Driving with your dog to Florence | Dog Travel Italy

October 11, 2016June 19, 20174 Comments

“Not all those who wander are lost.”

~ J.R.R. Tolkien

Dogs really understand the art of wandering. It has much more depth than being lost, and we took this onboard when we found ourselves off the main road in search of some lunch on the trip from Mieders, Austria to Florence, Italy. With stomachs grumbling, we quickly tried to find parking at the first place we saw after venturing off the Autostrade (Highway). The small pizzeria looked nice enough and would certainly fill a hunger hole, but just as we went to back the car into what was seemingly the last spot in the entire town, a car zipped in behind us and left us searching once more.

Sigh, back onto the road to keep looking.

A small sign saying ‘Agrotourism’ and pictures of cows popped up as we went a few more miles down the road. Thinking it was probably a small cheese making farm, it may have some snacks to keep us going. Then the adventure began as we kept seeing the sign but seemingly didn’t get any closer to it. Just when we thought we must have missed a turn the sign would pop again. And then a turn off to a dirt road that became steeper and rougher had us thinking, this can’t be right, time to turn back. We were even off of the GPS map…

As we were navigating a three point turn, we noticed a small handpainted sign way up the hill and a farmhouse. Ok, one last try, let’s check it out.

And then the wonder of travel unveiled a present right before us. The road opened up to a beautiful property with fields and an old farmhouse. We spotted a couple of cars and motorbikes and began to think we were onto something special. It was. The agrotourism initiative, as it is defined most broadly, involves any agriculturally based operation or activity that brings visitors to a farm or ranch and we had stumbled on a wonderful example with Il Passeggere.

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Converted stone buildings at Il Passeggere

We took Tikka out for sniff and a pee and wondered if we’d be able to get a small bite. The main stone building is a huge restaurant with gorgeous big windows through which you can gaze over the farm while stuffing your belly. A quick reply from the server ‘yes, of course you can bring your dog inside’ and we were soon sitting by those very windows with much more than a small bite in front of us.

It was a Sunday that we came across Il Passeggere just in time for a typical, slow Italian Sunday lunch. No menus, just a small chalkboard with a short list of items which we soon discovered was a seven course set meal (charcuterie, soup, pasta, vegetables, meat, dessert and coffee with biscotti). And wine was included for under 30 Euros each. We made out a few words but most of the meal was a surprise and it couldn’t have been nicer. A perfect introduction to eating in Itay.

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Hello little black donkey from Canada…

After our long lunch with Tikka patiently waiting under the table we went outside to explore and visit the donkeys, throw the ball in an open field and have a short nap in the grass. What a lovely day, all made possible by someone that took our parking spot and left us to wander the countryside.

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Tikka makes some new friends in Italy.

If you are traveling with your dog in this region, Il Passeggere makes for a wonderful stop to refuel along your journey, or as a visit from Florence to have a great meal and explore the paths and hills with your dog.

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Drive up to Il Passeggere

How to get to Il Passeggere here.

Read about our next adventure in Florence…

Tikka in Germany and Austria | Dog Travel Europe

October 7, 2016June 19, 20179 Comments

Our big adventure travelling through Italy with our dog Tikka begins here – A flight into Germany and then off to Austria for an overnight night stop before continuing into Italy to visit Florence, Tuscany, Rome, Ravello and Venice.

So why aren’t we starting in Italy? We chose to fly direct into Munich on Lufthansa with Tikka in mind. AirTransat had the only direct flight to Rome from Vancouver, but they have a no dogs in cabin policy, so that was a non starter for us. Lufthansa was brilliant, fussing over Tikka making sure she was ok. After a comfortable 10 hour flight with our dog snoozing in the cabin at our feet the whole way, we landed and we were out of the terminal in 30 minutes with bags in hand looking for a good place for Tikka to have a long pee. No holdups in customs – it was a breeze and you can read about the process of getting a dog ready to go from Canada to the EU in this post.

Grass was within a 2 min walk outside Terminal 2, so super easy to find a place for relief.

Tikka eyeing our currywurst lunch outside Terminal 2 – Munich, Germany.

Before jumping in our rental car, we took a minute to stretch our 8 legs, give Tikka some water and grabbed a quick bite in the outside square – lots of options for something to eat and all dog friendly. Currywurst was our choice, a local street food of sausages with curried ketchup, and a personal favourite of my huband’s.

