Tuesday March 10 was another gorgeous day. The temperature is about 10C at 10:00 a.m., and then goes up to 22C from about noon to 4:30 p.m. and then starts to cool down again. We saw people wearing shorts or sunbathing in bikinis in the mid afternoon, but then change to heavier jackets and scarves for the evening. No humidity and a bright blue sky are wonderful.
We headed to the main market at about 11:00 a.m. to get fish and vegetables for dinner. The market, which is apparently the oldest in Spain, has been renovated recently. There are two large sections of fish stalls in the middle of the market. Fabulous quality and choice and the price is right.
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| At the seawall near our apartment- Alano pointing out to sea |
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| Never ending fish stalls at the Market |
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| Lots of choice |
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| Note great prices per kilo |
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| Shellfish stall |
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| Boquerones de Cadiz- white anchovies- vey delicious |
We were amazed to see all the different types of tuna. One stall was dedicated to tuna.
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Tuna stall
Of course, we decided to buy our dorada from the Bautista brothers (Hnos. stands for hermanos (brothers))---- doubt they're any relation to Jose Bautista (my favourite Blue Jay), but you never know. In the picture, one of the brothers is filleting our fish. The stalls are all very clean and labelled with the purveyors names.
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| Getting our dinner |
We took the fish and other vegetables back to the apartment, had a light lunch, and then went to the City Hall Square for our second attempt to take the Free Tour. This time the guide was there. It turned out that on Monday she had a slight mishap with her motorcycle and was delayed because of police interviews. We were joined by four people from Birmingham, and five young travellers from France, Germany, and Canada. Unfortunately, the tour was only an hour and we did not learn a lot more than we knew already. While our three Granada tours were excellent, Cadiz did not measure up. We were told too little of the history of Cadiz. We had learned on our own, that Cadiz was a very cosmopolitan and liberal city and the site of Spain's first liberal Constitution in 1812 (there are still many commemorative signs around town celebrating the 200th anniversary of the Constitution). We also learned that Cadiz suffered a lot during the Spanish Civil War, as its inhabitants fought back against Franco's Fascists.
However, we had a good walk and covered some new ground. Our guide pointed out that some of the older buildings were made of material that came from the sea and contained shells, which was why it lasts so long.
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| Shells found in the building material |
She also pointed out that Cadiz was a city where one could see a Roman theatre, a mosque and a Cathedral within a few blocks of each other.
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Cathedral and Mosque
We then went to the Cathedral. Due to the fact that it took years to complete (1720-1838), it had three different styles of architecture and was constructed of three different materials.
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| Cathedral- different materials |
Our guide also pointed out that there was a plan of the Cathedral etched in the pavement outside of the building-- we hadn't noticed that before.
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Plan of Cathedral in the pavement
She also pointed out that there are many different towers in Cadiz--- minarets, church towers and marine towers.
Different towers in the city
There are three main neighbourhoods in the old city- Barrio Santa Maria, the old flamenco neighbourhood (where we are staying); Barrio Populo where the Cathedral and other landmarks are found along with many shops and City Hall; and Barrio de la Vina, which is more working class, where fish is sold on the streets, and where are many fish restaurants. It used to be an area with vineyards, which is how it got its name. Barrio de la Vina is also the heart of the annual Carnavale which is held for two weeks every February. Our walk took us through parts of Barrio Populo and Barrio de la Vina. The entire old city is easily walkable.
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| Fish being sold in the street in Barrio de la Vina |
Our guide took us to a street in Barrio de la Vina called Virgen de la Palma, a street with Palm trees and about 10 fish restaurants.
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Virgen de la Palma
There is a lovely old Church at one end of the street. |
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View of La Palma Parish Church from the 18th century
On a house just down from the church was a plaque that told the story of what happened during the tidal wave that followed the earthquake of November 1, 1755. The people of the La Vina neighbourhood rallied behind the banner of the Virgin of La Palma and the water stopped rising just before the church. There is a mark on the wall showing how high and far the water rose. There is an annual procession on November 1 to celebrate this event. Apparently, while there were many deaths in nearby cities, only 40 people died in Cadiz. The plaque notes that people had been warned to move away from the coast and that the Governor did not let people leave the city, which helped lower the death rate.
The very small plaque on the right marks the high-water mark.
The larger plaque commemorates the event.
Our short "free" tour ended at the beach we had visited on Monday. Alano and I sat in the sun and watched a few brave souls swimming. Many others were sun-bathing in bathing suits. It was about 2:00 p.m. and we needed our sunscreen.
Playa de la Caleta
Ann hour later, we decided to go for a bite to eat at one of the outdoor restaurants on the street with the Palm trees. Of course, we picked Bar la Dorada- one of our favourite fishes.
Bar la Dorada
We had a salad and a plate of fried pijotas (hake). The owner had taken us inside when we arrived to show us the freshly caught fish available on the menu.
Salada Mixta
Pijotas (hake)
Alano at Bar la Dorada
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We then went to visit the Oratorio de la Santa Cueva (Oratory of the Holy Cave). This neoclassical oratory was constructed in 1780 and is attached to a church, Iglesia del Rosario. There is a Capilla Baja (lower Chapel) that is below ground and very stark. It contains a Crucifixion sculpture dating back to the 18th century. In contrast, there is a lavish, ornate oval Capilla Alta (upper Chapel) with three ceiling alcove paintings by Goya - The Guest at the Wedding, The Last Supper and The Miracle of the Loaves and the Fishes.
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| Outside of Oratory-- referring to Goyas inside |
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| Crucifixion in the subterranean lower Chapel |
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| Detail from ceiling in lower Chapel |
Priest Don Jose Saenz de Santamaria commissioned a piece by Franz Joseph Haydn (1732-1809) for the Church. Haydn wrote The Seven Last Words of Christ for performance in the lower Chapel. It was performed there at a Good Friday service in 1783. There was a replica of the sheet music for the Haydn piece. The music was also playing during our visit to the Church.
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| Amazing ornate Upper Chapel |
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| Stucco relief representing the communions of Saint Luis Gonzaga, created by Cosme Velazquez |
I had to take the images of the Goyas from the Internet, as it was difficult to get good photos. It was a beautiful chapel.
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| The Guest at the Wedding |
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| The Miracle of the Loaves and the Fishes |
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The Last Supper
It was a very interesting visit. Afterwards we went for coffee at Panaria, the bakery/cafe we had visited on Monday. It was still sunny out so we sat in Plaza de Candelaria with the statue of Emilio Castelar (one of the Presidents of the First Spanish Republic), which we had seen the other day. A pigeon was strategically placed on his head.
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"Get that pigeon off my head"
We finally got back to the apartment and Alano made a delicious dinner with the dorada, potatoes, zucchini, a salad and a glass of Garnacha de Fuego (a nice grenache).
I am posting this on Wednesday March 11, our last full day in Cadiz. On March 12, we take the train to Cordoba.
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