28Feb2019: I planned a stop in Cadiz because the city’s Carnaval celebration was supposed to start today, and Cadiz is famous for its festivities. However, we soon learned that the weekend is when the real fun begins and so we wouldn’t see much as we were leaving Friday. Oops.
We did end up learning about Dia de Andalucia, an annual celebration commemorating when the southern region declared itself independent from the Spanish monarchy. The Andalusian region is fairly liberal and stood up to regimes (Franco and other conquerers) who entered the port at Cadiz. Cadiz usually fell quickly but the independent streak apparently is still within the fabric of the city, most notably with the openness with LGBTQ residents and visitors.
Today, it was easy to walk through the main neighborhoods as everyone was on holiday and many things were closed. Our map made Cadiz look much larger than it actually is and by 1pm, we had circled most of the old town. We came upon some Dia de Andalusia celebrations complete with families out dancing in the Plaza San Juan de Dios, and comedic groups performing in the streets.
We tried to eat at recommended Destino, but ended up in Plaza Candelaria with a medium- lunch option at Rincon de Candelaria. Most bars serve only drinks and bocadillos.
We did enjoy Bolas, an ice creamery owned by a New Yorker who had come by way of Poland then Sevilla. He learned to make ice cream in Sevilla and then opened a shop in Cadiz. It was fun to have a bit of familiarity on our holiday. We finished our day on the rooftop terrace in Cadiz where I took the time to catch up on my journal entries.
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