When we were checking out options for what car rental company we wanted to go with, we asked about having a dog in the car with us and the reply was ‘no problem’. Although Tikka is a low shedding dog, we brought a towel with us anyway, to try keep the dog hair mainly isolated to her sleeping spot. And we picked up a new travel tip when travelling with your dog. As we were on an international flight, we were given blankets on the plane and we held onto them – they are a good size and thin so easy to pack and we’ve been using them in the car as well as over any furniture that Tikka wants to curl up on.

Let’s go! Packing up the trunk before getting TIkka into her travelling spot in the front of the rental car.

Ok, time to get on the road! Easy drive out of the airport and we were on our way to Austria. This vacation is all about driving around Italy however, to make it easy on ourselves we only wanted to do a two hour drive after our flight so stayed in the charming Stubaital valley in Tyrol, Austria, just south of Innsbruck.

Tikka in front of our stop for the night – Aplenholtz Hotel, Mieders Austria

Major note to self for another trip, to stay in this area for a few weeks. So gorgeous and heaven for any dog that wants to hit the trails. It’s all about enjoying the views of the mountains, exploring meadows and winding your way through the little towns. There is even a handy planner for Austria that you can map out your hike.

View of the Serles Mountian on our early morning walk in Mieders, Austria.

We chose Mieders to stop overnight, booked ahead of time, and the Alpenholtz Hotel couldn’t have been better. It’s slow for travellers at the end of September, as it’s in between the summer tourist season and the upcoming ski season, so we enjoyed the fresh air and how quiet it was. A perfect stopover for travelling with a dog and a big paws up from VanDoggo!

Little cozy pub in the Alpenstotlz Hotel

Dinner was at a local restaurant and we enjoyed our first meal with Tikka under the table before we crashed in our bed and our little travel dog snuggled in for the night. Sweet sleep…we were tired and looked forward to a nice long sleep after traveling so far. Of course our eyes sprung open at 1 am. A couple hours of watching Austrian TV in German finally got us back to sleep again. Tikka seemed unaffected, snoring on the sofa. So jealous.

Tikka making new friends.

Handy poop bags along our walking path.

We all ventured out the next morning for a healthy wander around Mieders before our drive to Florence and Tikka made some new friends. Just like big dogs but they moo instead of bark and you need much larger poop bags. We wandered through the paths and fields, and feasted our eyes on all the amazing views, the reality of actually being on vacation started to set in.

Local house with a full September bloom in Mieders, Austria

And we knew we weren’t in Kansas anymore when we stumbled across a cute vending machine on the side of the road that stocks fresh eggs.

Never run out of eggs again!

A quick breakfast put on by the hotel brought us back from our morning stroll and after we repacked the car, gave Tikka the map to navigate and we were off to Florence!

Travelling through Europe and Italy with our Dog, Tikka. Vandoggo.

Packing List for the Dog Gear | Pet Travel

September 21, 2016June 19, 20173 Comments

We are counting down the days to our Italian adventure and the lists are well underway. Although it’s a multi week vacation, packing for Tikka isn’t extending too much past our regular planning for a weekend trip. The Transport of Animals paperwork is the biggest addition (I’ll write about this in an upcoming post) and there is also a muzzle and a pee pad going in the bag. Biggest decision is which toys get to come along…!

Tikka in her Sturdi Bag getting ready for her Italy trip.

Paperwork

This is first on the list as all the careful packing in the world won’t matter if you are turned away from the border with forgotten papers. Along with our passports, Tikka’s paperwork will be in our personal carry on, in duplicate. Read more in this separate post about the paperwork for taking your dog from Canada to Europe.

Carrier

Tikka just fits into the requirements for in-cabin travel and our Sturdi Bag has been our go to carrier. For this trip we are flying with Lufthansa and if she lays off the extra treats she and her carrier will meet the 18lb limit. We use a Large Sturdi carrier and what’s great about this brand is the structure is flexible so the roof will conform to being under the seat without an issue whilst still leaving Tikka plenty of room. And when she is not under the seat, it pops back up to it’s original form.

