Woody does France!

Photos and story by Nicola Gee, featuring Woody

Bonjour! We thought it would be a nice idea to take Woody on his first overseas trip and well what a lovely time we had - two weeks relaxing down in France. We got his passport all sorted a few months before… wow its the price of a human one, and his rabies shot and then we were off. We chose to go on LeShuttle as didn’t want to subject him to a ferry crossing as it might of reminded him of his first moments away from his mum (as he was born on the Isle of Wight) and he didn’t travel very well at the time!. The train was amazing, I was worried as it was so hot and I knew the car engines had to be switched off but it seemed quite cool and it was over in about 30 mins. Then we were off… He was so good in the car and seemed to just accept we were going on a long trip. We stopped overnight at a B&B and then motored on down to Angles-sur-l’Anglin, in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region in western France. We rented a house in the village and it had a lovely walled garden and cold stone floors which Woody loved. In the village was the river and Woody went swimming every day (on a long line) and even came out for a half day Kayak trip, which he seemed to love. Unfortunately before we went his itches started to flare up and I think the hot weather made things worse so he was troubled with a few hot spots whilst we were away but we managed to keep it fairly under control until he was back home. Poor chap. The second week we had the delights of renting a large house for my brothers big birthday up near Versailles and again Woody loved seeing everyone, and enjoyed being thoroughly spoilt by ten staff. The house was the former weekend residence of Edward, Duke of Windsor and Wallis Simpson so was steeped in history and set in the most beautiful gardens for him to explore. Pictures of pugs everywhere much to Woodys disgust :-) After this, we decided, as we were having so much fun, to extend our stay by a few more days on the north coast before heading back so that we could let Woody run free on the lovely beaches. He does love the beach and in the morning and evening he went out chasing his ball and by day dug a hole in the sand and slept in his cool bunker. Clever chap. Totally pampered with water and a parasol and a nice sea breeze. France was lovely and so dog friendly, he was able to come to dinner every night and most shops and cafes were welcoming too… he got lots of attention and one or two even knew what he was. Here are one or two of my favourite pictures. Hope you like them. Love Nicola, Nathan + Woody

Brian Robinson writes:

Great pictures and a fabulous holiday for Woody. I particularly like the first one, Woody on point duty!

Some of the best holidays I've had were

driving around France and Italy and staying in "out of the way" places. Very envious.

Jan Chamberlain writes:

WOW! Thanks for sharing your beautiful photos with us Nicola. Looks like you had an amazing holiday and Woody took it all in his stride. Hope to see you soon.

Chris & Lesley Hurley write:

Great pictures of Woody in France. Makes us want to go. I wonder if all dogs are accepted in eateries and not just Welshies? We seem to be able to take Alys into most establishments down in Sussex. I think it maybe the size?

Editors remark: Our rule is if they don't take our dogs, then we will go elsewhere. On our last trip to Fakenham, we had already sat down outside a local Weatherspoon and had ordered our lunch. When David asked for some fresh water in a dogs bowl (provided) we were taken aback to learn that they only accepted guide/working dogs, even outside. There was a notice but it was very small and we had missed it. Apparently there had been an incident in one of the Weatherspoon chains involving canines and since then they decided to ban them, in all their establishments, even outside.

However, the manager came out with some fresh water for the dogs and made an exception this time! Once again the Welsh Terriers worked their magic!