I confess – before Wednesday, I had never come across the word ‘Dondolina’. I pride myself on a fairly extensive vocabulary, which I attribute to being an avid reader from a very young age…. but hand on heart, I had never heard this word before.
On Wednesday, I visited BOAB, with the husband and son of Pinkie Liz. We had been invited to take part in a very exciting photo-shoot at BOAB with Adam Stanford from Aerial-Cam and Neil Watterson, Deputy Editor of Land Rover Owner Magazine. We were tempted by a very generous donation to the charity (as a thank you for helping them) and some rather nice mince pies!
And so on Wednesday morning, it was my great delight to see my first ever Dondolina…. and I have to say that I might just have fallen in love a little. (Just to clarify – I mean with the Dondolina and not with the very nice gentlemen who were present!!!)
So – what is a Dondolina? My best description would be ‘a pop up tent, which sits on the roof-bars of your car!’ Now, speaking as someone who finds the thought of camping absolutely hideous….. (yes I have tried it….. once….. and I remain traumatised!) I can honestly say that I would try a Dondolina! There’s something about sleeping ‘high up’, away from creepy crawlies, mud, flash flooding, cows (!) which is very appealing. And then, when I factor in the fact that the Dondolina I saw was PINK! Well, what can I say? Apart from “I want one”, but of course I would first need a different car 😦 because sadly the fab photos of Blossom on BOAB’s site were only to stop her sulking at all the attention the Dondolina was attracting, when it was on the roof bars of Liz’s gorgeous Kia Sorento….. so not wanting Blossom to feel too left out, Chris from BOAB (with the very careful use of a pallet-truck) let her try the Dondolina for herself!
The outside of the Dondolina was impressive in itself, but the inside was something else! For a start, it had a MATTRESS, which felt very comfortable. It also had pillows and, wait for it, they were all…… LEOPARD PRINT!!! Amazing!
So – how does one get into their Dondolina? With a tiny ladder, of course! Elementary…. Now I did have to give BOAB a little piece of constructive feedback here – the ladder was silver? And as every Pinkie in the world would tell you….. that ladder needs to be PINK! So, a pink option is being investigated – if they can do it, it might cost a bit more, but let’s face it – if you have a pink Dondolina and a pink car, it would be worth a little surcharge to have a pink ladder!
I LOVE the word Dondolina – it just rolls around your tongue and I think it should be in everybody’s vocabulary (although, of course it already might be! You might all already have known it….) so please help me to educate the whole world by sharing this blog post. It would make a great after-dinner conversation piece… “Do you know, I saw the most dashing Dondolina the other day!” Watch for the reaction – and if they don’t know what it is, do tell them…. because if you or they decide they might want a PINK one…. then BOAB has kindly offered to donate £50 for every pink one sold, to the Little Princess Trust. Furthermore, if you have been on one of our Pink Car Rallies, he will also give you a little pink discount!!
http://www.boab.biz/dondolina.html for photos