“One Cat Just Leads to Another”

Once again little French connections keep popping up  on our trip to Florida (as in last week’s post). We took a quick side trip to Key West, and visited the former home of that literary lion and doyen of the “Lost Generation” of Paris ex-pats: Ernest Hemingway. 

Hemingway’s house is a beautiful bahama-style cottage on an acre of land, right in town, surrounded by lush gardens. Hemingway was a collector of wives (4), of adventures, and of 6-toed polydactyl cats, which are said to be lucky. The direct descendants of his cat Snow White, 55 of them and all with the polydactyl gene, roam the property. Which of course was the main event for me, and for lots of the hundreds of visitors touring the house (House Rule: Pet the cats, but don’t pick them up).

One might call them working cats, as they were a decorative part of the tour, and as far as I could tell, they came in three categories. There were the Camouflage Cats, who tucked themselves deep into the thick undergrowth, hoping for an uninterrupted nap, and radiating “Do Not Disturb”. There  were the Celebrity Cats, who spent their day hanging out with the crowds, preening and posing for selfies (I spotted one Asian tourist who sat down on a bench for a brief rest, and was surprised when a cat jumped up in her lap, curled up in a tight ball, and settled down for a lengthy nap). Finally there were the Practical Cats, who wandered through the grounds and the house, pausing occasionally with a deep sigh to indulge visitors with a quick caress, but basically going about their business as if there weren’t crowds of people milling around.

You could easily spot the cat fanatics in the tour groups. They wandered the paths, bent over and peeking under the palms, cat-spotting, their cameras at the ready. I was among them, bien sûr.

As our tour guide said, “No matter what interesting story I tell, the cats always upstage me”. 

Our tour guide competes for attention with some kitties.

 

The Hemingway cats, who are named after famous artists, actors, and writers, have their own full-time Manservant, who pampers them excessively, as evidenced by the fact that most of them are a bit, ahem, rotund.

Some of Hemingway's notable quotes about cats:

“No animal has more liberty than the cat, but it buries the mess it makes. The cat is the best anarchist.”

“The cat has complete emotional honesty - an attribute not often found in humans.”

“One cat just leads to another”.

This is what a 6-toed cat looks like (this photo by Rob O'Neal)

 

Tennessee Williams at work.

 

Cat-spotting was a tourist sport. There was lots of flora to hide in.

 

Mae West takes five.

 

Winston Churchill sat right in the center of a dozen tour-goers, listening attentively to our guide.

 

Audrey Hepburn takes a break from the limelight.

 

Marilyn Monroe and Gina Lollobridgida take a snooze...

 

..unfazed by the surrounding crowd.

 

Sometimes a girl has to find a spot where no one can bother her, like Ginger Rogers did.

 

 

There is a large cat cemetary.

 

 

A Camouflage Cat says bye-bye.

 

In the COMMENTS: In response to John's question, Bruno's fictional town of St. Denis is based on Walker's own French town, Le Bugue. You can read about it here. Janie, I couldn't discover any more book tour stops. Jean-Paul, thanks for the recommendation. Suzanne and Lillie, St. Armand's Circle in Sarasota is simply the most charming shopping area I've seen in the states. 

Several folks recommended that Monsieur Walker self-publish his cook book, which I suggested on his facebook page, but he says the Germans own the photo rights. Zut alors!

 

Favorite READS: Speaking of Martin Walker you may not know that he has written one non-Bruno novel, a fascinating account of the caves in his area called Caves of the Perigord, a thriller which will teach you about their history. And our reader Martin has a new Bruno-type series for us, by author Donna Leon, whose detective is called Commissario Guido Brunetti. Try the first in the series, called Death at La Fenice. And one last book, on cats: a friend gave me a copy of a book about a French cat, called Henri, Le Chat Noir: The Existential Musings of an Angst-filled Cat. It's absolutely hilarious, as are Henri's accompanying youtube videos (in French, with English subtitles). If you know cats, I promise you will be on the floor laughing.

 

 

Comments

[ellen van Thiel]

You are right to say this post about Hemingway’s home in Key West reminds one of France. I was so homesick for my French cats I almost stopped reading in the middle of the post to pack my bags. I loved all the names too. I think I may have to do some renaming when I get back. Great photos and memories! Thanks!

[Herm in Phoenix, AZ]

Great post, Lynn! What a pampered life those cats must lead. Wonder if they get nine lives like that(Grin).

Here's a short "cat" story told to me many years ago by a Parisian friend:

It was winter in Paris.

Three little kittens named un, deux and trois were playing on the bank of the Seine. They ventured out on the thin ice that had formed along the shore.

The sheet of ice broke off and started floating down stream with the kittens aboard. The sun came out, the ice melted and . . . . . une deux trois quatre cinq!

[Jane Williamson]

I found a Martin Walker novel on the kindle deals.
You are right, I thoroughly enjoyed it.

[Natalia]

Lynn,this entire post is just completely delighful! Including the wonderful pictures!!
Thank you!
And thank you,too,again(!)for introducing me to Martin Walker!I also found his novels(several of them,actually) on kindle!

[Anne Woodyard (@MusicandMarkets)]

I may have mentioned our favorite Aix en Provence mysteries before - by M.L. Longworth. Set in Aix and the surrounding area, they're an enticing read. Death at Chateau Bremont was the first in the series, and there are now 7, with more on the way! Her protagonist, Judge Verlaque, "lives" on our street in Aix ;)

[Colleen Taylor]

I was on a business trip years ago to Key West. We drove past the Hemingway house on a tour but I was never able to actually see it inside. I'm highly allergic to cats but I would have loved being there. I had no idea that all these cats were part of the house tour, so cute! A delightful post Lynn.

[Vicky (from Athens)]

I love Henri and am thrilled to see he has a book! When I checked it out on Amazon I was led to some Chat Noir socks that I just have to have!! I’ll order them when I order the book.
Thank you for getting me started on the Martin Walker books and I’ve really enjoyed them. Caves of the Perigord was the second one I read and I loved it.

[Anne Daigle]

I am on my second Bruno book since you posted about Martin Walker. The books are on our library's digital service. Coincidentally, one of my good friends was named "Courreges". I love the cat pics. But how can the cats' caretaker and the tour guides remember the names of 55 cats?

[Alix Rico]

Lynn! Thank you so much for this post! This is on my bucket list and I loved the cats, of course!! Hope to see you soon! We arrive May 6!! Or you could bring your boat to Fairhope on Mobile Bay! xoxo,a.

[Jonathan Paschal]

We were on a tour there. Someone asked "How do you keep the cats from leaving." Tour guide "Why would they leave?" :-)

[Suzanne Hurst]

I LOVE this edition of SFF. I have to see Hemingway's house and cats! What a great idea to name them after famous artists, stars, etc. One of my neighbors once had a cat named Coco Chanel. :) I love Henri, Le Chat Noir. Merci, Lynn. I will share this with some of my friends who are not so much into France, but very into cats.