Some head home today, and others onward into the interior!
Wednesday, July 25, 2012
Monday, July 23, 2012
Weekend
A wonderful and very busy weekend, which kept the students and me quite busy (and away from the computer). Now, with a moment to breathe, I can tell you how we went to Ronda (in the province of Malaga) and saw a very intimate and lively flamenco performance. I can also tell you that we had an amazing tapas night, and got to try all sorts of local specialties like fried fish, tortilla de patatas, and tortillitas de camarones.
Ronda, the start of our fabulous weekend, is a mountain city famous for its vistas, its bull-ring (the oldest in Spain!), and the bandits that traditionally would hide in the vast valleys and mountain crevices. After visiting the bull-ring, everyone had a chance to explore the beautiful winding streets of bleached white houses inspiring views.
Today we finished classes (!) and tomorrow we have a relaxing day planned at Aqualand, the local water park. Wednesday everyone will have some free time to re-visit their favorite places, shop for gifts, and enjoy Cadiz for one last day. Wednesday night, we'll be going out for a delicious meal at a place that I wouldn't hesitate to call "fancy-pants," where we'll branch out and try some true gastronomic delights. And then, alas, on Thursday we must all say goodbye to Cadiz...some to head home and others to visit Cordoba and Sevilla.
It has truly been a pleasure to travel and live with all of these students over these last weeks. Please check back soon, as I'll be sure to update this page in our last days here.
Adios!
Ronda, the start of our fabulous weekend, is a mountain city famous for its vistas, its bull-ring (the oldest in Spain!), and the bandits that traditionally would hide in the vast valleys and mountain crevices. After visiting the bull-ring, everyone had a chance to explore the beautiful winding streets of bleached white houses inspiring views.
Today we finished classes (!) and tomorrow we have a relaxing day planned at Aqualand, the local water park. Wednesday everyone will have some free time to re-visit their favorite places, shop for gifts, and enjoy Cadiz for one last day. Wednesday night, we'll be going out for a delicious meal at a place that I wouldn't hesitate to call "fancy-pants," where we'll branch out and try some true gastronomic delights. And then, alas, on Thursday we must all say goodbye to Cadiz...some to head home and others to visit Cordoba and Sevilla.
It has truly been a pleasure to travel and live with all of these students over these last weeks. Please check back soon, as I'll be sure to update this page in our last days here.
Adios!
Friday, July 20, 2012
Torres y Castillos
Busy as always here in Cadiz. Over the last few days, the students (in groups made up of half of our many students) have visited the Castillo de Santa Catalina and La Torre Tavira.
The Castillo de Santa Catalina is a 16th Century defensive fortress built along the coast in Cadiz (you may remember this castle from a previous post about our aborted attempt to listen to flamenco music there). Today, it is used as a museum and cultural center, and is a lovely place to enjoy art, music, etc. In our case, we enjoyed a variety of exhibits of paintings and sculpture.
La Torre Tavira is another amazing place, and one of the top tourist attractions in Cadiz. It is an 18th century tower, built originally as a watchtower for a local merchant, so that he could better see the arrival of ships to the Cadiz port. Such watchtowers were incredibly common during that time, as all trade with the Americas passed through this city for some time. As such, Cadiz was a powerhouse of merchant activity and watchtowers were a common sight.
Today, the torre houses a camara obscura, which is something of a cross between a pinhole camera and a periscope, and is basically a device that allows one, in a dark room, to view real-time, moving images from the outside world. It is amazing, and all the students loved taking a visual tour of Cadiz, watching people halfway across the city walking through plazas, cars driving by, and laundry whipping in the wild winds. After checking out the camara, we headed up to the top of the tower for some unbeatable views of the city (the torre is the highest building in the city, so the views are, quite literally, unbeatable).
Tomorrow, a new adventure for all of us, and a deviation from our plans. While we had planned and hoped to travel to Gibraltar, a conversation with the bus company today let us know that this trip would be far too inconvenient. Apparently, a strike of the local fishermen, coupled with the current issues between the Spanish fishermen of the area and the local British authorities (a disputed that has involved the British navy and the Spanish guardia civil!), has made it so that it can take up to four hours to cross the border into British territory....after a two-hour trip there!
And so, we head to Ronda, an absolutely gorgeous pueblo blanco in the mountains a couple of hours from here. This is the town to which the last group (session 1) traveled, and is really, in the opinion of all of the Abbey Road staff, a much more interesting place to visit...The only downside is that there are no wild apes, as there are in Gibraltar.
More soon, with photos from Ronda.
The Castillo de Santa Catalina is a 16th Century defensive fortress built along the coast in Cadiz (you may remember this castle from a previous post about our aborted attempt to listen to flamenco music there). Today, it is used as a museum and cultural center, and is a lovely place to enjoy art, music, etc. In our case, we enjoyed a variety of exhibits of paintings and sculpture.
