Our Own Walking Tour of Cadiz

Monday March 9 was a beautiful day.  Blue sky with the temperature climbing to around 23C.  We headed out mid morning to go to the Central Market to pick up some food for dinner.  We walked up our street and got to the seawall in about two minutes.  Here are views looking both ways.

Seawall mid morning 

Looking the other way from the same point

On Monday, the middle section of the indoor market which houses the fish purveyors is closed.  There are vegetable and meat stalls that are open.  The stalls all have the personal names of the vendors. 

Stalls with names- produce beautifully displayed

So far our experience in markets in Barcelona, Granada and Cadiz has been that the fruit and vegetables are beautifully displayed, just like Pike Place Market in Seattle.  We bought some chicken for dinner.  As usual, they cut the chicken breast into filets-- so nice.

Our chicken dinner

We took the food back to the apartment and had a light lunch.  We then headed out to the City Hall square to take the "free" tour of Cadiz.  At the end of our street is the Municipal Centre of Flamenco.  We will have to check this out further.

Flamenco Centre- sculpture of Chano Lobato (1927-2009), a Spanish flamenco singer born in Cadiz

There were four other people waiting for the tour; an elderly Spanish couple; a young woman from Germany; and an 18 year old high school student from an alternative school in Bloomington, Indiana who was in Spain for four months doing a project on flamenco music.  We waiting 15 extra minutes, but no one showed up.  This is the first time this has happened in five years of taking "free tours".  Alano wrote to Pancho Tours, the company running the tour of Cadiz, and he got a response saying that the guide had got stuck in traffic.  He urged us to go on Tuesday--- we will try again.

We decided to check out the main Cathedral.  It has very high ceilings and actually was quite austere compared to the inside of some of the churches we saw in Granada.

Inside of Cathedral

We then headed to Cafe Royalty for a coffee to regroup and plan our own tour.  The Cafe Royalty opened in 1912, the centenary of the signing of the Constitution of Cadiz.  It closed in the 1930s before the Spanish Civil War.  It was a warehouse in the late 1940s and was in decline when some investors bought the place in 2008 and spent four years renovating it.  The Cafe opened in 2012, the 200 anniversary of the Cadiz Constitution and is the only historically preserved grand romantic cafe in Andalusia.

Outside Cafe Royalty

Painted  Ceiling

Elegant interior

Alano with his cortado

We passed the house where composer Manuel de Falla (1876-1946) was born.  There are lots of commemorative plaques in Cadiz.

                                                    The house where Manuel de Falla was born

We then went to Plaza Mentidero, one of the Plazas in Cadiz where the Constitution was proclaimed in 1812.

Plaza Mentidero

                                                     A palm tree with ivy on the trunk

The street signs are lovely old-fashioned tiles.

                                                          Example of street sign

We then walked to the seawall on the other side of the Peninsula.  There is a wonderful botanical garden in the city called Parque Genoves.

                          Seawall  near park

Parque Genoves, a botanical garden in one corner of the city,  dates back to the 18th century, when it was known as Paseo del Perajil ( Parsley Promenade), due to its sparse vegetation.  It was remodelled in the middle of the 19th century and became known as Paseo de las Delicas (Promenade of Delights).  In 1892, Major Eduardo Genoves, whom the park is now named after, expanded the park and the plantings.  The park now has over 100 plants and shrubs, along with many water features.  It is a very pleasant spot to rest.

There were beautifully manicured trees, lots of birds and water features throughout the park.

We even saw a butterfly that landed for a few minutes, to let me take its picture.

At one end of the park was a waterfall with dinosaurs cavorting in the water.

Giant dinosaur in water feature


Another Dino

                                              Children under an umbrella, a sculpture from Paris

There were a number of kids playing on swings right beside the park.  Great place to go to school.

Childrens' playground on edge of park

                                                    A totally amazing tree at edge of park

We left the park and headed to Castillo de Santa Catalina, a  castle at the end of a point, that is now used for art exhibitions and cultural events.  Entrance to the art exhibition was free.  The Castle dates back to the the end of the 16th century and there is a lovely Chapel built in 1693.  One can wander from building to building, all of which have been restored.  The current exhibit has s a mix of photos and art pertaining to Cadiz, and lots of contemporary art in addition.  There were very few people visiting, so we had the place almost to ourselves.  There were a number of lookout spots as well.

Outside of the Castle

Lovely Chapel

                                              The sand castle was exhibited on the main floor of the Chapel

 Other restored buildings with art exhibition

     Old poster for Cadiz

Cadiz has a big Carnaval every February. It is one of the best known in Spain and lasts for two weeks.  The whole city celebrates.

 Old Poster for Carnaval

There were also rooms of contemporary art in the exhibit.  The next pieces were done by Diango Hernandez entitled History is my Best Toy (2009).  Lego pieces on Lenin and a toppled Lenin sculpture.  Hernandez was born in Cuba and now lives in Germany.

 Works by Diango Hernandez

There were also a number of interesting videos in the exhibit.  

We then saw one of the biggest trees I have ever seen.  It is a ficus tree.

                                                  One of two VERY large trees in Cadiz

After our visit to the Castle, we went to the adjacent beach called Playa de la Caleta.  It is a favourite of locals in the neighbourhood.  A number of small boats were moored there, some being painted.  I had to dip my toes in the Atlantic.  It was quite warm at that point of the afternoon so we sat in the sun for a bit.

                                                                          Boats on the shore

                                                                  Another angle

                                                        Two people making an elaborate sand castle

Testing the waters-- castle in background

                                                                        Getting a bit of sun

We wandered some more and stopped for a coffee and a treat at Panaria, a lovely bakery/cafe.  We then headed back to the apartment.  

                                                              Treats at Panaria

In southern Spain, most restaurants are closed from 4:00-8:00 p.m. and most small stores are closed from 2:30- 5:30.  We wanted to have a few tapas before dinner at El Aljibe, a restaurants with excellent reviews by a number of guides.  We headed down to the restaurant just after 8:00 p.m.  It is rustic in decor, but has a modern twist on traditional dishes by chef Pablo Grosso.   We had a delicious plate of tuna ceviche with red peppers and a plate of patatas bravas.  The beer is also excellent in Spain and we like the fact that it is often served in restaurants in small glasses.

                                                 Tuna ceviche with red peppers- amazing

                                                                         Patates Bravas

Alano enjoying his tapas

Even though we only had two tapas, they brought us two small pieces of house-made tiramisu.  We have made a reservation for dinner here on Wednesday night, our last night in Cadiz.

                                             Lighter than air tiramisu- on the house

The restaurant was on a street about a five minute walk from our apartment.  We went back for a rest and then Alano made a chicken dinner (not too much food), as I worked on the blog.  Being so close to the ocean is a real thrill and it looks like we will continue to have wonderful weather for our stay in Cadiz.