Cadiz is the oldest city in Western Europe, 3000 years past with Phoenician, Muslim, Roman, Medieval, and now Christian times. Like most towns in Spain, it has the old town which has been preserved with the old architecture and the new town which is modern more in line with the XX century. Cadiz is a long and narrow peninsula, about 3.5 miles long from end to end and approx 1.5 mile wide. It's known for having more than 3100 hours of sun light which represent about 300 days of sun. Also known by getting a constant breeze from the ocean which makes very pleasant summers. There is a long and wide promenade along the ocean side (we have not gone to the bay side yet) all along the coastline about 3 miles long. There are restaurants, hotels and apartment buildings on the side. It's a place to walk, bike or roller skate. It's my observation that spaniards love to walk especially on Sundays when the whole town is out with their fine clothes and shoes, with kids and dogs all making a great parade. What a sight! Also worth mentioning is that ALL stores are closed on Sunday including supermarkets, only restaurants and a few coffee shops open in the morning. The beach is super wide and the ocean has been calm. I just imagine this beach during the summer when the beach chairs and umbrellas are covering the sand and the sail boats ride the waves. For now the full view is sand and water with very few people walking on the beach.
These pictures were taken in old town too.
Our flat is in the new town, but we have walked to the old town along the promenade...about 2 miles and taken the bus back in the evening or viceversa. The old town is history everywhere. Among the many interesting things this city offers in old town is what they called "Tourist Lines" which are color lines painted on the street creating a route of different parts of the city. There are four lines to make your walks, blue, yellow, green and purple. Each line has its own characteristics. The Blue line is the Cadiz Constitution, the Yellow line shows you castles and bastions, the Green line is the Medieval District and the Purple line shows the shippers to the Indies. What a clever way following the lines with a map that tells you places of interest while doing some shopping and enjoying restaurants in the city. Something very peculiar, that every time I have come to Spain I quickly forget....the city goes to sleep from 2pm to 5pm. "Everything" is closed with the exception of the restaurants that are serving "almuerzo" or lunch. Then the restaurants close from 4pm to 8pm, so dinner starts at 8pm but more realistic is after 9pm when people eat dinner. With that said, the day here doesn't start until 9am for the coffee shops and "pastelerias" which are packed from 9 to10 am with working folks and retirees start showing up after 10am. We are with the last crowd. The super markets open at 9am and 10am is the norm for the rest. Also, like in Portugal, they use the military time to display hours of operation, so we are getting used to signs indicating open from 10:00 - 14:00 and 17:00 to 20:00. Needless to say, we have to implement "siesta" time too as there is nothing to do, but still can't eat a big dinner that late. We found out today that Cadiz is a favorite destination for Germans, we saw menus in three languages, Spanish, English and German. Who would have thought!
Life in general is a little backwards. Here are a few observations:
- as in Portugal, it doesn't seem that clothes dryer are the norm, we observe a lot of clothes hanging from the windows. Some apartment, like ours, have a large atrium or courtyard so clothes are not visible from the street, but they are hanging on lines from window to window.
- I already talked about the heaters, enough said.
- Something that bothers me, people take their dogs for a walk on the streets to do their business and 1 out of 10 pick up! I remember this in Paris and Madrid, but this time because I have Charlie, I am more conscious.
- There is no trash pick up, you need to bring your trash to the trash and recycle containers placed around the city, they are conveniently located and properly labeled.
- Prepaid phones reign, many mini-stores everywhere selling phones and prepaid cards, but you have to show your ID fur local or passport for foreigners to buy. Internet cafes are popular too, a sign that not everyone has Internet.
- A cup of café is 1€, but pastries are more in line with US prices €2 and up.
- Bus rides are around 1.25€ each way, but the service is excellent and frequent to all directions, cars are very small and not everyone owns one, people walk a lot instead of driving everywhere. - Gasoline is €1.19, I clearly remember a few years ago prices for gasoline around €5.
- People seem to love McDonalds and the facilities are nicer than the ones in the states, always packed. However, most people do not place trays and trash in the trash bins like we do in the states. Hair cuts are €10-15 with color €25-35, huge price difference with the states.
- Life in an apartment is the norm and the walls are paper thin so that you can listen to the conversation of the neighbors. The windows have a roller blind outside the glass that you roll up or down from inside.
- People from this area are very loud. They remind me more of people from the Atlantic coast of Colombia who are typically loud too.
But, can't complain....so far people have been courteous and nice to us. I can not say the same thing about the owners of the apartment, not business oriented I guess.
Enough said! Every day there is a higher appreciation for what we have in the states.
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