This morning I awoke to, "Senorita! Senorita! Son las diez!" I thought it was a dream... but it turns out we slept until 10 this morning without stirring. I guess all this fun is catching up with us, but its vacation right? :) We popped out of bed and ate a quick breakfast and then we were on the road for Cadiz.Today was another 1 1/2 drive through the countryside but in another direction... due south! The scenery was just as beautiful, filled with sunflowers and olive trees. Apparently the more south, the more wine production also... We made it to Cadiz around 12pm or so and found a parking spot on the water. Cadiz was once an island and is now a man-made peninsula on the southernmost tip of Spain. Basically we were as far south in Europe as you could get. The water was sparkly and clear as ever.
We hiked around some old fortresses that were once guarding the city and saw some spectacular beaches along the way. We tried a traditional pastry of Cadiz that was filled with "angel hair" (not the pasta of course) and then went to a bustling little market in town.
Our next stop: Torre Tavira which has a unique mirror apparatus that let's you see the whole city... I have never seen anything like it! How does it work you ask? "Camera Obscura projects a brilliant moving image of the surrounding town. If it were possible to stand inside a photographic camera, with its shutter openn at a very small aperature, you would see, projected on a film, a moving picture of the scene outside. All that is needed is a completely dark room with a white screen, a hole through which light enters, a mirror and magnifying lens. The optical principle was used in the times of Leonardo da Vinci, and has been employed by artists and painters ever since." We saw everything in real time: from the laundry flapping in the wind on the neighboring buildings to the people on the street to ships moving in and out of port.
We at lunch at a little restaurant near the tower and I fulfilled my mission for delicacies in Spain. I ate ARROZ NEGRO which is black rice dyed by squid ink with pieces of grilled calamari. YUM. It actually was fantastic and better than I had hoped for! My second course was secret iberico (a secret pork chop recipe from the Iberian peninsula) and roasted potatoes. It was one of the best meals yet!
We continued our walk around town and saw Plaza de las Flores, City Hall, the Catedral, Teatro Romano (ruins of a Roman theater nearly completely intact), Plaza de Espana and two beautiful parks.
What a day! We made it back just in time to relax and enjoy the evening with the family… Tomorrow we leave for Granada once Ana is out of school at 3pm or so. Then we will pick up Aunt Carmen’s sister and all of us will travel together and stay in her sister’s apartment in Granada. I’m excited….
My trip is coming to a close very quickly and I’m both sad and looking forward to coming home. Truly bittersweet. XOXOXO
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