Barking Blondes: In search of Briget Bardot, pet passports and poochy Paris

Post jubilee blues have set in and the transit of Venus has left us exhausted. The impending Olympics could make living in east London one challenge too many so we are thinking its time to plan a doggy get away. Rather than our dogs Molly and Matilda ever spending a night in a boarding kennel, they become the focus of our destination every summer.

This year we are determined to take them to St Tropez in the hope that the four of us may meet Bridget Bardot. In the same vein as the movie In the Hands of Gods (in which five young footballers traipse across South America in search of their idol Diego Maradona) we feel the anticipation of an audience with this onetime French sex kitten will be life enhancing. Besides we have loads in common. Fading glamour, blonde regrowth, eccentricity and a passion for dogs. The fact that she declines interviews doesn’t matter. Apparently the famous blonde beehive is often spotted behind the wheel of her truck so it’s a certainty that when she claps eyes on a British bulldog and a miniature bull terrier, both in sun glasses on the promenade, she will make her presence felt.

The relaxation of The Pet Passport scheme, this summer, will take away some of the strain of travelling abroad. Instead of planning at least six months in advance, the passport may now be obtained three weeks before departure. This is providing that all documents are in order and that your pet is micro-chipped. Passport photographs are optional, but they are cute and enthusing over them is a great way of whiling away the time waiting at customs. Remember that you must visit a vet for worm treatment no sooner than 24 hours or later than 48 hours before your home bound journey. So it’s advisable to check the opening hours of local vets. Without proof of this treatment you will not gain entry back into the UK.

Eurostar doesn’t allow pets, so for us  by far the most fun way to travel to Europe is through the tunnel. All the pet paraphernalia can be stuffed in the car boot and we can turn the air con up and sing along to  ‘Lonely Goat Herd’ on our favourite cassette!

Travelling with your dog means you are never alone. Travelling with two dogs and you become a tourist attraction. Especially in France. Whilst on our trip to Paris last year locals were literally queuing up to photograph our girls. We were entertained in bars with stories of Jane Birkin who apparently owned bull breeds whilst married to Serge Gainsbourg. Her Parisienne apartment was proudly pointed out to us and it was this that spawned the Bardot adventure. It’s a passionately dog friendly city and not only are pooches welcome in most restaurants and hotels, but on several occasions we found our two crawling around with children! The familiar, over reactive, parent found in London parks is a rarity here.

One word of warning.   A change in water may play havoc with your dog’s bowels. Be prepared to pack more pooh bags. Parisiennes, in this aspect, are not quite so rigorous! The steps of Monmatre needed a good old going over with a Pooper Scooper.

We believe you see the environment through fresh eyes whilst travelling with your dog. So wish us bonne chance in our imminent road journey to the Cote D’Azur. It will be the furthest we have ever travelled in our mini. The greatest threat to Molly and Matilda is certain to be the high Mediterranean temperatures. So we have proudly purchased doggy T-shirts specifically designed to be soaked and retain water. The dogs’ body heat, therefore, will remain low.
What a great way to bump into Bridget Bardot!   Dressed in wet T-shirts. The dogs. Not us. Woof! Woof!

BARKING AT THE MOON /THURSDAYS 10pm til MIDNIGHT BBC LONDON 94.9fm

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• 5brian5

  Hi Ladies; Wonderful blog! It sounds like the four of you will have a wonderful time. If five wasn’t A crowd, I’d get dewormed and microchipped today. Don’t forget to take Ms. Bardot a box of hair colour. It breaks the ice every time, and its cheaper than French wine. What you said about the water is very true. The water in London Canada (200km. away) has the same affect on me. Variations in chloronation I assume. Thanks for the smile as always! Brian (Detroit)

• http://twitter.com/PeterEgan6 Peter Egan

  Morning Jo, Anna, Matilda and Molly. what a great trip. If they have wet t-shirt competitions on the Cote D’Azur don’t let Molly and Matilda take part, their honed physiques will send out the wrong message about English girls, especially while they’re adjusting to the change in water and Mediterranean diet. It would be fascinating to meet B.Bardot. A female Icon of the fifties and sixties turning as many heads as Molly and Matilda do today, also now a great animal rights activist. Another charming blog, funny and as always with seriously good advice regarding our closest friends. The vet passport info is invaluable, simple and clear.

  Great stuff ‘amour and woofs to all.

  Peter.(-:)

• tNiqua

  Good morning, Jo, Anna, Molly and Matilda. What merry japes await you later this year in your quest to interview Brigit Bardot eh? I can’t wait to read about your antics on your search for the elusive Madamoiselle Bardot.
  We’ll have the madness of setting off and what to wear, the road trip and finding a pension, and finally, the stakeout (no Molly, no Matilda, not steakhouse…)! As ever, it will be written in that inimitable style we all love!
  I could just squeeze myself into a corner of the boot of your car, Jo… Or Brian and I could share the roof rack so Bruno can sit in comfort surrounded by his ladeees!

• marcbletchley

  good morning barking blonds,mollie and matilda
  i imagine your have to plan your trip and might be easier staying in england maybey a trip to the south coast but leave brighton!! out of it rent some nice cliff top place.
  ahh better still cant have doggies roaming near the edge! so a bit inland and thay can still wear the tee shirts.
  your dogs have fresh tripe i believe so that could be a problem if you do go to bardot country trying to store it.
  wheres that hotel/spa place you went to try that again you seemed pleased with that.
  me personally i would get away from people switch and be yourselfs unless you like the attention when what i would call off duty time.
  anyway enjoyable reading and catch you in the next installment of ‘barking at the moon’ where you can hear brilliant doggie music(thanks to mel).
  marc in bletchley towers

• madgooner1

  Doesn’t Bardot have donkeys as well?

• http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1260183489 Sharon Webley

  Hope Molly and Matilda enjoy their trip to the Cote D’Azur. My dogs will have to made do with Hampshire and Norfolk (which are both lovely places, and I’m sure they don’t mind).

• cmurphymathieu

  Amusing article but very poor spelling. Ms Bardot’s name is spelt Brigitte and the quartier in Paris you refer to with the steps is spelt MonTmartre. Paris is covered with dog poo . It is friendlier to dogs than children in that respect.

• Gizwiz

  Crikey, leaving the country to avoid the Olympics? Excellent idea – may I join you? In fact can we leave now as to avoid any more football as well? Out of interest ladies, how does London compare to other countries/major cities when it comes to being dog friendly?

• Ziggydog

  We’d love to go abroad with our dogs, but the worry of the rabies injection prevents us getting passports. I enjoyed the episode of Barking last Thursday discussing vaccinations. I agree with Richard Allport not to take your pets abroad. Side effects from the jabs and treatments are not worth it. So we’ll be happy with North Wales this year – won’t be as sunny as the south of France.

• http://twitter.com/BlueCrossLou Louise Lee

  Hi ladies. What fun for Molly and Matilda! Don’t forget to protect them against ticks when you’re away too. Although not part of the new regs, there is a risk of new ticks coming into the UK that bring soem really nasty diseases with them. Woof woof. Lou