Ciao! I'm Laura.
  • Journal
  • About
  • Writing
  • Contact
  • Home
  • Journal
  • Books
  • Podcast
  • About
    • Writing
  • Contact

Ciao Amalfi

WRITING · July 29, 2012

Book Review | Todo in Tuscany

Todo in Tuscany The Dog at the Villa Book ReviewThere are a lot of reasons to fall in love with a house in Tuscany. A sweeping view across the rolling Tuscan hillsides, finding a piece of Italian history going back generations or a setting in a charming Italian village. While Louise Badger and Lawrence Kershaw found all those things in Poggiolino, a unique home near Lucca, what this husband and wife found was that there was only one Todo in Tuscany. Todo the dog that is.

After holidaying in Italy together for years, Badger and Lershaw decided it was time to live the dream. The timing was right in 2007 to make the dream a reality, and the two were off to house hunt in the Tuscan countryside not far from Lucca. There very first house viewing turned into a memorable experience when they were greeted by a brown ball of excitement they soon learned was named Todo. With a smiling face and enthusiastic demeanor (and one very swishy and happy tail!), Todo quickly charmed Badger and Kershaw, who were also moved by Todo’s sad story.

When Carol MacAndrew died two years earlier, she left behind her beloved home and garden Poggiolino and her faithful companion Todo. Although Todo had been alone for two years when Badger and Kershaw first met him, he had refused to leave the home where he had passed so many happy years with Carol. It was decided that whoever bought Poggiolino got Todo as well! But, as Badger and Kershew found themselves asking, “Who buys a house with a dog?”

The answer came immediately after returning home to London. They did! Although the house wasn’t quite what they initially had in mind and required more work than expected, they couldn’t get Todo’s sad face when they left out of their minds. Todo had been waiting for two years for someone to return to Poggiolino and bring love and life back to his home.

In Todo in Tuscany: The Dog at the Villa, Badger and Kershaw share their story of meeting Todo, discovering his and Carol MacAndrew’s fascination history, meeting new friends, working through all those renovations and making their dream of living in Italy a reality – with Todo cherring them along every step of the way!

An honest and heartfelt story told from Louise Badger’s point of view, Todo in Tuscany is about the ups and downs of moving and making a new life in Italy and the joys of falling in love with a place … and one very special dog named Todo!

__________________

Visit the Todo in Tuscany website for more information, photos and stories. You’ll also find Louise Badger and Lawrence Kershaw on the Todo in Tuscany Facebook page or @TodoinTuscany on Twitter.

Can’t wait to get your paws, er, hands on a copy of Todo in Tuscany? Michelle over at Bleeding Espresso has one copy to give away to a lucky winner. Just click here and enter before Tuesday, July 31st at noon (Italy time). You still have a couple of days!

Posted In: WRITING · Tagged: Book Reviews, Books About Italy, Ciao Amalfi Book Reviews, Italy Book Review, Tuscany

You’ll Also Love

Moon Amalfi CoastMoon Amalfi Coast with Capri, Naples & Pompeii, 2nd Edition
Book Review | The Chocolatier by Jan Moran
Book Review | Sex and Vanity by Kevin Kwan

Comments

  1. Michelle | Bleeding Espresso says

    July 31, 2012 at 11:00

    Great review, Laura; sounds like you fell in love with Todo too! Just something about that pooch 🙂

    Reply
    • Laura says

      July 31, 2012 at 18:58

      Thanks, Michelle. Todo had that charm for sure! 🙂

      Reply
  2. Sandra says

    August 1, 2012 at 00:59

    Such a tempting review. I will have to read this book for sure…Tuscany and a dog…what a love story!

    Reply
    • Laura says

      August 1, 2012 at 07:23

      It was a fun read … especially since it’s set near Lucca, which is a part of Italy I haven’t read much about yet. Sounds lovely!