Crate for Hotels

Although Italy seems more relaxed for dogs not being crated while in their rooms alone, we’ll still bring along one of Tikka’s soft kennels as she likes having her own ‘den’ to hang out in. We have a collapsible soft sided crate that goes up in seconds and fits in the bottom of our bigger suitcase (but takes up a lot of room) and we also have a Sturdi tent. The tent rolls up much as a smaller camping tent does and goes up with two fold-able rods. The floor space is bigger with the tent, so if we need to zip her into it we can put food and water in the corner. Needless to say we will be keeping the amount of time Tikka spends alone in the hotel rooms to a minimum as most of the time she will be touring the sites and eating pasta with us.

Toys

We will be bringing a couple of toys with us as it’s always nice to bring friends along on the trip when your family is driving you crazy. It’s tempting to go overboard but we are limiting to two small stuffies – one with a squeaker and one without. When we are at the airport we usually find a corner away from the crowds so that Tikka can be out of her carrier before the flight and I’m sure the travellers around us appreciate not hearing the repeated squeak of the dog toy. We will also pack a couple of balls for romps in the park – having an extra with us in case one goes missing.

Moosey, pack your bags!

Poop Bags

Bought a new multipack so that we can put a roll in different places and never be caught without one. In the carrier, suitcase, rental car…

Leashes

Along with packing a spare in case one somehow goes missing, we always put a short leash with no metal on it in the carrier bag. That way when we go through security we won’t get hauled off to another room for a further exploration.

Collapsible Bowl

Love these bowls – they flatten down to a disk and then pop open when you need it for water on the plane. Because it’s flat it neatly stores in the small pouch on the side of the carrier.

Towel

We are going to spend time at the beach after all! If space in our luggage was a huge concern I may pick up a towel in Italy, but we have a fantastic super absorbent towel that is perfect for a wet dog or muddy feet and there is room to bring it.

Pee Pad

To date, all of our air trips have been under 6 hours so Tikka needing to pee mid journey has never come up. We’ll pack a couple pads just in case as she was trained on them very early on as a pup, so she’ll have an opportunity in the airplane bathroom if she wants to go. I suspect she’s going to try and hold it, which would be 12 hours from grass to grass at each airport. Poop wise, we feed the night before the journey and then there are just small treats on the day of travel. This keeps the stomach settled and less chance of a desperate ‘I have to go poop now’!

The ever evolving packing list

Muzzle

A new item on our list and new to Tikka is a muzzle. Italy requires muzzles for all dogs travelling on transit – It does seem a bit relaxed for small dogs, but she hasn’t fussed with having it on and I’d rather follow the rules so that countries will stay open to having dogs live openly among us 🙂

Backpack

Just wait until you see this! Although Italy is incredibly dog friendly, we did pick up a backpack that you can rest your dog in for some of the areas that need you to hold your dog. Also perfect for a short jaunt on a Vespa to visit a local winery. I can’t wait to get some pics of Tikka and share with you how we liked using it.

Treats and Food

Due to most country’s regulations, meat and food products can be problematic to bring in, so to avoid any hassle we decided to leave these behind. A couple dry treat crumbs may be found at the very bottom of my pocket, for a little reward getting in an out of the carrier in security…

I think we thought of everything but I’m sure we’ll pickup anything we leave behind.

Have Dog, Will Travel! | Pet Travel

September 1, 2016June 19, 20175 Comments

Time for a change of scenery whilst bringing all the comforts of home along for the journey. Tikka brings so much comfort to me and my husband, always next to us no matter what kind of day we are having, ready to snuggle up to us with all her fluffy love. So of course she needs to come with us on our next big trip so that she can check out the scenery right along side of us!

Although Tikka is a seasoned traveler, navigating through airports and snoozing in different hotels, all of her travels have been in Canada and the US and only a few days at a time as they always centered around work trips. Finally, an opportunity for a proper 3 week vacation…now how the heck do we choose where to go and where is dog friendly? How long can Tikka fly for? How easy is the paperwork? And so the trip vetting process began.

After researching all of the above and narrowing down choices, a destination started to pull away from the pack. It became hard to dismiss it while scrolling through numerous websites and blogs about dog travel. The country sat right in front of us, begging from its back legs and spinning like a circus poodle. How could we resist?

Italy it is!

