Rufus and Cooper Take Mom for a Birthday Weekend

 

Kelly recently had a birthday, and the boys and I agreed to to take mom away for a celebratory roadtrip.  Some friends of ours had recommended Abbaye de la Bussière in La Bussiere-sur-Ouche, France.  Founded in 1131 by a an Englishman, the facility was recently converted into a lovely hotel.  Its restaurant received a Michelin star in 2007 (which would allow Kelly and I to indulge our "foodiness"), and they allow dogs (which meant that the boys could come along)!

We all loaded up and headed south from Luxembourg.  We spent the night near Nancy at a dog friendly hotel.  The following morning, we drove the rest of the way south, stopping briefly in Dijon for a brief stroll around a book fair in the old part of the city.

After a bit more driving, we arrived in the tiny town and came to the imposing gate of the Abbaye

We all became increasingly excited as we pass though and into the grounds, along a long curved driveway, past a small beautiful lake before coming to a huge lawn and the stately buildings at the end of it.

As we reached the last curve in the drive, both we and the boys were excited to see a pair of massive Pyrenees dogs lounging before one of the buildings (it later turned out that the stairs behind him lead up to our room).

 

After passing in front of the main building, we turned  and entered through an arch into the courtyard where we parked the car.

We approached the beautiful facade and entered into the imposing main hall of the Abbaye to check in.

 

After collecting our key, we walked with the dogs around to our suite, which was in a different building on the grounds, upstairs above the crypt of the old chapel.  It was called the 'Ermitage.  We were not disappointed.

After getting settled in, we went down to meet the other in habitants of the Abbaye: the two Pyrenees, a Bernese Mountain Dog, a shepherd  mix, and two miniature ponies. 

 

We were originally concerned that our boys would chase the horses, but it ended up that the horses ended up spending most of the weekend chasing Cooper, who they found fascinating.

Cooper quickly made friends with the Bernese, who was also two years old, and they started a breathless game of chase around a monster fir tree on the lawn.

Late in the afternoon, Kelly and I with for a walk around the grounds with the boys, enjoying its beautiful vistas.

Kelly wandered into the wine cellar of the old pressing building, where vintners from the surrounding countryside would bring their grapes to be pressed and the resulting juice fermented into wine.

The day had grown chilling as the afternoon drew to a close.  We had a few more hours to kill before dinner, so Kelly and I decided to explore the Abbey.

This is a view from the second floor down into the dining room of the Abbaye's restaurant (Cooper is peering through the rail).

Rufus took all this in with his usual calm demeanor.

We decided to retire into the library, where Kelly taught me backgammon and the boys took their afternoon nap.

Kelly and I then went back to get cleaned up and prepare the boys' dinner.  We then returned to the main Abbaye for an AMAZING dinner. The menu for our six course feast is on the right.

The next morning, we got up and saw that our new friend the Pyrenees was out in front of his owners' residence.

We went down to say hello, and then explored the rest of the grounds, including the crypt of the old chapel.

Cooper's friend the Bernese did not make an appearance, so Cooper improvised a game of chase with Kelly.

We then went to relax and play some chess in one of the rooms of the Abbaye.

Late in the afternoon, we loaded up, big farewell, and headed home, Cooper's ears flapping in the wind.

All the pictures and videos from this trip are here.

Cooper Grows Up

 

It seems only yesterday that we brought home a little black and white peanut and called him Cooper.

From 2007-04-30 Cooper

Since then, he has grown a bit...  Recently, we've attached a command to having him jump up (such that he does it only on command), and these pictures give you a sense of scale.

I'm 6'5", and Cooper is basically as tall as me...  Given that he is still only eighteen months old, we hope that he has no more growth spurts to go through...

Winter Monkeys

 

Kelly's idea of stacking the pet beds continues to be a popular one.  Both Max and Nikita are fans.

After seeing the kids get so much enjoyment out of this arrangement, Kelly decided to try it out for herself, and got a bit of quality time with Rufus and Cooper into the bargain.

 

Cooper decided that Kelly needed protecting, and applied his standard technique of sitting on her.

Rufus's Feline Family

Winter has arrived with a vengeance, and the weather here has been consistently cold and nasty.  The critters have decided that now is the time catch up on their sleep (as if they were running low before).  Rufus has finally reconciled himself to the fact that sleeping with the cats is not such a bad thing, as they are WARM.  Before, he used to grump and move when they tried to snuggle up to them.  Now, he still grumps, but only momentarily before going back to sleep

Sunday Muddy Sunday...

Today we met up with another couple we know here in Luxembourg and took our boys for walk with Nadja, their female Akita.  It has been pretty damp here recently, and the trail along the river was exceptionally mucky.  However, this did not prevent a good time from being had by all...

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Rollingergrund Run

 

Today the boys were getting a bit ansy from having been inside for too long, so we went for a trail run in the forest behind our house (which is the Rollingergrund neighborhood of Luxembourg City).  I took this opportunity to try out a new app for my iPhone called EveryTrail, which allowed me to both record our run and take geotagged pictures along the way.  Very fun! 

However, Rufus and Cooper kept getting frustrated that I was continually stopping taking to take pictures...

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HAPPY BIRTHDAY RUFUS!

Rufus turned three today.  Where does the time go...

Rufus the day I picked him up (nine weeks old)

 

Rufus on a recent walk in the woods

The Battle for the Bed

Kelly recently discovered that one way to keep the dogs off the couch when we weren't in the room was to make their beds even more comfortable.  She did this by piling a second dog bed on top of the first.

This was an immediate hit.  However, it turned out to be a hit with both the dogs and the cats, and a bit of a power struggle ensued over who would get to lay on them.  Unfortunately for Nikita, the reality of pet politics is that size does matter...

Fortunately, Nikita has discovered that Cooper puts off a lot of heat, and that sharing a dog bed with him is not the worst thing..

Rufus the Lap Dog

Cooper and Rufus visit Aunt Tammy and Uncle Mike

Cooper and Rufus recently went with us for a visit to my cousin Tammy and her husband Mike who live near us in Kindsbach, Germany.

Cooper took an immediate liking to Mike (who used to be owned by a Great Dane himself).

Rufus seemed a bit forlorn that Cooper was getting all the attention (again), so Kelly pulled him onto her lap for some lovin'.

This thrilled him...

When it came time to go, Cooper felt compelled to give Mike a big hug, and extracted a promise that Mike and Tammy would come and visit us in Luxembourg soon with their two children.

   

All the excitement of the trip resulted in two VERY tired puppies.