About a month ago (yes, I am WAY behind...again) I day-tripped to Cádiz, the oldest city in Spain! It was founded by the Phoenicians in 1000 BC and has been an influential port city for Spain and the entire Mediterranean region ever since (I could go on and on about the history since I did a project on the city for my Mediterranean history course, but I'll spare you all the nerdiness)! It instantly became my FAVORITE city in Spain! Yes, more than Sevilla or Madrid or Granada. It is on the beach (and actually touts the best urban beaches in all of Europe), but has a real city vibe to it (unlike the sleepy town of Ibiza)! The city just had such a great atmosphere to it and I'm only SLIGHTLY bitter that my host family never offered the use of their beachfront apartment there to me and my housemate!
I started my visit on Playa de la Victoria, which was awesome! Despite being November, it was in the 70s and sunny, so I walked around with my feet in the water, watched the Atlantic waves crash into the rocky shore and sat and relaxed in the sun! PERFECTION! Then I ventured into the city to see the sites and learn some history (for my history project and my own personal edification). The cathedral was beautiful and the Torre de Potinente, the cathedral's bell tower, afforded great views of the whole whitewashed city, the colorful fishing boats floating near the shore and the expansive, blue ocean! I also visited the Museo de Cádiz to do some research for my project and check out all the cool Phoenician and Roman archeological artifacts! I ended my day sitting on the rocks watching the most beautiful sunset at the Castillo de San Sebastian, an 18th Century Spanish fort built on the site of a 3000 year old Phoenician temple! It was simply amazing (minus accidentally stepping in a puddle on the rocks and having one wet foot for the rest of the day).
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| Waves crashing into rocks! NEVER gets old! |
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| Cádiz from Playa de la Victoria |
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| Chilling on the rocky Atlantic coast in Cádiz! |
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| Typical Spanish streets |
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| Beauty of nature and humanity at the Cádiz Cathedral! |
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| The city in white! |
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| A the top of the bell tower! |
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| Colorful fishing boats! |
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| Castillo de Santa Catalina |
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| Famous Phoenician sarcophagi from 480 BC |
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| Roman mosaic at the Museo de Cádiz |
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Self-portrait of Alonso Cano
The street I live on in Sevilla is named after him!
It was nice to finally put a face with the name! |
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| Walking to watch the sunset at Castillo de San Sebastian |
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| Sitting on the rocks waiting for the sunset! |
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I N C R E D I B L E !
This is probably one of the most beautiful things I've seen this semester! |
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| Walking back into the city at dusk! |
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| Purple skies on the jetty at Playa de la Victoria |
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