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Next Post >

Hurrying Up and Waiting on the Amalfi Coast

Trending Now

  • ciao-amalfi-winter-things-to-do Visiting the Amalfi Coast in the Winter – 5 Things You Need to Know
  • Amalfi Coast Travel Positano Beach Spiagga Grande A Guide to the Beaches of Positano
  • Amalfi Coast Webcams New Live Streaming Webcams of Amalfi!
  • Amalfi Coast Beaches Colourful Sun Umbrellas at the Marina Grande Beach in Amalfi - Horizontal A Guide to the Beaches of Amalfi

Ciao!

My name is Laura and the Amalfi Coast is my passion and my home. I’m a writer and photographer who is endlessly inspired by the incredible beauty of the Amalfi Coast. Welcome to Ciao Amalfi!

Ciao Amalfi

  • Journal
  • Moon Amalfi Coast
  • Newsletter
  • Contact

Amalfi Coast

  • Amalfi
  • Positano
  • Ravello
  • Amalfi Coast

Explore

  • Travel
  • History & Culture
  • Food & Drink
  • Shopping

Laura Thayer

  • About
  • Writing
  • Book Reviews
  • Work with Me

Latest on Instagram

A spectacular view of a truly spectacular place as A spectacular view of a truly spectacular place as I flew out of Naples yesterday morning. A little bit delayed due to Winter Storm Olive in the midwest, but I was greeted in central Nebraska by blue skies and flocks of Sandhill cranes and snow geese. “Oh, to love what is lovely” as Mary Oliver wrote about that joyful experience of seeing snow geese golden in a sunny sky. ✨
It’s International Cat Day in Italy, but Puffy s It’s International Cat Day in Italy, but Puffy slept right through it. He’s been such a good cat since we lost Toulouse in September - we’re all still adjusting. This year Puffy will be 15! 🐈
This month’s Ciao Amalfi newsletter is out! A li This month’s Ciao Amalfi newsletter is out! A little bit of a love letter to Amalfi, an excellent book for walking by @robgmacfarlane, February on the Amalfi Coast, and one very dramatic historic photograph. Hope you enjoy the read! {link in bio}

#ciaoamalfi #Amalfi #amalficoast #visitamalfi #visitamalficoast
Woke up with the winter blues and this song I love Woke up with the winter blues and this song I love by Jack Teagarden in my head. 🎶
What 31 days of January morning walks looks like. What 31 days of January morning walks looks like. It’s been gorgeous and windy and stormy and wild - and everything in between. Should I pick a different spot to take a photo a day next month?
Non Amalfi Coast question. Do you wake up in the m Non Amalfi Coast question. Do you wake up in the morning with music or a song in your head? I do nearly every morning and it’s curious to me what shows up. Usually it’s something I’ve been listening to, but sometimes it’s really random, like someone’s left the music room door slightly ajar in the brain. This morning it was a jaunty version of “Loch Lomond” from the 1940s sung by Maxine Sullivan. (You’d think that would be from the random category but I actually listened to it yesterday.) So that’s what was swinging about in my head as I took a walk early this morning. 🎶
Happy Burns Night! I love a country that has a hol Happy Burns Night! I love a country that has a holiday for their national poet. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Here’s one of my favorite poems he wrote.

Musing On The Roaring Ocean
by Robert Burns

Musing on the roaring ocean, 
Which divides my love and me; 
Wearying heav’n in warm devotion, 
For his weal where’er he be. 

Hope and Fear’s alternate billow 
Yielding late to Nature’s law, 
Whispering spirits round my pillow, 
Talk of him that’s far awa. 

Ye whom sorrow never wounded, 
Ye who never shed a tear, 
Care-untroubled, joy-surrounded, 
Gaudy day to you is dear. 

Gentle night, do thou befriend me, 
Downy sleep, the curtain draw; 
Spirits kind, again attend me, 
Talk of him that’s far awa!
  • Privacy Policy
  • Site Disclosure

Copyright © 2023 Ciao Amalfi · Theme by 17th Avenue