Travel to Italy with your dog: Seeing the sites of Rome

When we traveled to Italy with Cosmo, seeing the sites of Rome was as much fun for Cosmo as it was for us! There was plenty to sniff as well as see and we were able to do many of our excursions by foot and paw, although taking a quick subway ride was also no problem with a dog.

First stop was the Colosseum, one of the grandest of all Roman monuments. Then we walked past the Arch of Constantine down Via di San Gregorio...

... toward the Circus Maximus.  Once known as THE place for chariot racing, there's not much left to see there now. But it is possible to imagine the splendor of the site and now it's an excellent place for a dog walk. A little further down the road we had hoped to visit the Bocca della Verità, or Mouth of Truth... 

Here, Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck test the legend of the Mouth of Truth in the 1953 movie Roman Holiday. The story is that the sculpture represents the face of an ancient god who knows if you are telling the truth or lieing! If you tell a lie while inserting your hand in its mouth, it will bite it off! But since the sculpture is now sectioned off as part of a tour of the Church of Santa Maria in Cosmedin, we were not allowed in to try out Cosmo's paw at the truth! While we found dogs are seldom allowed inside of museums and churches, there are still plenty of historic sites to see from the outside.

Next we walked along the Tiber River toward the area known as the Jewish Ghetto, where we passed Rome's main synagogue near the east bank of the Tiber.

Strolling through the Jewish Ghetto, we saw many shops, restaurants and bakeries...

... and stopped for a quick bite of gelato! Most food establishments in Rome do allow dogs, making it very easy to enjoy the journey with your canine companion! After continuing on to the market in Piazza del Campo dei Fiori, we headed on to Piazza Navona.

We enjoyed views of the fountains and activity in the Piazza...

... as well as being able to spend some time viewing the Pantheon nearby. This time Cosmo was allowed inside...

... where he expressed worthy admiration of  the coffers in the concrete dome, and the central opening, or oculus, to the sky!

Nearby, Cosmo provided equal admiration to some meat -- after all he is a dog! The nice lady slicing the mortadella didn't mind too much until Cosmo leaned in just a little closer!!

Later than evening we strolled back toward the Piazza Navona...

And stopped at the famous Four Rivers Fountain. Then it was on to our new evening ritual of hot chocolate, Italian style.

As usual, Cosmo gets to enjoy the experience right along with us and was typically offered some tasty treat by the restauranteurs. After a long day enjoying all that Rome has to offer, there's only one thing to do...

Cosmo dreams about the adventures of the day and whatever lies ahead!...

If you're planning a trip to Italy or an international trip with your dog, here are a few other posts you might enjoy:

• International Paperwork Preparation
• How to Prepare Your Dog For a Long Plane Ride
• Arriving in Rome, Dog-Friendly InterContinental Hotel, Piazza del Popolo
• A Walk Through Parco della Villa Borghese
• Great restaurants to enjoy with your dog in Parco della Villa Borghese
• Circus Maximus: Cosmo says bring on the gladiators
• St. Francis Watches Over All Animals
• Milan: The Duomo

And now it's time to check out what our pals are doing at the Pet Blogger Hop!

Pet Blogger Hop / From Rome to Atlanta

High above the Spanish Steps in Rome, Cosmo Havanese enjoys the view and watching the bride and groom below. Can you see them?


We still have plenty more pictures and posts to come from our trip to Italy including exploring the sights of Rome, day trip to Frascati, the road to Milan and a day at Lake Como! There were also plenty of great meals and shopping along the way.


If you're planning a trip to Italy or an international trip with your dog, here are a few posts you might enjoy:

• International Paperwork Preparation
• How to Prepare Your Dog For a Long Plane Ride
• Arriving in Rome, Dog-Friendly InterContinental Hotel, Piazza del Popolo
• A Walk Through Parco della Villa Borghese
• Great restaurants to enjoy with your dog in Parco della Villa Borghese
• Circus Maximus: Cosmo says bring on the gladiators
• St. Francis Watches Over All Animals
• Milan: The Duomo

Then, back in Atlanta we've come across an amazing deal. If you are even remotely thinking about coming to BarkWorld Expo, now is the time to fetch a few tickets. Until February 28, you can purchase tickets for this pet industry social media event for 50 percent off! The event is scheduled for Sept. 29 - Oct. 1 in Atlanta, Ga., with speakers from Yahoo! and Dogster already on tap as well as bunches of other speakers and activities that look really fun, interactive AND educational. See you there!

