Three days in Madrid's cathedrals, markets, museums and tapas bars leave one fatigued and eager for a respite.
In
the early morning coolness we strolled across the cobbles of Plaza Sol
and scrambled down into a subterranean tunnel to grab our underground
ride to the exit at Atoche Renfe. We exited the subway and ascended on
an escalator to exit in the user-friendly, futuristic hub of the Spanish
National Rail System, RENFE.
There was time for our morning ritual of café con leche, fresh squeezed zumo de naranja (orange juice) and a flaky croissant before boarding our ride on the AVE (Ahh-vey), destination Cadiz, traveling at nearly 250 km per hour. (This is the medium-fast train). The U.S. Could learn something about rail travel here! Best of all...it beats the heck out of dealing with the frenetic scene at an international airport!
The rail route took us across the dry plateau between Madrid and Seville which was populated by hundreds of vincas and hundreds upon hundreds of olive groves. The land appeared already parched and dry in these first few days of June. The year's first rotation of alfalfa had been harvested and lay curing on the ground and fields of patata and sweet chilli pepper were already in bloom.
Spain's substantial investment in alternative energy was very apparent from the many solar farms and large numbers of huge windmills we spotted on the horizon of many ridges. The solar panels mimicked thousands upon thousands of golden faces populating sunflower plantations as both, the panels and the sunflowers, followed the sun's journey across the sky, collecting its energy for their individual and diverse purposes.
From time-to-time, we could spot the ruins of medieval period structures and remnants of the Roman occupation that dated back to the time before Julius Caesar's tenure as the senior official in charge of this Roman outpost. Despite its focus on adoption and utilization of high-technology energy and transportation infrastructure, Spain continues to also value and invest in restoration and maintenance of her priceless ancestral inheritance.
After a few hours and with very brief stops in Seville and Jerez, we finally reach Cadiz and exited our sleek AVE coach. We took a taxi from Cadiz's Renfe station about 2.5 kilometers into the Old City and found our apartment, home for the next week in this ancient and historic venue.
Our apartment was in a restored building conveniently
located near a small family market, a lively tapas bar and only a half
kilometer from the beach.
There's a difference between Madrid and Cadiz. The latter is elegant after a different fashion, steeped in Moorish tradition and history, presenting a distinctive micro-culture (including its own dialect and tasty, local beer). After the blazing afternoon heat in Madrid, it was refreshing to feel the Atlantic Ocean's on-shore breeze wind its way through the calle, cooling the apartment during siesta.
Plazas and parks in Cadiz perfectly compliment the life-style in this relaxed, coastal city. In the evening, joining paseo, we pass many beautiful entradas to homes connecting the calles until reaching one of the four primary plazas connecting the calles of the Old City.
The plazas teem with families, the littlest kids racing hither-and-yon, chasing soccer balls or riding their trikes and scooters about the plaza. In a condensed and compressed living environment, plazas are the perfect venue to dissipate the youthful energy of wee ones under the watchful eyes of grandparents and parents, who sit on the perimeter of the plaza, wine or aperitif in hand, to chat away the troubles of the day and catch up on the latest gossip.
The Spanish are wonderful conversationalists, always gesticulating with great emotion, as colorful in their expressions as are the sunsets under which they carry on until the twinkle of the first stars appear in the clear evening sky.
Cadiz boasts an unbelievable open air food market, nestled between ancient Roman ruins and a 15th century plaza. Its fish, meats, cheeses, vegetables and pastries are of unbelievable quality and freshness. It is the perfect start to a new day in the Old City, to sit at a nearby outside table, sipping café con leche, nibbling churros and watching the market activity escalate along with the early light of morning.
From the market, it is a short stroll to the two Atlantic Ocean beaches which frame Cadiz in a giant semi-circle of soft beige sand and the low, foaming breakers which ruffle the surface of the blue Atlantic. By mid-day, the sand is punctuated by a thousand dots of colorful umbrellas, reminding one of a Seurat painting. We impaled the beach with our umbrella amongst the colorful parade of tanned bodies and rotated between plunges in the water and prone collapses on our towels to soak up the early summer, Spanish sun.
The beach etiquette and routine in Spain differs measurably from that which we are used to in North America. It is common to see the tanned, semi-nude bodies of adults and children under the semi-tropical sky. The beach residents are unabashed and unassuming in their behavior.
Additionally, there are occasional vendors who stroll by offering soft drinks, ice-cold beer and even the refreshing tinto verano (wine, cold lemon-lime soda over ice with a slice of fresh lemon) to thirsty sunbathers. I never witnessed a drunk or disorderly individual, nor did we witness a beach littered with the refuse from picnics and drinks. The Spanish seem to harbor a subtle pride when it comes to their personal appearance and the maintenance of a pristine, natural environment.
All this in concert with a preoccupation for cleanliness in their neighborhoods, plazas and parks. In Cadiz there is little (if any) graffiti insulting the magnificent structures that straddle the time from Roman occupation to the Moorish residency to the post-Medieval revival of the Christian kingdom and on to present times.
As
I stroll atop the medieval wall that has protected this magnificent
harbor for centuries, I can gaze out to sea, scan the horizon, and
imagine seeing the silhouettes of the Nina, the Pinta and Columbus'
Flagship, Santa Maria, as they departed on their first voyage to the New
World.
I relish the fact that here, where I stand atop the revetment of a medieval wall in Europe's oldest city (dating to the Phoenician empire), hundreds of cannon protected the harbor from whence Columbus sailed over 600 years ago on his remarkable voyage of discovery.
