The Bellis (and a big belly) invade Sardegna....

Gio's Italian sweetheart....

We have just returned from 10 days in Sardegna (Sardinia).  Paolo and his brother share a place there in the town of Alghero.  This is only Gio's second visit to the island though he does not remember the first (well, really his 3rd as I was there when I was pregnant with him).  In very un-Belli fashion we actually booked the boat in January (we are more of last-minute travel planners) as there is only one ferry line that allows dogs to stay in the cabin with us and those spaces fill up early.  So off we went, two days after our drive from Kyiv.  The boat is a bit like a cruise ship (a pool, restaurants, shops, etc)  with the added advantage of being able to transport 3 levels of trucks, cars and campers.  We left our trusty Volvo below and then ventured up to relax on the 8 hour journey.

In our cabin awaiting departure.  This window seat is even more fun than the one on the airplane!

Enzo seemed completely un-phased by the entire experience.  We were prepared for the worst as the year we brought Topher to Sardegna he really had trouble on the voyage.  While Topher was frightened by the movement, the engine noises and refused to pee for the entire trip, Enzo quickly marked the entire deck, made friends with a few dogs and then fell fast asleep on our cabin floor without batting an eye when the engines roared to life.  

Dogs are not technically allowed on most of the beaches in Sardegna, though we found that one of our favorites, a tiny one just out of town, was always empty after Gio's nap.  Here are my 3 boys on their first swim of the trip.  Despite the breed's reputation for not liking water, Enzo has turned out to be an enthusiastic swimmer.

Every morning we headed to a new beach (Gio's request was to see a new one each day).  We always left Enzo at home for the morning as it was a bit too hot for him then.  He was quite content with a morning walk and then to sleep soundly in air conditioning until the afternoon. 

Back to our favorite beach for an early evening crab hunt with Enzo serving as life guard.  Gio spent most of our time at the beach hunting jellyfish and various other creatures.  He really became an expert at capturing jellyfish (medusa in Italian) and often had a completely full bucket at the end of the morning.  He often was thanked by many people on the beach for his public service!

Enzo swam for at least an hour every day.  This is a LOT of exercise for our normally lazy beast!

In the evenings we often did puzzles (with Enzo serving as an excellent box cover holder). Later we usually headed into town (on foot, paw and scooter) for gelato, people watching and rides at the amusement park along the town beach.

We heard about a beach farther out of town that allowed dogs so one very windy day we headed there with Enzo.  He loved it even though he does draw the line at waves, and these were big ones!  Though not a hair on his paws got wet he loved the cool breezes and the lifeguard's female labrador....  

...and the many sticks.

Back again for more jellyfish capturing.

Got one!

One night we went to our favorite agriturismo for dinner.  Enzo always came along with us at night.  Italians welcomed him everywhere.  Gio joined us at the table for all of 5 minutes (this place had an enormous playground and a soccer field where we found him happily playing with older boys).  It was sort of like a date night for us!

Probably Gio's favorite day was the one he met Anna.

They played together for hours.  Gio experienced his first heartbreak when she was not back at this same beach the next day (he broke his own rule of a new one each day as he wanted to go back to find her!).  Luckily who showed up to console him?  The two big boys from the soccer field the night before.  Happy boy again.

Gio did a lot of swimming on this trip.
We are forever grateful for the early swim training he did in Washington at ages 1 and 2.  

I am not one who likes to have her picture taken EVER, but I did want at least one belly shot to show our daughter one day.  Here I am at nearly 8 months preggo (due date is August 7).

Yep.  More jellies.  

The roller coaster along the beach.  Gio clearly has my thrill-seeking spirit.  I cannot wait to take him to Cedar Point in Ohio- one of my favorite spots in the USA!

Enzo's swimming was always followed by a LOT of rolling about in the sand. 

Needless to say, it took us hours to clean our house and car at the end of the trip!

Vacation over.  Back on the boat home.  Gio has taken to wearing Paolo's shoes.  At the rate he is growing it might not be too long before they actually fit!

We hope all of your summer plans are going well!  

Happy 4th to all of my American friends!  xo.  Clara