Life's a Beach (Cadiz)

Wednesday March 11 was a carbon copy of Tuesday- blue sky and nice and warm by noon.  Alano went for a run in the morning on the seawall- 8 km.  We decided it was going to be a beach day.  We walked up our street to the seawall and started to walk in the direction of the new part of Cadiz, where there are a number of very large beaches.

We passed a sculpture of "La Perla de Cadiz"- Antonia Gilabert Vargas (1924-1975), another flamenco great.

La Perla de Cadiz

We walked by the gates that lead to the old City.

Gateway to the Old City

There is then a view of miles of beaches.  

View of first beach

We turned around to look back at the old city.

Looking back to the old part of the city

The first beach is called Playa Santa Maria del Mar.  It is the smaller of the two beaches in this part of town.  There were a number of surfers hanging out at this beach.

Walking up to first beach

                                                                   A few surfers

We passed a few columns from ancient days.

Ruins on the beach

We walked down to the second beach called Playa de la Victoria, a very long beach, and settled in for some sun.  We were on the beach from around 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.  It was very relaxing.

                                                    Where we walked onto Playa de la Victoria

Spring Training in Cadiz

We saw a few fishermen setting up their poles on the beach.  They stick the pole in the sand and hope for the best.

 I decided to go for a walk on the water's edge.  The water was actually warmer than I thought.  There were lots of shells in the sand.  So nice to be in Cadiz before all the tourists come.

Walk on the wild side

All beach, all the time

Alano on the beach-- Go Jays Go!

Victoria beach is in front of many modern apartments and hotels.  Very different from the Old City where we are staying.  However, the beaches are within easy walking distance of the Old City.

The modern apartments on the beach 

At about 3:00 p.m. we headed back to the Old City.  After changing at the apartment, we went for a late lunch at Las Flores, the wonderful fried fish restaurant, recommended by a number of locals. We had a small plate of paella and a small plate of white fish.  All very good.

Small plate of paella

White fish- very fresh

After our late lunch, we went back to La Poema for a coffee, and then sat on a bench near the ocean from 5:00 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. and watched people walking and jogging on the seawall.  Almost everyone was wearing running shoes and athletic wear.  Definitely the place to go.   I took a picture of the rocks on this part of the coast and the wide-open ocean, where Columbus once sailed.  Very beautiful spot.

As we walked back to the apartment, we saw this painted "dice" rock framed by the Cathedral.

Roll the dice in Cadiz

We started our pack before heading out to dinner at El Aljibe.

Alano at El Aljibe

Amuse-bouche- cod croquettes

We ordered one gazpacho and one Salmorejo soup.  While similar in colour, the Salmorejo is made with bread, while the gazpacho was a bit more spicy.  Both were excellent.

Both soups looked like this-- very tasty, served with bits of ham and egg

We shared two main courses-- John Dory fish stuffed with shrimp and lamb chops in a wonderful sauce with dates.

                                                  John Dory stuffed with shrimp  (NOT John Tory)

Lamb chops with dates- delicious sauce

We were given two small, but very delicious pieces of cake on the house with our coffee.

                                                                         Cake on the house

We had a nice chat with two men from London, England travelling in Spain for 10 days.  It is so easy for them to travel in Europe.  

The chef is very good and the food was excellent.  While the main courses were close to Toronto prices (a little less), wine is only 2.40 euros a glass, which lowers the final bill.

A great finale to our stay in Cadiz.

As I post this blog on Thursday March 12, we are about to take the train to Cordoba.