In two days I will visit the catafalque of Columbus at the Cathedral of St. Mary of the Sea (the world's largest cathedral) in Sevilla to pay my respects.
 |
| Spanish National Railway - RENFE's AVE Train. Operates at speeds up to 310 kph (192mph for the metric challenged) |
There was time for our morning ritual of café con leche, fresh squeezed zumo de naranja (orange juice) and a flaky croissant before boarding our ride on the AVE (Ahh-vey), destination Cadiz, traveling at nearly 250 km per hour. (This is the medium-fast train). The U.S. Could learn something about rail travel here! Best of all...it beats the heck out of dealing with the frenetic scene at an international airport!
The rail route took us across the dry plateau between Madrid and Seville which was populated by hundreds of vincas and hundreds upon hundreds of olive groves. The land appeared already parched and dry in these first few days of June. The year's first rotation of alfalfa had been harvested and lay curing on the ground and fields of patata and sweet chilli pepper were already in bloom.
Spain's substantial investment in alternative energy was very apparent from the many solar farms and large numbers of huge windmills we spotted on the horizon of many ridges. The solar panels mimicked thousands upon thousands of golden faces populating sunflower plantations as both, the panels and the sunflowers, followed the sun's journey across the sky, collecting its energy for their individual and diverse purposes.
From time-to-time, we could spot the ruins of medieval period structures and remnants of the Roman occupation that dated back to the time before Julius Caesar's tenure as the senior official in charge of this Roman outpost. Despite its focus on adoption and utilization of high-technology energy and transportation infrastructure, Spain continues to also value and invest in restoration and maintenance of her priceless ancestral inheritance.
After a few hours and with very brief stops in Seville and Jerez, we finally reach Cadiz and exited our sleek AVE coach. We took a taxi from Cadiz's Renfe station about 2.5 kilometers into the Old City and found our apartment, home for the next week in this ancient and historic venue.
 | |
| Entering our Cadiz Apartment |
There's a difference between Madrid and Cadiz. The latter is elegant after a different fashion, steeped in Moorish tradition and history, presenting a distinctive micro-culture (including its own dialect and tasty, local beer). After the blazing afternoon heat in Madrid, it was refreshing to feel the Atlantic Ocean's on-shore breeze wind its way through the calle, cooling the apartment during siesta.
Plazas and parks in Cadiz perfectly compliment the life-style in this relaxed, coastal city. In the evening, joining paseo, we pass many beautiful entradas to homes connecting the calles until reaching one of the four primary plazas connecting the calles of the Old City.
The plazas teem with families, the littlest kids racing hither-and-yon, chasing soccer balls or riding their trikes and scooters about the plaza. In a condensed and compressed living environment, plazas are the perfect venue to dissipate the youthful energy of wee ones under the watchful eyes of grandparents and parents, who sit on the perimeter of the plaza, wine or aperitif in hand, to chat away the troubles of the day and catch up on the latest gossip.
The Spanish are wonderful conversationalists, always gesticulating with great emotion, as colorful in their expressions as are the sunsets under which they carry on until the twinkle of the first stars appear in the clear evening sky.
Cadiz boasts an unbelievable open air food market, nestled between ancient Roman ruins and a 15th century plaza. Its fish, meats, cheeses, vegetables and pastries are of unbelievable quality and freshness. It is the perfect start to a new day in the Old City, to sit at a nearby outside table, sipping café con leche, nibbling churros and watching the market activity escalate along with the early light of morning.
 |
| The central market in Cadiz' old city |
 |
| Freshly caught fish from the Atlantic Ocean |
From the market, it is a short stroll to the two Atlantic Ocean beaches which frame Cadiz in a giant semi-circle of soft beige sand and the low, foaming breakers which ruffle the surface of the blue Atlantic. By mid-day, the sand is punctuated by a thousand dots of colorful umbrellas, reminding one of a Seurat painting. We impaled the beach with our umbrella amongst the colorful parade of tanned bodies and rotated between plunges in the water and prone collapses on our towels to soak up the early summer, Spanish sun.
The beach etiquette and routine in Spain differs measurably from that which we are used to in North America. It is common to see the tanned, semi-nude bodies of adults and children under the semi-tropical sky. The beach residents are unabashed and unassuming in their behavior.
Additionally, there are occasional vendors who stroll by offering soft drinks, ice-cold beer and even the refreshing tinto verano (wine, cold lemon-lime soda over ice with a slice of fresh lemon) to thirsty sunbathers. I never witnessed a drunk or disorderly individual, nor did we witness a beach littered with the refuse from picnics and drinks. The Spanish seem to harbor a subtle pride when it comes to their personal appearance and the maintenance of a pristine, natural environment.
All this in concert with a preoccupation for cleanliness in their neighborhoods, plazas and parks. In Cadiz there is little (if any) graffiti insulting the magnificent structures that straddle the time from Roman occupation to the Moorish residency to the post-Medieval revival of the Christian kingdom and on to present times.
As
I stroll atop the medieval wall that has protected this magnificent
harbor for centuries, I can gaze out to sea, scan the horizon, and
imagine seeing the silhouettes of the Nina, the Pinta and Columbus'
Flagship, Santa Maria, as they departed on their first voyage to the New
World.I relish the fact that here, where I stand atop the revetment of a medieval wall in Europe's oldest city (dating to the Phoenician empire), hundreds of cannon protected the harbor from whence Columbus sailed over 600 years ago on his remarkable voyage of discovery.
In two days I will visit the catafalque of Columbus at the Cathedral of St. Mary of the Sea (the world's largest cathedral) in Sevilla to pay my respects.
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