Feline Friday – #91 – Grecian cats

In 2007 my friend KJ and I took a cruise of the Greek islands on the Perla, a small-ish ship (1095 passengers, 395 cabins). We started out in Athens and visited Crete, Delos, Mykonos, Patmos, Rhodes and Santorini.

I encountered quite a few cats along the way and took photos of some of them. The photo above was taken at the Roman Agora in Athens. The cat took a shine to us and followed us around for a while, then jumped up on the map to help us plan our visit.

This photogenic gentleman was well known and I was told collecting money from tourists for his cats padded his ouzo budget, but that was okay with me. One for the cats, one for the ouzo sounded fair and I was happy to contribute!

We spent a considerable amount of time in the Plaka area of Athens. KJ was and is still a souvenir store junkie so what could I do? As we were leaving one evening I turned around and saw this Tuxedo cat sitting outside this pottery store.

It turned out to be one of those serendipity moments as when I returned home I painted a ceramic tile of the scene.

This Tuxedo seemed very serene, waiting patiently for dinner further along the street.

This beautiful ginger tabby was enjoying the sun at the Palace of Knossus on Crete. While the tour guide droned on and on and on I was trying to be as zen as this cat.

Still at Knossus, these dogs were roaming around. I was concerned about the lone cat at left but he seemed able to take care of himself.

Another Tuxedo, this one was at Patmos.

Also Patmos, this guy (or gal) was chowing down on some juicy bacon…

But this little guy won the jackpot with toast, chicken and bacon.

In my travels in other countries, outside of the US or the UK, I have to admit I am troubled by the number of cats and dogs in the streets, seemingly without a home. But they all seem well fed and taken care of. Certainly there is horrendous abuse of pet cats and dogs in the US, so I can’t point fingers. It’s just a different attitude towards animals as pets.

One Good Life in Los Angeles takes on the world – cat in the Plaka area, Athens

Our last night in Athens I took one look back at the Plaka area as we walked back to our hotel.

This cat sitting in the doorway, the twin of my Tuxedo cat Friday, seemed to be bidding us farewell. Or maybe he was just waiting for dinner.

Wikipedia has a good description of the Plaka: Pláka (Greek: Πλάκα) is the old historical neighborhood of Athens, clustered around the northern and eastern slopes of the Acropolis, and incorporating labyrinthine streets and neoclassical architecture. Plaka is built on top of the residential areas of the ancient town of Athens. It is known as the “Neighbourhood of the Gods” due to its proximity to the Acropolis and its many archaeological sites.

One of my hobbies is painting kiln-fired ceramic tiles. This scene inspired me to paint a tile in my “Places” series.

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One Good Life in Los Angeles takes on the world – cat at the Agora in Athens

As much as I enjoy living in and rambling around Los Angeles, I also enjoy discovering other places. Traveling is important. It broadens our horizons and gives us an understanding of other cultures and other peoples that cannot happen if we never leave our own comfort zone.

In 2007 I visited Greece on a two-week land and sea tour. Although we had a tour director we also enjoyed plenty of time to get around on our own.

This cat obviously wanted to show us around the Agora in Athens. He was in the process of preparing his route when I took this photo.

All photos and content copyright roslyn m wilkins. Please feel free to pass along this post via email or social media, but if you wish to use some of our images or text outside of the context of this blog, please check with us first for proper usage. Thanks!