We brought a new friend home from France. He is a chien du coupe froid (cold-stopping dog), who is working valiantly to frighten away the icy drafts that try to sneak in underneath our kitchen door. With temperatures predicted to range from from -6°C to -13°C (21 to 8.6 F) on Thursday, we’re going to need all the help we can get to stay safely snug.

On our penultimate day in Georgia, we visited the walled city of Sighnaghi, now completely reconstructed as a tourist town. For me, the highlight of this town was a little puppy that we called Sluppy. This small chocolate brown dog soon adopted us as we stepped off the bus, and guided us up and down the main street. She showed us the park at the top of the street, and waited for us outside as we perused the shops. She was distracted for a moment when she had to chase a car away, yapping happily, but then she came trotting back up to us, looking proud of her accomplishment. As a reward for her loyalty, we treated her with some salami from the local supermarket, and she happily snapped it all up. Unfortunately, it was soon time for us to get back on the bus, and she watched us with some confusion as we drove away. Soon though we saw her scampering off, with the smug smile of a puppy with a full belly of salami.

We have been able to visit two of the charming cave towns of Georgia – Vardzia (established around 1185 CE) and Uplistikhe (perhaps first settled around 1500 BCE). Vardzia is still an active monastery, however Uplistikhe is now abandoned. We were able to wander through a maze of streets, bakeries, churches, palaces, apartments, and prisons, all carved into the limestone caves. In Vardzia, John and Adrian chose to explore the dark, narrow, slippery innards of the cave system, while I made the much more scenic decision to return to the bus via a quiet path through the meadows, sharing my trail with lizards and birds enjoying the sunshine.

The day met an adorable end when John discovered a puddle of puppies sunning themselves on a footbridge. They ran up to me enthusiastically, and responded blissfully to a belly rub. Whenever I moved away, the followed me and plopped down at my feet, begging for more attention. I felt like sneaking one into my bag, but they appeared to be well loved by the farming family that lived nearby.

This is a major area of debate in our household. I am a cat person. Adrian is a dog person. We would like a pet. How do we resolve this? Adrian likes puppies because they are enthusiastic and devoted. I like kittens because they are charming, amusing, cuddly, loving, and lower-maintenance. Adrian proposes that we fill our 100m² apartment on the 11th floor with two Saint Bernards:

From valeriebb

I’m not entirely sure this is a wise idea. I propose that two of these would be more delightful:

From mercedesahari.

Chartreux cats may have been originally bred by Carthusian French monks when they weren’t busy making Chartreuse liqueur. They are quiet, intelligent, healthy, affectionate, and playful. Many will fetch a ball and respond to their names. They do not mind being left alone for long periods, though they will follow often their humans when they move from one room to another, and like to sleep on top of those they love.

The debate continues…