Thursday, April 16, 2015
Leaving Barcelona, out through the
Balearic Sea into the Mediterranean Sea, into the Alboran Sea, we head
west-south-west to the Gibraltar Strait, then we leave the Mediterranean Sea
and into the Atlantic Ocean. This puts
us onto a northerly course to Cadiz.
Cadiz is Spain's gateway to the
Atlantic and has been a commercial port for 3,000 years. It is also considered the gateway to Seville,
the capital of Spain. Seville is about a
2 hour trip inland. You can also travel
from Cadiz to Jerez, Spain's renowned "Sherry Triangle" and also
visit the Royal Andalusian School of Equestrian Art to watch the horses.
But oh what a surprise the beautiful
city of Cadiz and it's 18th and 19th century architecture turned out to
be! Cadiz is one of Europe's oldest
inhabited cities, dating from 1100 B.C.
Just a short 15 minute walk puts you into the city center and from there
you can head in all directions.
One of
the first things you see is the Town Hall or Ayuntamiento, built in two stages,
1779 and 1861, the facade is decorated with garlands, round moldings with
Phoencian coins and the roof with stone vases.
As expected, around every corner
there is a new plaza to explore, exquisite old churches and cathedral's, the
typical European sidewalk cafes, narrow passageways, and Mercado Central. It was also time for a haircut for Curt. We found a cute little barber shop, quite
inexpensive and good. We decided that as
slow as they were, they would not survive in the U.S!
We can say that this is a lovely place, Cadiz, and we will look forward to another visit. At 6:45 PM, we dropped the gangway and began our trek to Funchal, Madeira, Portugal.
We can say that this is a lovely place, Cadiz, and we will look forward to another visit. At 6:45 PM, we dropped the gangway and began our trek to Funchal, Madeira, Portugal.