La Torre Tavira is another amazing place, and one of the top tourist attractions in Cadiz. It is an 18th century tower, built originally as a watchtower for a local merchant, so that he could better see the arrival of ships to the Cadiz port. Such watchtowers were incredibly common during that time, as all trade with the Americas passed through this city for some time. As such, Cadiz was a powerhouse of merchant activity and watchtowers were a common sight.
Today, the torre houses a camara obscura, which is something of a cross between a pinhole camera and a periscope, and is basically a device that allows one, in a dark room, to view real-time, moving images from the outside world. It is amazing, and all the students loved taking a visual tour of Cadiz, watching people halfway across the city walking through plazas, cars driving by, and laundry whipping in the wild winds. After checking out the camara, we headed up to the top of the tower for some unbeatable views of the city (the torre is the highest building in the city, so the views are, quite literally, unbeatable).
Tomorrow, a new adventure for all of us, and a deviation from our plans. While we had planned and hoped to travel to Gibraltar, a conversation with the bus company today let us know that this trip would be far too inconvenient. Apparently, a strike of the local fishermen, coupled with the current issues between the Spanish fishermen of the area and the local British authorities (a disputed that has involved the British navy and the Spanish guardia civil!), has made it so that it can take up to four hours to cross the border into British territory....after a two-hour trip there!
And so, we head to Ronda, an absolutely gorgeous pueblo blanco in the mountains a couple of hours from here. This is the town to which the last group (session 1) traveled, and is really, in the opinion of all of the Abbey Road staff, a much more interesting place to visit...The only downside is that there are no wild apes, as there are in Gibraltar.
More soon, with photos from Ronda.
Wednesday, July 18, 2012
Tuesday, July 17, 2012
Cadiz from Above
Hello All!
I left my camera in my apartment today, so I won't be able to put up any photographs until this afternoon. I did want to check in and let you all know that we're having a great time and continuing to enjoy Cadiz immensely (though sadly, now counting days that remain rather than the days until we arrive).
In the last days, we've visited the remains of buildings in Cadiz that stretch all the way back 3,000 years, giving solid evidence to us of the ancient and interesting history of this city. We've also climbed up to the top of one of the Cathedral bell towers (climbing up an interior ramp, not scaling the tower itself), where we could see all of Cadiz and get a really nice aerial understanding of the city.
Last night, the students played Humans vs. Zombies (a sort of new, hybrid version of "tag") in some central squares. The game was happily postponed by a local religious procession taking place in the same part of the city, which was a nice accident that provided a view of local culture.
Pictures soon!
I left my camera in my apartment today, so I won't be able to put up any photographs until this afternoon. I did want to check in and let you all know that we're having a great time and continuing to enjoy Cadiz immensely (though sadly, now counting days that remain rather than the days until we arrive).
In the last days, we've visited the remains of buildings in Cadiz that stretch all the way back 3,000 years, giving solid evidence to us of the ancient and interesting history of this city. We've also climbed up to the top of one of the Cathedral bell towers (climbing up an interior ramp, not scaling the tower itself), where we could see all of Cadiz and get a really nice aerial understanding of the city.
Last night, the students played Humans vs. Zombies (a sort of new, hybrid version of "tag") in some central squares. The game was happily postponed by a local religious procession taking place in the same part of the city, which was a nice accident that provided a view of local culture.
Pictures soon!
Sunday, July 15, 2012
Food
Last night, an amazing and filling meal of pizza. This morning, a lovely breakfast of chocolate and churros. What a start to the day!
Saturday, July 14, 2012
Kayaking and Such
We have been rather busy, so I didn't get a chance to post yesterday, but all is well here in Cadiz. Since our last installment of the Cadiz blog, we've had the chance to visit el rastrillo (flea market) and Playa Victoria. At the Victoria beach, the students got to see a bit of the street life of new Cadiz, mingle with locals, see a gorgeous sunset, and check out some of the beach-side shops and attractions (including an absolutely incredible sand sculpture, which you can see a picture of below).
Tonight is our second group meal out, and we'll be eating at a local pizzeria that features thin-crust Italian style (as in Italy, not New York-style) pizzas.
Tomorrow being a Sunday, we have a very relaxed day planned, with a trip out for churros y chocolate, an optional visit to the mass at the cathedral, and an evening visit up the Cathedral tower. Monday, of course, we'll be back in class again and continuing with our normal rhythm.
Today, we visited los Toruños, a state-owned parque natural (natural park) just outside of Cadiz. The park is beautiful, and features a number of natural marshes (both saltwater and fresh water), tons of local birds, and an absolutely ridiculous number of little crabs with one huge claw. Some of us went for a bike ride around the park, and then nearly all of us took out sea kayaks and messed around in the tidal river for a while.
Tomorrow being a Sunday, we have a very relaxed day planned, with a trip out for churros y chocolate, an optional visit to the mass at the cathedral, and an evening visit up the Cathedral tower. Monday, of course, we'll be back in class again and continuing with our normal rhythm.
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