First on our checklist was ‘had to be dog friendly’. Wow! Does Italy have this covered. Dogs in and outside of restaurants, in cafes and all around town squares – The Italians have actually figured out that you won’t die if you eat outside of your own house with your dog laying down next to you.

Checking out hotels and AirBnB was amazing. When you filter for ‘pet friendly’ only a small percentage of properties would drop out of the search. So many options in all ranges from rustic to luxury. Stores are also welcoming and we’ve read about dogs being spoiled at the local markets with the purveyors fussing and giving treats to happy wagging tails.

Transport looks fantastic – dogs on trains and buses and water taxis in Venice. Bringing Tikka along for all our adventures won’t be slowed down if we have to jump on local transit.

And then the deal was sealed when we found out about the beaches that cater to our four legged friends… beach chairs and umbrella rentals in huge off leash areas along the blue Mediterranean sea while someone walks up and down the sand selling gelato for dogs.

All sounds like doggy heaven and we can hardly wait, and we’re looking forward to having everyone follow along our trip with us! Ciao!

Canal to Chalet in Montreal | Dog Travel Canada

August 4, 2016June 19, 20171 Comment

We recently took a quick trip to Montreal for the Just For Laughs comedy festival and our furry sidekick came along for some urban exploring. What is so great about traveling with a dog is how it opens up planning decisions on what to do with your day. Instead of driving to points of interest we put on our shoes, clip on the leash and get walking.

Lachine Canal, Montreal

After landing on Friday afternoon we launched google maps and planned our route to Griffintown. Destination: a dog friendly brewery west of the Old Port that we found online through a Montreal Blog. The walk over took us along the Lachine Canal which has a nice wide path for people and bikes. Perfect for a leisurely dog sniffing stroll from tree to tree with no cars to worry about.

Pathway along the canal

After our 30 min walk in the sun we were ready for a cold craft beer and some grub, so we settled into the dog friendly patio at Brasseur de Montreal. Unashamed tourists that we were, we jumped on the poutine and steak frites. Staff were incredibly friendly and brought over a water bowl for Tikka and she made the place her own.

Patio at Brasseur de Montreal. Time for a beer, rest our paws and charge our phones.

We could have stayed for hours, relaxing in the sun but we had to get back to go out for an evening of comedy. The Just For Laughs festival takes over the city, showcasing the art of comedy and there is something for everyone. It was a late night, but next morning instead of sleeping in we went on a 3 hour urban hike. Destination: Place to purchase and eat a croissant.

Urban Forest Art Installation

First thing Saturday we struck out from our downtown hotel and headed towards Mont-Royal. Our chosen path took us through the downtown streets, through an Urban Forest by McGill University and landed us in a cool dog park called Percy-Walters at the bottom of the hill. After a brief off leash romp and chatting with some locals we headed to Rue Peel to start our climb up to the chalet and lookout.

What’s neat about this park is you can take a gut busting direct route with the stairs or choose winding path that slowly works it’s way up the side of the hill. Guess from the picture and my breathing which one we did…

Masters of the stairs

So great to see everyone enjoying the city park – young and old, locals and tourists, dogged and dogless – they all come out on a Saturday morning to battle up the hill. For the less in shape (*cough) just take your time and you will soon be rewarded with a break in the trees and the following view.

View from Mont Royal lookout

Chalet at the top of the stairs, Mont Royal, Montreal.

Looking good at the Lookout!

Took some pics, enjoyed the vista and then we were off for part two of our morning trek. A mini adventure unfolded as we worked our way over the top of Mont Royal and then finding a path to work our way through the woods, hoping we were coming out on the right side and the right road. It took a while tromping through the trees on the spiderweb of trails but we got there!

So many pathways and trails in Parc Mont Royal

Now in the home stretch we were just 15 min from our flaky breakfast at Fous Desserts. A croissant, pain au Chocolat, and a couple of teas in hand we walked over one block to Parc Sir Wilfrid Laurier and watched Tikka eyeing the squirrels while we ate our breakfast on a bench. It felt good to rest our paws and take in the local activity from our corner of the park. Time didn’t allow for a walk back so we jumped in a Uber car that was more than happy to have our dog come along.

Thanks Montreal for a wonderful trip and the hike within a city!

VanDoggo

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