11.6.12

Todo in Tuscany a must for lovers of Italy, lovers of Tuscany and especially lovers of dogs!

In April 2010,  during the famous “Ash Cloud” excuse for putting every plane in Europe on standstill and filling every train to the brim with desperate tourists, my friends Sue, Barbara and Hannah found themselves returning to my flat unexpectedly, after their holiday near Lucca with our ex-neighbours Louise and Lawrence had ended. They had been disembarked twice from two separates planes at Pisa and realised they were going nowhere for a while so – to my delight, they came back to me!

There were three other friends and 2 German ladies in another flat in my block also stranded so  – Party time!

They told me of the sad plight of beautiful Todo and a little about the reason Louise and Lawrence had bought the Villa they chose  – which now I have read the book I realise was 99.9% due to the plight of the lovely dog who simply refused to leave his home after his beloved owner had died there.

Now Todo is the hero of his own book and all the adventures of this big hearted dog are shared, together with the trials and tribulations of getting building work, plumbing and internet contact established when you are new to the wonderful ways of getting things done in Italy!

As for getting a Landline – wow! Complimenti Lawrence and Louise I think this is the first success I have heard of in that respect!!

So this is a heart-warming story – to be read through tears sometimes – but then I have never got through a complete Lassie film without a box of tissues – and I – and millions of others – still watch them!

Although, according to Amazon the book is not officially released yet there are copies for sale all over Florence – even paperback versions in the Uffizi bookshop – so someone somewhere is convinced this will be a big seller – and it certainly deserves to be!

I heartily recommend this book!