Follow Your Arrow

I left Madrid in the late afternoon of June 1 and flew to Bologna on a bare-bones Iberia plane – no screens, no USB ports – and little attention to comfort. Thankfully this was a short two hour flight. I took the Marconi Express light rail train directly from the airport to Bologna Centrale train station where Sheila me. After dropping Pickle off at the hotel, we walked to a sweet little trattoria and enjoyed a delicious meal of gnocchi with butter and sage sauce, grilled vegetables and a glass of chilled Lambrusco. This was not the Riunite Lambrusco of my late adolescence.

When we were trying to book accommodations for Bologna a few months ago, hotel rooms were hard to find. So, I asked the oracle: “what’s happening in Bologna, June 3rd?” The World Dog Show! Yes!! This thrilled me and we decided that this was a must-do when in Bologna. We later found out that Metallica was performing on June 3rd. Although attending a Metallica concert would be a form of torture for me, we saw lots of fans milling around the street wearing Metallica T-shirts and Metallica (or some closely related head-banging music) being played at some bars, so it seems the World Dog Show was not the only show in town.

The World Dog Show was a hoot. A short bus ride to the conference centre got us there and a 10 Euro entrance fee got us into the show. Information about the Show was sparse, so we had no idea what to expect. Even the day before the show, the official website stated “information coming soon.” The people showing dogs, their groomers, or vendors of dog care products, tools, food, clothes, etc., were in the know, but having no expectations meant that we were surprised by what we got to see.

The array of dog related paraphernalia was impressive: Grooming tools, special shampoos, oils, ear muffs (to hold back floppy ears), collars, leashes, bathtubs, and more. Anything you can imagine to pamper your pooch could likely have been found there.

Grooming is serious business …

We saw lots of dogs, but focused most of our time in the hall with the Spaniels – Welsh Springer Spaniels, Brittany Spaniels, English Springer Spaniels, English Cockers, American Cockers, Clumber Spaniels, and the Kooikerhondje, a Dutch Spaniel. Unfortunately, the King Charles Cavaliers – for which I have a special affection – were not competing the day we went to the show. Within each breed, competition was further separated by colour, sex, and age. So, for example, the “junior” black and white female English cockers had a round all to themselves.

Bologna was a great city to wake up my senses to Italy – great espresso on every street (and I am not exaggerating), gelato, delicate filled pasta, art and architecture that make you go, “wow.” Next up – Cremona, the city of violins.