The Full Day in Cadiz

1/28


I woke up this morning, normal time of 7:40 while on the ship, only to open our blinds, expecting to see ocean for miles and miles, but instead screamed in shocked and excitement- LAND! I practically jumped away from the window, I couldn’t believe it! We were here! Plus, there was a very attractive Spanish man outside our window- but anyway- we were right on the dock, just a foot of water in between us.

We had breakfast on the ship, just like always but the dining hall was alive and buzzing, very unlike the usual quiet and emptiness on a day at sea. We made sure we had our secret pouches wrapped around our waists and tucked into our jeans (yeah, you laugh now at how dorky they are, but who will be laughing when we don’t get pick-pocketed) and walked down the gangway until we placed a foot on land- we touched Spain! My first step on a new continent, our first step on land in 9 days, the first step of our adventures.

We were doing a trip with SAS- Women of Cadiz- for our classes so we hopped on a tour bus around 10 AM and were taken around the city, along the coast, and then were dropped off to walk the rest of the day. We went to a couple different museums, which were fun but nothing spectacular- and a beautiful Cathedral. Cadiz is not the biggest of cities so they don’t have as much history as the others. We did see some Roman ruins though and that was fun. It was a beautiful city, very calm and relaxed, a great day overall.

Coolest thing I’ve ever seen- a camara oscura at the top of this tower we climbed to see the entire city. There are mirrors that reflect down to this large, shallow bowl-type thing, so you see the entire city. But not only does it capture the image of the city, but it’s MOVING too! So you’ll see cars driving by or people doing laundry or birds flying past the buildings. It was trippy at first but definitely a treat! I want one for my apartment in Malibu.

THE FOOD: Tapas are amazing. That’s all there really is to say for that. Incredible food. I absolutely love their way of eating. Breakfast is really light and usually just like a croissant or pastry-type (although they aren’t as sweet as they are in the US) and café con leche, which is SO GOOD! I am never going to be able to drink coffee in the US ever again. Lunch isn’t until 2:30ish and it’s their biggest meal. So we had basically a five-course meal of salad and all kinds of tapas, which come at different times throughout the meal so it turns into a 3 hour meal. And the wine is like water here- I literally finished my last sip and our waiter was behind me with a refill. And we even got desert and coffee at the end- although the deserts are small portions, as they should be, and are perfect size. It makes you realize how sickening the meals in the US are. No one eats too fast and you are able to try so many different things and not each too much. It’s about being social and relaxed, there’s no hurry to get away from friends. More tapas, a snack, at around 6, and then dinner isn’t until like 10:30 and it’s still a pretty small meal of tapas. Croquettas are our absolute favorite. We got them at any time we had tapas, which is like 3 times a day- they’re these little fried balls that usually have ham and chicken and potato. They are amazing! The food was probably my favorite part of Spain haha

After dinner, there was a place in the same square having a special 1 Euro beers so you know we were all about that. I love it here! One day down, three to go. It was already going by too fast.