Seeking a warm cat-friendly destination in January, my daddy hit upon Sicily. We flew Chicago to Washington Dulles (ORD>IAD) on January 14, stayed at the very (pet) friendly Westin Dulles Airport hotel there overnight, then on to Rome (FCO) the following afternoon. Here is a Boeing 777 with the new United-Continental livery, as seen from our United 767 just before we left the gate on Saturday the 15th.
Here I am on Saturday the 16th in the Colisseum, Rome, very jet lagged. Oddly, I was the only cat there that day. You may not know that the Colisseum, completed in 80 AD, featured in addition to gladiator fights, animal acts including an 11,000 animal managerie during one memorial 123 days in the year 107. That was then, I guess: this is now.
On to Palermo (PMO) by the friendly (and pet friendly) Italian carrier Blu-Express on January 18th. We had a row to ourselves so I had a peek out of my carrier. Normally I ride in my carrier under the seat in front of daddy.
Palermo is the capital of Sicily. Here I am on the grounds of the cathedral (duomo) there. Don't mind the grafitti: you gotta blend in with the locals. As they say, when in PMO, do as the PMOans do....
Pardon my stunned surprise as I stare at "La Rocca", the 1000-foot headland that I have just been apprised we are climbing. It overlooks beautiful arabesque village of Cefalu. We drove here today. Here I am by the ocean. The name for the town Cefalu comes from the Greek kephalos, or head (hence "headland" for head-like mountain): you two-legged cats use the English word "encephalitis" for inflammation of the head (brain). The temperature throughout our two-week trip hovered at around 60 oF (except on Mount Etna, but we'll get too that shortly...all too shortly....), which was very nice.
Anticipating the trek up La Rocca, from downtown Cefalu.
I lowed the walk! I love to climb - I'm a cat! And I took part in what seemed to be the local custom and left my moniker on a convenient cactus. Can you believe that we saw NO CATS up the lovely climb to the top of La Rocca? There were a few dogs though (and lots of doggie doo, which fascinated me. I left my own souvenir in the sand, but don't make me show the picture).
The view from up there. It was pretty incredible, even though not the clearest of winter days. Our hotel, the pet friendly Hotel Tourist, is the last, small white building in the distance to the left of the road along the shoreline and beach.
Next we went to Taormina (all of our travel in Sicily was all by rental car), stayed in the beautiful, historic (pet friendly) Hotel Villa Paradiso, but then joined a tour group to climb Mount Etna, Europe's tallest active volcano. We didn't get very far as it was a blizzard on top. Here I am, a little bewildered and not all that happy for once, next to the Sylvestri Crater. It was fortunately not erupting. Note the gray stones and gravel. They say volcanic rocks. I say volcanic s*cks. At least, in January.
This hotel was overall probably our favorite, in Syracuse (Siracusa in Italian), also our favorite city. By now it was Sunday the 23rd. I like making an entrance. The old city part of Siracuse is on an island called Ortygia. Siracuse alsohas a fabulous Archeological Park across the bridge that we shall see shortly. Syracuse is the birthplace of Archimedes (287 BC), the man who had his greatest insight (Eureka!) while taking a bath. (Moi, taking a bath is not an insight, but my greatest insult!)
My powder room. All the Italian hotels had bidets, which was perfect as, you know, I only drink running water. (My daddy points out that, on the other hand, I'll eat any kind of food that's not bolted down.)
I wish we could have taken this chair from the Hotel des E'tranges et Miramar as a souvenir. Me time is Tavist Dee time.
Just as well that we rested as the next day we walked for five hours (I was fortunately much of the way in my carrier) to and around the Archeological Park in Siracuse, where there are ancient Roman and Greek ruins. Here is the Roman Amphitheater, built in 21 BC. That rectangular reservoir in the middle supposedly held crocodiles. I am glad to report that we saw no crocodiles that day. No cats either.
Syracuse was a Greek city before the Romans conquered it. Check out the Greek Theater, built in stages between 5 and 1 BC. You can still see plays by the Greek greats such as Euripedes, Sophocles, and Aeschylus put on there by the Italian Institute of Ancient Drama. As our guidebook (Frommer's Sicily; we also used and also recommend Michelin Sicily) says, nothing much seems to have changed over the years. (Note to Italian Institue of Ancient Drama: what is your cat policy?)
Friskies not only sells food in Italy but sells kitty litter - easily my favorite Italian brand. On the road, my daddy keeps a few shirt cardboard boxes along the bottom of my carrier, along with a Ziplock bag of kitty litter, for those cat personal hygiene moments. Very useful as I recall in IAD, along the way up Mount Etna, and en route to our next stop, which follows. (Daddy's paws were hurting, therefore the footpads - told you it was a long walking day.)
Ragusa (Ibla, the old city) , which means today is Tuesday, January 25. We climbed a hill overlooking the Duomo di San Georgio (the inside was closed for the midday recess) - a walk just up my alley (if I can mix my metaphors). This architecture is known as Sicilian baroque. Daddy says this trip baroque the bank, too.
One of our last pictures of Italy in the nearby sicilian city of Marina di Ragusa, the Eremo della Giubiliana. Mama mia, what a nice hotel! It is a converted monastery from the 1400s. They upgraded us to a special room that opened onto this Alhambra-like private courtyard with gently flowing water amidst nocturnally illuminated palm trees. (I sound like a brochure, but it was pretty meowly, belive me.) What fun. AND there were two very friendly cats here!
I have to end our trip on a bad note - the next day we went to Agrigento, famous for its spectacular ruins, thence to Segesta (other ruins, my favorite) and back towards PMO by way of the cathedral in Monreale (raining rats and dogs!), among other places. But my daddy's camera "disappeared" in Rome (to put it diplomatically), along with the last fourth of our digital pictures.
But then, maybe every cloud has a silver lining after all: Daddy is so upset, that he hopes to go back to Sicily this May, to re-take those photos, and visit one or two other sites. (We'll teach them, we'll spend MORE money in Italy!) You're sure to hear from me then!
This is my longest post and the first in a long time. I haven't told you about Atlanta, or Washington, D.C. (Or my second trip to Paris (CDG), the TGV to Lyon, and a fly-out from the Geneva (GVA) airport.) If you've come this far in the this post, though, I do hope you've come to realize that there's a wonderful waiting world out there, and that the Possible Adventures of Tavist Dee are possible for you, and yours, too!
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