Cádiz

Today I took a day trip to Cádiz, a city down near the southern tip of Spain.

It was a good trip. Yesterday Yahoo Weather was predicting thunderstorms and I was a little worried since I had a train reservation, but it turned out to be a beautiful, sunny day.

I took my bike with me on the train, which was amazingly easy. As I walked my bike into the train station I kept waiting for someone to tell me that I couldn't bring my bike in, since that is what would most likely happen if I did it in the US. No one blinked. I put my bike on the moving sidewalk ramp thing that went down to the platform and when I showed my ticket, the woman told me to put my bike in the third car.

I entered the third car and there were bike racks. I was able to put my bike in the rack (I didn't quite do it right, but no one said anything), lock it and take my seat nearby.

The trip took about two hours and we made several stops along the way in little towns and villages. We passed through some very dry looking countryside, through fields of olive groves and other crops that I didn't recognize until we started approaching marshes that signaled we were close to the ocean.

I rode out of the train station and began exploring Cádiz.

It is supposed to be one of the oldest cities somewhere. In Spain? In Europe? I forget. It was sacked and burned by someone and reached its peak in the 18th century when trade with the new American colonies was at its height. From there it declined and is now have a resurgence through tourism.

It was a sweet little place, with lots of pedestrian streets, outside cafes, and a nice promenade that ran along the coast with views of the Atlantic Ocean and wide beaches.

I didn't pack a bathing suit and even if I had, I don't know what I would have done since I had to get back on the train to return home and wouldn't want to do it all covered with salt, sand and sweat. So I rode my bike along the coast and then returned back to the center of town, locked my bike and walked a bit.

I went into this tower for a view of the city from above, which was cool. For an extra 2 euros, I was able to go into some Archbishop's house that had plexiglass floors showing different eras of foundation I guess going back to Roman times. It was hot and dusty and I was not that interested, so I didn't stay long.

I found a restaurant that looked like it had a decent lunch menu, but I didn't think about the fact that the other restaurants nearby were packed and this one was empty. I had gazpacho and a fried seafood plate that had calamari, a fried fish and some other mysterious thing, which was some sort of fish with a slightly curried flavor. It was okay. For desert I had flan, which was obviously one of those prepared flans you get at the supermarket. It was not very good.

After lunch, I went for another walk but siesta had begun and all of the shops were closed. My train back to Sevilla was at 7:13 p.m. and it was only 2. What was I going to do with all of this time?

I found an ice cream shop and had some ice cream and started dozing off at my table. I was pretty tired because I didn't sleep well since I had to be at the train station for a 9:05 a.m. train and I was afraid I would oversleep and miss it. I would have slept there sitting at this table in the shade, but the flies kept bothering me, so I got up and walked. I'd find a nice shady plaza and a nice place to sit, and sit down and soon the flies were all over me. It was pretty irritating.

And so it went, until finally I decided to get back on my bike and take another ride along the coast.

By now the crowds that were there in the morning had disappeared. Most of them were either on the beach or inside having lunch and maybe a nap (whatever people do during siesta). It was nice riding around and feeling like I had the streets to myself.

From there I rode into the city and rode around on some of the pedestrian streets which I had avoided when I first got there because there were a lot of people walking on them, but now, during siesta, they were practically deserted.

And so I killed time, riding around until I found a little tapas place and got a sangria and a few tapas and hung out.

Nearby there was a church and people started arriving all decked out for a wedding. It was fun watching them and seeing what they were wearing - everything from jeans to polka dotted flamenco dresses.

I got back on my bike and took one more ride through the old part of town and saw two more weddings. I guess Saturday afternoon is when people get married.

Finally, at about 6:30, I rode to the train station, went to the bathroom and washed up and when it was time to board, took my bike on the train. Two other guys had gotten there before me with their bikes and I saw that they way I stored my bike in the morning was wrong. There was one other space, and I put my bike in the right way this time and took my seat.

The train was comfortable and clean and well-used. I am so amazed by the trains in Europe. They go everywhere, are not super expensive and they are very frequent and convenient. Why can't we have trains like those in the US?

The other thing I thought was interesting was that the announcements (which were recorded) were in Spanish and then English. Spain obviously recognizes that there are people visiting from other countries and they don't all speak Spanish. I thought the English announcements were a nice touch. Would it be possible for us to have announcements on trains in the US in different languages without the English-only people freaking out?

I had a nice time and have decided I am going to check out hotels in Cádiz and see if I can go back and stay overnight so I can enjoy the beach a little. It would be nice to go for a swim and then have a place to shower.

It's been a long day and I'm tired, so I am going to bed now.