This weekend I was able to explore the beautiful coastal city of Cádiz, Spain for three days. Two other girls, Bailey and Laura, decided to go on this adventure about two days before the day of departure, but it was definitely such a great decision. We paid for a round trip bus ticket and arrived in Cádiz on Saturday in the afternoon. After checking into our hotel, we headed to the beach called "La playa de la caleta". The ocean water was very warm, but it was quite windy and that led to us being covered in tons of sand by the time we left.
Overlooking the beach. There were many older Spanish women sitting together, talking, and playing games under the umbrella structures. The way that they were enjoying the beach makes me want to move to somewhere such as Florida when I retire, but I still have many years to think about that.
There were many small boats dotted along the shore, and also the stretch of land in the distance is actually a castle, called San Sebastián. We did not go there on Saturday, but later in the trip we did.
View of our street we stayed on from my room. When we arrived, the apartment across the street had children randomly singing Nickelodeon songs in English. The impact that American culture plays on the rest of the world continues to impress me every time I encounter it while being here in Spain. However, this is usually limited to just music, television, and movies from what I have noticed.
That night, we returned to the hotel, took a nap for a few hours, and then went to the rooftop terrace for dinner. We learned upon arrival that the staff prepares a dinner for five euros a plate, and since we did not know too much of Cádiz yet, this seemed like the best option for the night. The hotel had some leftover paella from the night before, and I had not tried paella up until that point, so I bought this for only two euros. It was absolutely delicious, even if it was a day old. The night turned a bit chilly, but for October, it was absolutely beautiful and still comfortable.
The next day, we ate toast and had a cup of coffee before heading to all the tourist sites within Cádiz. As we did not want to spend too much money, anything that charged an admission we skipped. That is just what happens when you are a college student on a budget. The first place we went to was the Plaza de la Catedral, which included the Cádiz Cathedral along with another church with a name that escapes me. However, here are the wonderful photographs I took of the whole plaza.
The plaza
The other church on the plaza
Also, since Cádiz is essentially a decent-sized peninsula, we were able to encounter views of the sea simply by walking about 20 minutes in any direction.
Cádiz is one of the oldest, continuously-inhabited cities in all of Europe, and for this, we discovered several ancient remains throughout the city. This included anywhere from an ancient Phoenician necropolis remains to small bits leftover of an aqueduct from the Romans.
Roman theater, in quite a crumbling state. We were prohibited from entering due to large gates, but it was definitely amazing to see from a short distance.
Some of the ancient Phoenician necropolis.
Remains of a Roman aqueduct. Nothing too spectacular, but I love seeing something that is incredibly old with historical significance.
While walking along the shoreline, we encountered some remains, but there was no information about it.
I´m not sure why I enjoy seeing police cars in everywhere I visit, but I think it is mostly because no matter where you may go in the world, you will find some form of peacekeepers, but they may present themselves in a completely different manner.
This vehicle is gives a very intimidating impression!
Finally, on the last day, we walked around before our bus and stumbled upon the castle of San Sebastián. We were not permitted to go in, but here are some pictures of the scenery around where we could be.
Some pretty interesting rock formations surrounding the castle!
Looking back on Cádiz
I took this picture accidentally, but it is very impressive.
The only speed bump that occurred during this trip was at the end. Since both my friend Laura and I had our tickets printed on the same piece of paper, and Laura could not find the ticket when we were supposed to go, we missed to bus to Granada. Seeing that the next bus to Granada was approximately 5 hours later, we found the train station, bought tickets to Sevilla, and continued our journey. The train was actually quite enjoyable, much better than the trains we have in the United States. They are smoother riding and quieter, so I got to catch up on a little bit of sleep. Upon arrival to Sevilla, we found the tourism kiosk and asked for directions to the bus station. The man there was very nice and even helped us figure out when the next bus to Granada would be! It took us about half an hour to walk and take a city bus to the station, but we purchased tickets for the bus and headed back home.
Tomorrow I start my new schedule, and I will be taking 4 classes. Now, this may not seem to be a large amount; however, each class meets four hours a week and the university uses a trimester format for their classes. I'm very excited for my classes for I have heard many good things about the professors that will be teaching my classes and that I love to learn more about Spain and Spanish.
¡Saludos!
