Cadiz - Spain

After some research, we decided not to make the trek into Seville but stick
to the highlights that Cadiz has to offer. It is a small city and it is
believed to be the oldest in southwestern Europe.
It has the feeling of a small island as the ocean surrounds it except for
the small section of land that joins it to the mainland.
It is very easy to do on your own as all the work has been done for you.
From the information centre you can pick up a walking map. There are four
routes, each a different colour and each a different theme. Just to make it
even easier, the colour lines are painted on the footpaths making them
simple to follow. Well most of the time. Time has worn parts of it away
and at times they do criss-cross so you need to use your map to decide in
which direction to proceed. Over the whole day we covered nearly all four
of the routes, only missing the last walk that followed the water front all
around the city. We left that till last, and after a couple of Sangria's,
we thought we had done enough.
We toured the churches which were quite different to those we saw in Italy.
Instead of stone and bronze statues, their statues looked more like
colourful porcelain dolls. We visited the main cathedral with its beautiful
art work set against the plain white but ornate walls. We climbed the
spiral ramp that took us to the top of the bell tower for spectacular views
of the city.
The coloured lines took us to different markets, gardens and squares
throughout the city. In true Spanish tradition, building entrances were
decorated with colourful tiles which led to the leafy oasis of their centre
courtyards. We stopped for coffee, lunch and sangrias throughout the day
making our day easy and relaxing, a nice end to our hectic schedule of the
Mediterranean.