A day in the city
Two places to visit had been on Charlie’s list ever since she arrived at the surf hostel in Conil: Vejer de la Frontera and Cádiz. She had been to Vejer a few weeks before with the girls, just after Marta had rented the car. Now she was planning a trip to Cádiz. There were multiple bus connections with TGcomes every day for €5. Saturday 9.30 a.m. was the plan! But the weather forecast had announced a storm for Friday and rain all day on Saturday. Was she really in the mood to go and explore a city in the rain?
To rain or not to rain
As it happens so often by the sea, the weather forecast wasn’t very reliable, and the storm had passed by during the night. Charlie had changed her plans and went with Frankie to El Palmar to the surf school on Saturday morning. Surfing was possible in the rain, but Charlie would rather not go on a city trip in the rain if she had the choice. As it turned out, the conditions weren’t any good for surfing, but the weather was lovely. That plan had worked very well! It was too late now to catch a bus back to Conil and then to Cádiz.
In that same moment, Charlie received a message from Sabina who was about to have breakfast at her favourite coffee shop in Conil. She asked Charlie how the surf conditions were in El Palmar. When she heard that it wasn’t any good that day, she offered to pick Charlie up. She had the car that Marta had rented for the day as Marta was busy with work. Sabina picked Charlie up and they drove back to the hostel where they were joined by Noah and Flavio. They went off to Cádiz!
Exploring Cádiz
It was a 40-minute drive from Conil de la Frontera to Cádiz and the way offered some stunning views, first through some mountains, then over a long road where you have the sea on either side and into the city that lies on an island. It reminded Charlie a lot of Florida where the roads seem to lead over water. As they drove into Cádiz, the high buildings and the palm trees that frame the road reminded Charlie of her ride through Los Angeles two years before.
Cádiz is one of the oldest cities in Spain and played an important role as a harbour in history. Some of the buildings remind a lot of colonial times and the type of architecture you would see in the new world. There are also traces of the times in when the Arabs were in Spain. Some parts of the cathedral remind of those times, but the influence is not as strong as it is in Granada.
They parked by the beach and walked along the promenade which is also very inviting for a bike ride or the surf skate. They also saw some rollerbladers and of course, surfers in the water. They had a coffee in a restaurant directly on the beach before they strolled through town. It took them by surprise that the waiter was strictly following the coronavirus protocol. He verified that everybody was wearing the mask properly, provided a hand sanitizer, and disinfected the table and chairs before they could sit down.
Historic town centre
They walked through the city gate that is at the same time a memorial for the Constitution of 1812, along some old and new buildings, passed by an ancient Roman theatre and the Cathedral of Cádiz. On the other side of the cathedral is a square with plenty of restaurants and more historic buildings. They were playing live music at the square that Saturday afternoon.ould sit down.
Noah was a bit hungry and they decided to get some Tapas. All the restaurants at the square were full, so they took one of the little side roads and discovered a place where some guests had just paid. They were told by the waitress to return in 10 minutes and the table would be ready.
They continued their stroll through the narrow roads and reached a bakery. Sabina wanted to try some traditional sweets from the area. They went inside and Charlie asked the man behind the counter what he would recommend that is traditionally from Cádiz. They chose Tanguillos de Cádiz (a round cake with almonds), a Turrón de Cádiz (a marzipan filled cake) and Imperial de Almendra (another cake with almonds). They also added a Mantecado which was not from the region but had been recommended by Flavio. His father was Spanish, and he knew a lot about Spanish culture. The Mantecado is a little cake that you must knead before eating it. All the cakes went into a little bag and they would eat them for desert later. Now, it was time for Tapas.it down.
As if their stomachs hadn’t been filled with tuna, patatas bravas, queso Manchego and olives, they stopped at an ice cream place on the way back to the car and sat by the sea as the sun was about to set. They heard and saw the waves crashing into the wall that protects the city and finished a lovely day.
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