Whilst on holiday in Sevilla, we decided to hire a motor and nip down to Cádiz for the day.
Sorry. Because we were in Sevilla with British friends, I slipped into speaking like a character from Downton Abbey. From here on, I’m back to ‘mericun enlish.
Cádiz is an attractive small town on the southern coast of Spain with a large white sand beach. Imagine our excitement to find the beach empty. Imagine our disappointment that it rained all day.
Here then are a few photos of how we passed a damp day at the seaside. Spoiler alert: it was mostly indoors.
The main historical attraction in Cádiz is the cathedral, known locally as Catedral de Santa Cruz de Cádiz. It’s not without some beauty, but is unfinished and in a poor state of repair. Netting is hung to prevent falling bits of the ceiling from clonking visitors on their heads.
The crypt, however, is everything a crypt should be. It has a really cool echo if you stand under the low dome. And it has the tomb of a famous Spanish composer, Manuel de Falla.
The church has one more thing of note: thousands of pounds of looted Mexican silver. Cádiz was a major port for trade with the Americas. Much wealth flowed through here back in the day, and some of it never left town.
The local market in the process of closing for the day. Not beautiful, but functional.
Very functional for us. We finished our visit with an intensive study of local sherry.
Loved the Cathedral organ with it’s Trompettes en chemade (Spanish trumpets) vertically splayed.
An triumphant when played! I hope it’s in working order!
Thank you, Mary Anne and Steve. I love these pictures and your descriptions. I’ve never been to Spain. It is fascinating. I had to look on google maps to see exactly where Cadiz is and where I have been! I have been to Marseilles once and Avignon many times (because one of my sons has a vacation house there.) Yes, please, I will have a sip of the Sherry! It is wonderful to travel with you now – thank you two!