi was on vacakeshun, I had a goods time with Auntie Joey, Cousin Danny and Sophia my other BFF, but I missed Nanny. Boy is I glad she is home.
Nanny read use entire blog about Woam last night, the piktoors are sooo bootiful, I wish I was with use, I am sore use was the hit of Italy, did use and mommi's tush get pinched? hee,hee.
Nanny said to tell use mommi thats she wills talks to her durings the week, she is tired and westing up for work on Monday.
Hugs,bellyrubs,smoochies
Pearl

the many Bs said...

hi Asta, we are catching up on our reading about your trip. you visited some really beautiful and old places. Dante's tomb is really big. we think he must have had a lot of toys. and those wonderul mosiacs - amazing.

we read about you traveling in that little big for 9 hours. that's a long time to not get to go potty or stretch your legs or play or nothin'. we can see why you didn't like it.

woofs!

Jans Funny Farm said...

We haven't been making comments but we've been following your story. It looks like your trip was such fun. And so many historic and lovely places to see.

Just think of how special you are, Asta. You actually got to travel to Rome with your parents and you met Opus & Roscoe's folks. What a trip!

We were sorry to learn about Miral too. She fought a good fight and her SS did all they could for her.

We hope Lilly Lu, Mu Shue and Iris will be found alive soon.

Koobuss said...

Wow!!

What a terrific side trip that was!! I would never want to come home.

All the beautiful, historic, and exciting places you have seen! And the food is just unbelievable! No wonder you wanted to go there.

Fantastic!!

Great job on the post!

Love and Koobuss Kisses,
Kousin Koobie

The Thuglets said...

Wow..what a fabulous trip!

All that food looks positively daleicious.

Asta you are such an excellent traveller.

Must go and get somethign to eat now.

Big Nose pokes
The Thuglets +2

Petra said...

The mosaics are breataking for sure! I'm glad your mom got her breath back, though.

I'm still in awe that you went to Rome and were so wellbehaved and treated like royalty with all of that delcious food. Lucky you, Asta -- and you even got to meet your kitty friends!

Eric said...

Wow, isn't Italy just the best? The architecture,the food...friends.. (Moms says the men and the shopping gets the thumbs up from her too he he!) Thanks so much for sharing it with us, the photos are fab...

Wags, Eric x

Maya and Kena said...

OOoohhh!!
We couldn't take our eyes off the mosaic pics!! Those are beautiful!!
And how cool that you got to meet Opus and Roscoe's mommy!!
Wags and licks,
Maya and Kena

Alastriona, The Cats and Dogs said...

It is so cool that you got to meet Opus & Roscoe's parents.

Italy is so pretty. We are loving all the pictures. And they seem so nice about doggies.

Where we live people would get very annoyed if a dog or kittie was touring with their family.~Socks, Scylla & Charybdis