Weekend in Cádiz

The Geranios program took us to Cádiz Saturday through Sunday. I sat next to my program director, María José, on the train ride there, and we spent the entire time conversing in Spanish. I realize that my Spanish has come a long way since I got here, and María José agreed. I feel much more comfortable conversing now, especially with people I know about topics that I understand. When someone I know starts talking to me and I don't already know what general topic they're talking about, I usually need them to repeat themselves to understand what they said. María José and I had a very nice conversation. She and her husband are actually coming to visit Pitzer while I'm touring Europe with Marc. I recommended some things for them to do while in Claremont. She now wants to make a reservation at my favorite jazz and fondue lounge!

We got into Cádiz, checked into our hotel (another four star, very nice), and then walked around the city. We visited the cathedral, because you can never see too many cathedrals in Spain. Near the cathedral, we saw an incredible market. Vendors set up little tents and sell fresh fruits, vegetables, meat, bread, and fish. The fish market is particularly impressive, since Cádiz is practically an island and has many fish surrounding it. The market was very crowded, and apparently we were there during one of the less busy hours. The vendors called out to us and tried to get us to buy their products. Even though I don't know how to fix up a raw fish and had no kitchen to use, it was quite tempting.

After wandering through the market, we made our way through the tiny alleyways to the Mudeum of Cádiz. We looked at some art and some pottery, but the exhibit that stood out the most was the marionettes. The third floor was filled with little puppet theaters, and marionettes were set up in each of the little scenes. It was a little eerie, and definitely my favorite display.

We had spots of rain throughout most of our afternoon tour, but the forceful wind was what really sent us home in a hurry. After getting back to the hotel, I waited for the sun to come out before venturing out into the town. The weather improved quickly, and I decided to go for a walk around the coast of Cádiz to see what else the town had to offer. I walked all the way down the beach to the opposite end of town. On the far end of town, there was a little island-building made of stone. It had a stone pathway cutting through the ocean and leading up to it, I'll post a picture. I walked out to the island, and at one point, a big wave crashed against the walkway and splashed all the pedestrians. The blast of cold ocean water against my back was quite a shock. Luckily, the sun had decided to stick around and I dried off quickly.

Continuing along the beach, I passed an outdoor art exhibit and a marina with many, many little boats. I also found the city gardens. In the park, I saw what I thought was a bride in a white dress, but thought she looked a little young to be getting married. Perhaps six, seven, or eight. Apparently it's communion season for the Catholics, and I soon came across many more little white-clad girls.

Geranios provided all our meals for us on the trip. After my day of exploring the city, I came back to the hotel and had a delicious three-course meal. I think we were all fiarly stuffed by the end of the night. The bountiful breakfast buffet was included with our hotel, and for lunch the next day, we also had a delicious three-course meal. As if that wasn't enough food for one weekend, tonight is our goodbye dinner, which I'm sure will also be humongous and delicious.

I spent most of our remaining time on Sunday on the beach right behind out hotel. The water in Cádiz is much warmer than the water in Lagos, and I actually was tempted to go in. I didn't bother wearing a swimsuit, since we had already checked out of our rooms, so I just waded in up to my knees and tried to keep my shorts above the water. María José, a fan of natural remedies, said the salt water probably helped all the bug bites I had. I think I made it up to 16 bites. One I am guessing was from a spider, because it got very large and very red. All the bites are healing now, which is a relief. I am now very paranoid about bugs in my room and am keeping the window closed. Anyway, I had a nice, relaxing weekend, and a great break before finals week.

I had my first two finals today, and I think both of them went very well. I have another one tomorrow, my last one Thursday, and then I am done. It's hard to believe I'll be leaving this Saturday. I'm excited to see Marc and travel this weekend, and I'm excited about coming home and seeing my family and friends, but I'll also miss a lot of things about Sevilla. I'm glad that after a slow start, I've reached a point where I feel like I have connections here, and I'm feeling a lot more comfortable with the language.

Pictures:
1-2) inside the cathedral
3-5) the market
6) the beach right behind our hotel
7) the wall between the town center and the reast of the mainland
8) someone made a Jesus sand creation
9) little boats lining the horizon
10) waterfalls in the gardens at the far end of town
11) town theater
12) the park across the street from our hotel