Beary belated mail call

Umm, I have received quite a few postcards over the past couple of months... this is a beary belated post... I'm ready to hire a new secretary!

The first postcard is from Minnesota, land of 10,000 lakes! Thanks Jerry and Ben! I did not know Minnesota has so many lakes. Lots of lakes mean... lots of salmon!

I also got a postcard from Little Fox sent from Lake Tahoe. It looks just beautiful! Maybe that will be my next trip.

Here's another postcard from Little Fox wishing me a Happy Bearthday. This postcard came on time, but I am just beary late in posting!

And here is another postcard from Little Fox, with a thank you note for entering his recipe contest.

Thanks everyone for the postcards! Check your mailboxes for something from me!

No pants fashion

I was at a Starbucks recently when I saw some of Sandy's and Jerry and Ben's relatives. They are wearing the latest fashions here, and will you take a look at that? No pants! Maybe I started a trend here?

What do you think about pants?

Milan, dah-ling!

Alright, let's take the final leg of our Italy tour. The last stop on this trip is Milan, dah-ling! We also happen to be here during Milan Fashion Week. I'll have to check out the latest stuffie fashions on the runway.

So here I am standing outside of the Santa Maria delle Grazie church. Supposedly, there is a beary famous mural painting inside. Can you guess what it is?

If you guessed the Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci, you're right! The mural has been restored several times, so very little of the original parts are still present today. This is one of the most famous works of art in the world.

Next, we are taking a tour of the famous Teatro alla Scala opera house. Figaro figaro figaro figaro figaro figaro FI-GA-RO!! Many great voices performed here. Should I take up opera singing?

Now let's visit Duomo di Milano! This cathedral is Italy's largest and the 4th largest in the world. It took almost six centuries to complete.

We had rooftop tour tickets. Let's see what's up there. Wow - look at all these spires! There are 135 of them.

The inside of the Duomo is beary beautiful as well!

These hugs stained glass windows make me feel beary small!

I did mention it was fashion week, right? Before I leave Milan, I want to get some of the latest luxury fashions. Next to the Duomo is the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II with tons of fabulous stores... Prada, Gucci, Versace, and more! Hey mom, can I borrow your credit card?

Okay, thanks for following me on my first trip to Italy! It was a rather brief one but very memorable and I hope to go back there soon!

More of Italy

After we left Lake Como, we headed to the charming town of Stresa for a couple of days. This town is located next to Lake Maggiore, the second largest lake in Italy.

There are three tiny islands and we are going to visit them all, but first let's take a ride in a cable car for a mountaintop view!

I am at the top of this mountain called Mottarone now. It's a bit foggy but you can see the islands in the background.

Okay, now we're on a boat to go to the islands! Wow, we are all over the place...

This island is called Isola Bella which means "beautiful island." There is a palace on it that belonged to the aristocratic family of the House of Borromeo.

Let's go inside!

Wow, there are so many works of art to see.

It's good to be king, isn't it?

Look at this gold throne, perfect for a stuffie.

But the real kicker is the outdoor garden and sculptures!

Okay, this is fancy and all, but I could use a snack! How about some fish and chips?

We also did a little shopping for some fine Italian scarves.

Italy has been so beautiful so far. I wonder what's next...