One Saturday afternoon in the piazza outside the Duomo di Milano, this particular pair struck me as the perfect picture of everything I envy about the quintessential Italian lifestyle. Relaxed, confident, stylish (how do they do it?). My jaw drops and I imagine this faithful dog rescuing stranded climbers in the Alps on a regular basis (of course she does!). This woman is probably a designer or maybe she has a vineyard somewhere or both (I’m sure that’s it). I stand there wondering if I could ever wear lavender All-Stars as well as she does (and why didn’t it occur to me to wear lavender All-Stars that day?).

As I slyly continue to observe, I see that the champion Alpine rescue dog has taken notice of something and her gaze is fixed upon it: an equally stylish significant other (the heir to a textile empire?) has emerged from a nearby museum (was he dropping off a statue they no longer had room for?) and she goes directly to him. He kneels to greet her and fluffs the fur around her neck, scratches her ears. She’s in heaven. The woman joins them and they stroll out of the piazza together (probably to return to the vineyard or a weekend house on Lake Como).

Imagination aside, the whole little vignette of this couple with their lovable dog was a beautiful sight to see that day. And all I really know for sure is that I was grateful to watch.