Blogs from Cádiz, Andalusia, Spain, Europe - page 5

As my time in Cadiz flashes by towards a very hasty end, I've been taking time to wander the streets and soak up all the things I'll miss about the city. This blog is more intended to be a photo blog - as I really don't have the words to try and describe what Cadiz means to me! I'm going to start with my flat. I've never lived in such an old or beautiful building, and we have a woman who comes to keep it clean every day. Probably originally a merchant's house - the house was split into four flats and retained many original features. I loved walking up our marble staircase, I loved looking out my balcony out towards the sea, I loved how at home I felt there and of course I loved ... read more

Hola mis amigos! :) Well, Jana’s wedding marked my last overnight trip until my parents arrive. As of the 19th of May I only have one month left here in Cádiz and two months left until I arrive back in the United States. It’s been nearly a year of crazy adventures, new experiences, and definitely testing my limits. I really thought that after Jana’s wedding the excitement would die down and that things would be rather calm here in Spain with just papers and tests left as my “exciting” things to do, but Giorgio (my Sicilian geology professor) and his “field trip” added themselves to my long list of things that did not turn out how I expected. The only way to describe it is what I said at our last stop of the day, “Esta ... read more

So I got to Málaga finally. So far, so good. No major catastrophes. I met my host family who I'll be staying with for the next two weeks and got stuck into my next book, "The Pilgrimage". Another of Paulo Coelho's titles. Well actually I started that a few days ago when I was back in Cádiz. Cádiz was great. I suspected I would like staying there after stopping for the afternoon in the car on my way to Sevilla. In fact I'd got to Cádiz a couple of days earlier than I'd originally planned as Semana Santa in Sevilla just became a little to difficult for me to digest and finding places to stay was always a pain. Plus, I had really wanted to couchsurf my way through Sevilla, but that didn't happen at all ... read more

Hello! Well, St. Patrick’s Day in Ireland was over, but the excitement definitely wasn’t. Leigh and Ty didn’t make it to Dublin, but they did make it to Brussels where they then flew to Málaga. Seeing Leigh come through the arrival gate was just as emotional as seeing Ryan; and this time I even teared up. Having her and Ty there was so surreal I couldn’t believe it. I think Jenny said it best: after 10 months of living through a computer, it’s so awesome to actually be able to give my friends a hug. I got to show them around Cádiz a little bit on Sunday, but it’s so hard to find places that are open on Sundays to eat at we ended up walking around for quite a while, but finally found a place ... read more

The 19th of March was a national holiday and a very special day in Spain - it was the 200th anniversary of the signing of the Spanish constitution, effectively Spain's first and one of the most liberal of its time. Nicknamed La Pepa it was drawn up in Cadiz during the Peninsular War with France, and reduced the power of the crown, the Catholic church and the nobility. It also served as a model for liberal constitutions of several other Mediterranean and Latin American nations. Gaditanos are rightly proud of the part they had to play, and a monument to the constitution stands in Plaza de Espana. Coming so soon after Carnaval I was looking forward to the celebrations! I was woken up rudely at 09:30 by a marching band passing underneath my window, followed by ... read more