And now, it's time to hippity-hop on over to the Pet Blogger Hop!

Wordless Wednesday: Cosmo Havanese says bring on the gladiators!

Cosmo Havanese channels his inner gladiator at the Circus Maximus in Rome. What do you think he was really doing?

Close up... Is Cosmo imagining the life of a dog/gladiator 2,000 years ago?

Now a park, once upon a time the Circus Maximus was THE place for chariot racing and the occasional gladiator fight. Cosmo takes a moment to soak up the significance.


So what WAS Cosmo doing in his gladiator pose?!!


Other posts about our trip to Italy you might enjoy:

• International Paperwork Preparation
• How to Prepare Your Dog For a Long Plane Ride
• Arriving in Rome, Dog-Friendly InterContinental Hotel, Piazza del Popolo
• A Walk Through Parco della Villa Borghese
• St. Francis Watches Over All Animals
• Milan: The Duomo

Travel to Italy with your dog: Eating at Casina Valadier and Casina Del Lago in Parco Borghese

Eating in Italy is one of the great pleasures of traveling to this country and we took this activity seriously!   We had at least one big feast a day, which typically lasted around three hours, with several courses and sometimes an apertivo (before dinner drink), dolce (dessert) and a cafe or digestivo (after dinner drink). And of course wine is a staple of every meal! So how did we manage to eat all this and not come back as contestants for The Biggest Loser?... LOTS and lots of walking ... and only ONE huge meal a day. The others were small!

On our first day in Rome, we strolled through the beautiful Parco della Villa Borghese and headed to Casa Valadier for lunch.  High above the Piazza del Popolo, this 19th-century cafe is a most lovely place to enjoy a leisurely lunch and a spectacular view of Rome.

We entered through a colorful hallway, where famous guests from Gandhi to Mussolino had visited before us. 

It's hard to imagine lunch with a better view than at Casina Valadier. Yes, that is St. Peter's in the background. But no, that is not the Eiffel Tower in the distance (the view's not THAT good.)

Sitting down for lunch. That means EVERYBODY gets to sit down for lunch!  Having cultivated civilized society for a thousand years longer than us, the Italians allow dogs to respectfully join their owners in public more often than not.

 We started with a colorful salad of Belgian endive, apples walnuts and pomegranate... 

... and a traditional "ceci" (garbanzo bean) soup with fried baccala (salted cod).

Our secondo... we shared a French rack (lamb chop) served cacciatora style with artichoke omelette and potato gratin. Yum!

Sharing entrees leaves room for dessert! This was a departure from a traditional Zabaglione, or so I am told, but it was worth every bite of creamy custard goodness! The chocolate crunchy bits on top and hazelnut shell offered just the right texture to complement the fluffy mousse-like custard. Yum! Yum!

Note:  If the weather is not warm enough to sit on the terrace outside Casina Valadier, reserve table 19 for the most prominent view in the dining room.

And finishing the meal in traditional style with a caffè. 

Even Cosmo admired the view ... and the secondo they were serving at the next table!


After lunch we walked through the park and found Casina del Lago,  a nice spot for lighter meal. We returned here the next morning for breakfast.

At Casina del Lago we had very pleasant breakfast of cappuccino and brioche.

And of course, Cosmo was welcome too!


Next up, seeing the sites of Rome!


Other posts about our Italy adventure you might enjoy:

• International Paperwork Preparation
• How to Prepare Your Dog For a Long Plane Ride
• Arriving in Rome, Dog-Friendly InterContinental Hotel, Piazza del Popolo
• A Walk Through Parco della Villa Borghese

Travel to Italy with your dog: A walk through Parco della Villa Borghese

In our last installment of Travel to Italy with your dog we visited  Piazza del Popolo, one of the entry points to Parco della Villa Borghese -- a wonderful place to take a stroll with your dog.

From either Piazza del Popolo or the top of the Spanish Step it's an easy stroll to the top of Pincio Hill and the entrance to Parco della Villa Borghese. Here, Cosmo Havanese and I enjoy the panoramic view of the center of Rome and St. Peter's.

Entering Parco della Villa Borghese, or Borghese Park, you're sure to find lots of activity... from bicyclists to rollerbladers AND lots of dogs!

Heading down one of the many paths and walkways...

