In planning a trip to Santorini for next spring, I've been doing a fair bit of Flickr-ing to scout the island from home. Outside of Santorini's charming white-washed walls and sweeping sea and sunset views, I'm most looking forward to meeting and making images of its furry, four-legged locals. I think cats are incredible, majestic creatures, and the smaller the sweeter. So it's no wonder that I find this "Family Kiss" by Ben Heine particularly remarkable. As photos of cats go, it's just wonderful - the cat's meow! Makes me all the more excited to get to Greece next year.

Your comments on this image are welcome, and encouraged! And a question for the photographer - Ben Heine - if s/he is so inclined: Is there anything special about this moment, day, trip, or place beyond what you've shared on Flickr that you'd like to add or comment on here? Along with other vivaca visitors, I would love to know more!

Location: Santorini, Greece ★
Photo courtesy of Ben Heine

One of the many reasons that I avoid summer travel in Europe is because I hate crowds. Hate, hate, hate. I don't like fighting through throngs of tourists in an effort to try and enjoy my time abroad. This isn't to say that you won't still encounter a madhouse in the more popular cities or spots, but I promise you it will be far less mad than during high season. The proof is in the pictures.

Boat service between the Cinque Terre towns and some of the other picturesque fishing villages along this sunny swath of Italy typically starts in late spring and runs through the summer. But demand in spring can be pleasantly low. I was on this afternoon ferry from Lerici to Portovenere at like, three o'clock in the afternoon or so? And I was one of maybe four or five passengers total, tops. It was fantastic! A front and center window perch all to myself.

And that's Tigre there, at the bottom. Miss you, Tiger. Love to think about how much fun you must be having this summer, meeting and greeting the throngs at your little intersection.

Location: Portovenere, Italy ★

"Ciao, Tigre!" said a man with affection, clearly a local resident intimately familiar with the friendly striped beast before him, as he crouched down to give Tiger a little love. Tiger pranced up to the man excitedly and relished in the attention. That's Tiger in the top shot, sunning himself and his ample amber belly.

Though I only spent about 15 minutes with him, Tiger regarded me as an old friend. Seems he treats everyone like that, locals and visitors alike.

I met him standing at the center of a heavy pedestrian intersection in pretty Portovenere, meowing enthusiastically and physically blocking people's paths in an attempt to get them to slow down and spend some heavy-petting time with him. The absolute sucker for cats that I am, I happily stopped and stayed a while.

Tiger's stone cousin there in the bottom shot is one of the two lovely lions gracing the entrance to San Lorenzo Cathedral in Genoa's enchanting old town. I'd have to compare photos, but I think these San Lorenzo lions look uncannily like the one standing at attention outside the Arsenale in Venice. Both have the identical sad, stressed out countenance, as if they're on the verge of tears. Same sculptor with the odd ability to make stone cats cry?

Location: Liguria, Italy ★