After a nice 2 hour train ride from Seville, we arrived in Cadiz mid-day on Monday. The train ride was uneventful and even though we weren't on a high speed train, we still zipped through the pretty country side at almost 100 MPH. The trip was through farming/agriculture areas--mostly orange orchards, but also some olive groves and fields of produce.
At the Cadiz station we easily found a taxi to our hotel in the Old Town section of Cadiz. We are staying at La Catedral, a small hotel right across from the Cathedral de Cadiz.
Here's the front of our hotel, our balconies are the 2nd floor, the two on the right:
Our room is nice, fairly roomy, and with two balconies facing the Plaza. I asked for a room with a view of the Cathedral, and we sure got it--it's right in front of our window!
(the red barriers are left over from Semana Santa celebrations)
Our room wasn't ready so we left our bags and set off exploring, looking for a place for some lunch--breakfast was many hours ago! We wandered through the narrow streets until we came to a large Plaza. We chose a small bar/cafe with outside setting (duuhhh!) . We had a delicious lunch of grilled squid and octopus--both very good. Of course, we had a couple of cold beverages--beer for David and sangria for me.
We also had entertainment with our lunch. A flamenco dancer set up a small wood platform in front of the cafe, and accompanied by just a solo male singer, proceeded to dance her heart out! It was lovely--and we enjoyed how she put her "all" into her art. I LOVE the sound her shoes made on the wood platform!
After our relaxing, entertaining and delicious lunch we walked back to our hotel to see if our room was ready. It was, so we quickly unpacked and then wandered around some more, getting acquainted with our new neighborhood. It was siesta time, so most places were closed.
We did manage to accomplish something--we found the bus station and bought our bus tickets to our next destination--the small hill town of Ronda. There isn't an easy way to get there from Cadiz--so we'll have a 3 hour bus ride; it's all part of the adventure!
We walked through the pretty Plaza de Flores--a small plaza lined with shops and several flower vendors:
We turned down a side street towards the ocean and walked for a few blocks. The ocean was sparkling, the skies were brilliant blue and there was a nice breeze.
We were expecting a much different ocean front and beach scene in Cadiz. We'd pictured beautiful beaches lined with small cafes and bars, envisioning long walks on the beach, leisurely fresh seafood lunches and drinking ice cold sangria with our toes in the sand. Hmmmm--don't think we'll get that here in Cadiz! So far, we haven't found any beachfront dining--the cafes and restaurants are across a wide street from the beach, mostly in fancy hotels and such. These are in the newer part of town--not really much beachfront in old town. Oh, well--we are pretty adaptable, and I'm sure well relax with a few cold sangrias--even if our toes aren't in the sand!
A view of the back of the cathedral, with it's interesting tiled domes:
We turned back in the direction of our hotel, and noticed that the Cathedral was open--so we decided that now was a good time for a visit. We paid our admission fee, which was kind of expensive at 5E each--I think this is the most we've ever paid to see a church!
La Catredal de Cadiz, completed in 1838, sits on the site of an older cathedral that was built in 1260. It's style is an odd mix of baroque, rococo and neoclassic. While it wasn't the most interesting or beautiful church we've seen, I think it had a simple charm and nice ambiance.
A small chapel along the nave:
The main altar:
We went down into the crypts beneath the cathedral--they were interesting. There is a large round chamber at the entrance to the crypts, and the chamber has incredible acoustics! There was an erie echo from our footsteps as well as our voices. It was cool!
A small altar with crucifix in one area of the crypt:
About 8 pm we went out for dinner, walking a big loop through the winding streets. We ended up back at the same plaza where we had lunch. After looking at menus at most of the restaurants, we just picked the nearest cafe, plopped ourselves down and each ordered a plate of pasta and a glass of wine! Nothing fancy, but good enough for us.
Good night from Cadiz!
Our plan for tomorrow: To get a medical (blood) test to check David's warfarin levels. His Doctor wanted his levels checked mid-trip--now that should be an adventure!
Thanks for showing your place your staying out, I touched the two balconies with my finger on the picture to feel where u are staying. How I would have loved a sangria with u while we watched the flamingo dancer. Skies are so blue, water beautiful too even though it's not exactly as u hoped....toes in the sand. U answered my most pressing question too. I was restraining u know from asking. The blood test tomorrow for David. Good luck with that. And thanks for telling so I can relax knowing you are taking care of business as I knew u would. Good night, rest well.
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