Right now I am sitting on the steps on La Catedral in Cadiz, Spain, so overwhelmed with people and emotions I could cry. Who knew that I would call in love with the first city on my voyage around the world. Tourists are taking photos, like I did only days ago. There are locals sitting at the cafes, walking their children in strollers, and enjoying this glorious winter day with their friends and dogs. As a matter of fact a cute little black and white, fluffy mutt just came and sat next to me, begging for a sip of coffe and a tast of my muffin. His owner is sitting across the square, smoking a cigarette with a friend. An older gentleman is setting up his easle in the sun.
Today is my third day in Spain. We arrived on Wednesday and when Kristen opened the cutrains, we screamed with excitment. Of course, my second reaction was to call my parents until I realized...it was 3 am in New York. We quickly rushed to breakfast, dressed and waited to disembark. Finally, after 45 minutes of waiting on a line to get off the ship, we finally touched land after 9 days in the Atlantic. Almost immediately we were rushed off to a bus to meet our tour-guide, Luisa, a Cadiz native.
She took us around the city and taught us of the culture and history of the land we were visiting. We took a drive around the Old Town and into the New Town, where we stopped to take pictures at the Baya de Cadiz (The Bay of Cadiz). Our walking tour started at the Museo de Cadiz (The Cadiz Museum), where archelogical artifacts from the bottom of the bay go when they are uncovered. A quick waltz to the Torre Tavira, the highest point in Cadiz and an old lookout point, most my favorite part of the day. Inside the tower is a Camura Obscura, which is so difficult to discribe, but escentially a live camera made of mirrors. In a dark room, you stand around a large white...bowl...and suddenly they open the mirrors, similar to the concept of a parascope in a submarine, and then inside the bowl, the city is displayed live in front of your eyes. It looks as though you are looking ito a crystal ball. You can see the cars driving along the back roads and people tanning on their rooftop gardens. We even saw the Explorer being cleaned. After that we wound in and out through different alleys and avenues and finally found our way to the local market, where I cunningly bought a new pair of earings from a local gypsy. We visited the Teatro Romano (The Roman Theatre), ancient ruins dating back to 1 BCE. Then it was time for lunch.
We ate in a small restauraunt in the same square I am sitting in right now. We had various tapas like croquettas (fried balls of ham, rice and cheese--think rice balls), and a patte pescado (fish patte), and a glorious salad with fresh chicken. Then our main meals came, I had fresh shrimp baked in a phyllo crust with a side of roasted potatoes, sauteed mushrooms and a heavenly salsa made of fresh veggies on the side. Of course all of this was served with the local wine. Then for desert we had a fabulous frozen chocolate mouse cake, with little pieces of biscotti inside. We finished our tour with a trip to another museum, in which the name escapes me (I'll get back to you.)
Later that night we went to an Andalucian Flamenco Show. There was a horse show involved, where the horses and the dancers danced together, and then a bloodless bullfight with the cutest Matadors ever. Though I never caught their names, we've decided "Cute Butt Boy" and "Fabulous Hair Boy" are sufficient enough. The show continued after we moved into a banquet hall and a traditional floor show began. We sat with eyes wide, drinking sangria and eating tortillas. I've never seen such pasion in dancing. Needless to say, when we returned to the ship, we were nothing short of exhausted.
The next morning we were up and out again, this time to a city 2 hours away, in Sevilla (Seville) with Ilario as a guide. We toured the town at the Catedral (Cathedral), the largest in the world from it's era, climbed the bell tower (La Grialda), and then Alcazar (The Palace) next door. In the cathedral the alter piece had over 1,000 figures in it depicting scenes from the New Testament and it was painted gold. Every window inside is made of stained glass and it makes the various burial sites almost beautiful. Even Christopher Columbus is buried here, as well as his son. We climbed 36 flights to the top of the bell tower where again, we were able to see the entire city at a bird's eye view. After climbing back down, we went to The Alcazar, next door, which is where the King and Queen stay when they visit. It was a marvelous palace, designed with a combination of Roman, Arabic and Neoclassical features. The combination was breathtaking.
After our return back to the ship, Kristen and I freshened up and heading out to town again. As many of the stores and restaraunts were still on a siesta, we found a cafe that was open and stepped inside. The only two Americans in the place, we ordered hot chocolate (aka liquid milk chocolate with frothy whipped cream called, Nata), a large sugar cookie and, my guess would be, a slice of german chocolate cake with whipped cream layers and chocolate syrup on top. We made friends with the owner inside and plan on returning for breakfast on Saturday, our last day here. Once we decided the stores would be open, we decided to get lost in the city and quickly found our way into the shopping district of town. We made a stop into a local book store and a few shops along the way. On our adventure we found another store, Blanco, and I happened to buy a new dress and shoes. After finding our way around we stumbled upon another quaint little restaraunt and had more croquettas and paella. We took the long way back to the ship...ending up on the other side of town completely. It was great, we had a few laughs.
As I finish today's entry, an accordian player and his guitarist companion have set up in the alley , the man and the dog have left the square and my coffee is growing colder. With only one more day left in Spain, I think I will just get lost in the city and meet some more locals. It is a fabulous city that welcomes you with open arms and helping hands.
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