Cadiz, Spain

Monument to the Constitution of 1812

Soggy and disappointed, we left Gibraltar and drove back to Rota, Spain. Later in the afternoon, we found ourselves at the checkout line at the Nex. You all know I love to talk. So, as Matt was loading up our bags, I struck up a conversation with a young man behind us in line. Matt, momentarily annoyed that I wasn't helping, was trying to get me to disengage and move out of the store. Oblivious, I just kept chatting away and, after explaining that our trip to Gib didn't go well, he suggested (now that it as sunny), a 40-minutes drive to the city of Cadiz. I thanked him for his suggestion, made a mental note, and, finally, helped the family out to the car.

As we buckled our seat belts, I mentioned Cadiz to Matt. Eager to get out, walk and just DO SOMETHING, he agreed we should go, though we knew very little about Cadiz and, therefore, had no idea what we would find.

Cadiz Shoreline

Turns out, Cadiz is "the oldest continuously-inhabited city in the Iberian Peninsula and possibly all of southwestern Europe." - Wikipedia

Roman Ruins

We quickly discovered three walking tours around the city. The tours were conveniently marked by continuous different colored lines on the roads. We took two of the tours, walking on ancient streets, passing ancient buildings and then walking in the newer, modern sections of town.

The Old Town Hall


Arco de la Rosa

At dinnertime, we slipped into a restaurant and enjoyed Spanish wine, tortillas and a local pork dish. For dessert, next door to the restaurant, we each enjoyed a cone of the best ice cream in the world! Yummy, Ben & Jerry's!

As we were leaving, we caught a few minutes of flamenco dancing taking place for the locals in the plaza. It was a great end to a surprisingly wonderful day! I'll leave you with a short video of the dancing: