Photo: Cadiz steets near the market (large version)
Cadiz: surrounded by sea, a city of faded glory conjuring ideas of pirates, bustling streets full of 18th Century traders, and secret assignations in hidden rooms at the top of crumbling staircases. There are kids on scooters with no helmets, white-washed roof tops straight from Morocco, and a regional accent so thick it almost gets stuck on the locals’ palate.
Photo: Men selling octopus (large version)
As promised in our Cadiz podcast, we have now uploaded photos of Cadiz, as well as a video blog over at Notesinspanish.com
Tapas Bars in Cadiz: Cumbres Mayors
Terracotta stone floors, wooded ceilings, and legs of ham hanging all over the walls, this is one of the finest tapas bars I have every visited in Spain. As soon as you step through the door a barman finds you a spot at the bar and presents you with a plate of crushed olives while you decide what to eat.
The best thing about eating out in this part of Spain is that you don’t have to buy a huge plate of any one thing. Portions come as Tapas (a small plate), Media Raciones (half a plate), and Raciones (a full plate). So by choosing several Tapas at the ridiculously low price of 1.50 Euros each, you get to try a bit of everything – in our a case fillet of pork with Roquefort sauce and mini roast potatoes, smoked salmon rolled around salmon pate, and Tocino… (more on the last one soon!) A near empty glass promted a ‘No me gusta ver a la gente seca‘ (I hate to see people dry) from the waiter, who quickly refilled our glasses. Heaven.
Cumbres Mayores is at Calle Zorrilla 4, just off the Plaza de Mina (Map)
A good Cadiz Hotel
We stayed in, and highly recommend, the Hotel Las Cortes de Cadiz (Details and Map). A very clean, very friendly 3 star establishment right in the heart of the old town, where each room is named after a famous politician. Internet connectivity in the rooms is excellent if you come with a laptop. Parking however is a bit of a nightmare – speak to the hotel first about getting a place in, and finding, their garage.
Notes from Spain by Ben Curtis 