All the Leaves are Brown and the Sky is Gray

There's nothing better on a cold rainy day in November to lift the spirit than to take a magic carpet internet ride to a warmer clime and to imagine what it may be like to be, say, in a five star hotel on the Cote D'azur. Like the Pension Milou, a mediterranean canine haven described as 'a spacious house that opens onto a large covered terrace which in turn leads into a large totally secure garden, fully fenced, where dogs can wander and play freely.'

If that in itself isn't already immediately a warming thought then read the heartwarming story of how it came to have its name. The owner of the hotel, Jilly Bennet writes a blog called 'Postcards from Pension Milou' and a recent post entitled 'Milou's Bench' tells the story of Milou, a beautiful black American Cocker Spaniel who its named after.

"One day in 1993, when Milou was three years old, he was brought to me by Madame Dana’s chauffeur. He booked him in for ‘about a month’ as Madame had to go into the Princess Grace Hospital in Monaco for an operation. The month became a year and eventually it became obvious that Madame wasn’t going to recover..."

P.S. Did this guy call it or what.