Cadiz: Love at first sight

I fell in love with Cádiz (pronounced KAH-deeth) at first sight. I’d never heard of this little city on the Atlantic coast, but all the Spaniards I’ve talked to recommend it highly, and I’m glad I listened. As far as I can tell, this is where Spaniards come to enjoy being Spaniards.

After a cup of coffee in the plaza, I headed to the market. I thought I’d get some produce and maybe chicken to cook for dinner. Silly me — this market is one block from the ocean. Chicken is not their specialty.

I bought  a salmon fillet for dinner. I’ll try to be more adventurous next time. The amazing thing is that the fish is so fresh, there’s not a whiff of odor along these aisles. I found a sushi stand for lunch. Yummm.

I dropped my fish & fresh veggies off at home, but the sun was coming out, so I decided to go for a walk along the sea wall.

I looked at my map and wondered if I could walk as far as the castle and beach. My hip is still aching, and I’m limping. I almost went home, but then I thought… it’s Saturday. What else do I have to do? I’ll just go slowly. I’m so glad I did. Here’s what I saw on the way there.

 

 

I’ll leave you with a bit of Cadiz history, in case you’re interested
“Cadiz stands on a peninsula jutting out into a bay, and is almost entirely surrounded by water.

Named Gadir by the Phoencians, who founded their trading post in 1100 BC, it was later controlled by the Carthaginians, until it became a thriving Roman port.

It sank into oblivion under the Visigoths and Moors, but attained great splendour in the early 16th century as a launching point for the journey to the newly discovered lands of America.

Cadiz was later raided by Sir Francis Drake, in the struggle to gain control of trade with the New World, and managed to withstand a siege by Napoleon’s army.

In the early 19th century Cadiz became the bastion of Spain’s anti-monarchist, liberal movement, as a result of which the country’s first Constitution was declared here in 1812.”