Semana Santa: Cadiz

~ Day 6 Continued ~

^cute outdoor rooftop patio at our hostel

We checked in to our hostel and then walked around.

Above is a fountain in Parque Genovés. It was a beautiful, small but cute park.

We then went to Castillo de Santa Catalina. We were told it was closed, but when we got there it was open so we went in!

Inside there was also an art exhibit (above), which was nice.

We took some WINDY pictures at the castle before leaving:

^(Pictures we a struggle)

^(wind basically supported you)

^(hair up to stop it all from being in my face)

^(even with some barriers, the wind still found a way!)

Walked around on the beach: Playa de la Caleta. We passed the Underwater Archaeology Center Headquarters (below).

The tide was out so we saw many boats on the sand and near us (below).

We saw Cathedral de Cádiz and the city getting ready for their own processions for Semana Santa.

Thankfully, because Cádiz was so much smaller and it was the end of the week, the processions were much smaller and more easily managed, as there were less people as well.

We ended up at a fancy place for dinner by accident. When looking at the menu, it didn't look bad but when we sat down they handed us a more expensive menu! But due to Semana Santa, we had been having a hard time finding affordable, open places. We were starving at that point, so we just went with it -- we were SO hungry! Plus, we'd been making dinner for the past few nights and our hostel in Cádiz had free breakfast, so we figured it was a "Treat Yourself" dinner.

~ Day 7 ~

The next day, Willa rented a bike to explore Cádiz. Jane and I preferred to walk around and explore more, so we split up for the day. It was really nice walking around the streets, seeing the sites and talking.

^(Monument to the Constitution of 1812)

^(Found a little weekend market)

^(Flamenco)

^(Torre Tavira)

That afternoon/evening once we met up, we went out to Castillo de San Sebastián. Well, we tried to. We could only get so far because the pathway had fallen away! We still took some beautiful sunset pictures.

Then we got dinner at a place we had passed previously and spent the night chatting with a nice girl who was taking a gap year in Sevilla.

~ Day 8 ~

I had hoped there would be some sort of free walking tour, but we didn't find one. So, we spent our last day walking around, but mostly at the beach. It was so nice and relaxing - absolutely perfect.

We made dinner that night and got food ready for our long bus ride home the next day.

~ Day 9 ~

The end of our trip! Jane and I got up super early and we took an 8 hour bus home! Somehow...I slept the WHOLE WAY and was still tired upon returning to Madrid! I'm summing it up to non-stop touring for 8 days straight and not getting enough sleep any of the days.

Cádiz was so small and quiet compared to Córdoba and Sevilla - it was a really nice way to end our trip in this little beach cape; on such a relaxing note.

~ Epilogue ~

Everything with Jane's stuff turned out okay! She wasn't able to get any of her stolen items back, but she ended up getting an emergency passport, her mom was able to send her some money, and she got to see Madrid before heading off to Portugal to see her Grandpa. She got to see Madrid with us, go to touristy tapas at El Tigre, and made her flight to Portugal before returning home. As bad as the trip started for her...I think it really did end okay before she went back to the United States.