...we came upon the Valley of the Dogs, an area designated for off-leash dog play. A handful of larger dogs and their people enjoyed the late winter afternoon. Cosmo preferred to observe from a distance. Further down the path...

... we listened to some music. Cosmo's nose was working at full capacity!

The park, one of Rome's largest, has many lovely gardens, two art museums a grass-covered amphitheater and a lake. Some of the trees were particularly impressive.

These tall sculpted-looking trees are known as Umbrella Pines, a species of pine native to Southern Europe and the Mediterranean region. The pines even inspired a symphonic tone poem -- Pini di Roma, the Pines of Rome --  by Italian composer Ottorino Respighi in 1924. Listen! 

 After all that walking, there are plenty of places to stop for a quick snack! 

And sometimes a little dog needs a free ride!  But even up in the air, Cosmo's head was always on a swivel and his nose working overtime!  

Next up: great places to eat with your dog in Borghese Park! Here, Cosmo and I are leaving Casina Valadier after a wonderful lunch with a view!

Other posts about our Italy adventure you might enjoy:

• International Paperwork Preparation
• How to Prepare Your Dog For a Long Plane Ride
• Arriving in Rome, Dog-Friendly InterContinental Hotel, Piazza del Popolo

Wordless Wednesday: Italian style

Cosmo soaks up the history in front of the Duomo in Milan, Italy

We had a GREAT time with Cosmo in Rome and Milan last week. More stories and photos coming once I sort out all the pictures!


Buon Anno! 

Travel to Italy With Your Dog: International Paperwork Preparation

Cosmo enjoys his visit to an Italian pasticceria
during our last trip

A few years ago Cosmo and I traveled abroad for the first time. It took a lot of research and planning to ensure we had all the correct paperwork done ahead of time so that our trip could be worry free.

Now, we’re about to head off again -- this time to Rome and Milan! The planning has been easier this time, since we already know what to expect. But there are still a number of things that need to be done before traveling internationally.

Traveling to Italy with a Dog

We collected lots of information from our vet, the airlines (we are flying Delta), the Italian Embassy in the United States,  APHIS/USDA and the CDC. Here’s what you need to know if you’re planning a trip from the U.S. to Italy.

• Check with APHIS about international animal export regulations. You can locate your local APHIS veterinary service office here. For Italy travel, we needed to obtain a bilingual certificate filled out and signed by our vet. Then we sent the certificate to our local APHIS office where it received the required stamp from USDA/APHIS. The “Certifico Veterinario” must include your dog’s microchip number and rabies information and be completed within four months of travel. 
• Contact the Italian Embassy in the U.S., which tells you pretty much the same things... that you need a bilingual certificate with rabies and microchip information. You can find the bilingual certificate on the embassy site here or on the APHIS site. 
• Check with the CDC about bringing your dog back to the U.S. Here’s the link, but it basically says that you’ll need proof of rabies vaccination. We got our Certificate of Vaccination from our vet. 
• Visit the vet. Our vet filled out all the paperwork and gave Cosmo the required health examination which resulted in one final piece of paperwork.  The health certificate must be issued by a licensed veterinarian within 10 days of transport. 

International paperwork checklist

That sounds like an awful lot to do, but for us it all boiled down to two trips to the vet, one phone call and paperwork sent to USDA/APHIS, and some time spent looking at these links online to make sure nothing had changed since we last traveled to Italy.

Here’s the paperwork we’ll be bringing:

• Certificato Veterinario -- USDA-certified bilingual certificate completed by our vet within four months of travel (includes microchip and rabies vaccine information)
• Health Certificate -- completed by our vet within 10 days of travel
• Rabies Certificate of Vaccination -- provided by our vet

Other things to note

When traveling by air, you also need the check with the airline for its specific requirements. Before we booked our trip on Delta, we called the airline to ensure there was pet space available in cabin and then we reserved that space. Dog Jaunt, one of our favorite blogs for small-dog travel info, includes this handy list of airline policies for international in-cabin pet travel. You should still check with your airline to make sure you know the most current policies. 

When traveling with a pet, you also need to allow a little extra time at the airport for check-in. Delta is recommending we get to the airport three hours ahead of time for international travel with a pet. 

You can read more about preparing your dog for in-cabin travel here. Cosmo enjoys traveling in his large, soft-sided SturdiBag. Its 12x12 x18 measurement is the largest allowed by Delta for in-cabin travel.

Buon viaggio e arrivederci!