So here we are in Cádiz, Spain. It is the capital of the Province of Cádiz in autonomous Andalusia. It is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities of Western Europe, but it is quite small. It has only about 115,000 resident citizens. 

It is often described as a typical Andalusian city brimming with historical landmarks. The older part of the city, the “Old City” takes up the bulk of the city’s area. It has narrow winding streets and alleys that connect large plazas. By way of contrast, the newer parts of Cádiz have wide avenues and modern buildings. 

We went on a walking tour of the city and pretty much covered everything, from the narrow winding streets of Old Town, to the more modern bustling streets of the newer city. We saw some large plazas, cathedrals and high points that overlooked the city including farmland in the distance.

All in all Cádiz is a charming little city and worth a visit. 

JFB

For the second day we decided to tour Lisbon proper. What is truly amazing is that Lisbon is spotlessly clean. Which is what we saw pretty much everywhere in Europe—so maybe it shouldn’t be amazing at all. 

One place we visited was a former monastery of the Order of Saint Jerome that was secularized in 1833. Jerónimos Monastery, begun in the 1500s, is a magnificent building. It is an example of Portuguese Gothic Manueline architecture. Eventually It was turned over to a charitable institution that presents fine art and maritime exhibitions there. 

It turns out that Lisbon has a statue (which we visited) modeled after the Christ the Redeemer statue in Brazil. The one in Lisbon is named Christ the King.

Nearby there is a bridge that looks very much like the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco.  Not surprising since it was built  by the same company (U.S. Steel International) that built the San Francisco Bay Bridge. It is a suspension bridge, about 1.4 miles long and connects Lisbon to the municipality of Almada.

The bridge was originally named the Salazar bridge after the Prime Minister (essentially a dictator) who ordered the construction in 1966. But he was eventually deposed. In 1974 it was renamed the April 25 bridge to commemorate the day he (Salazar) was deposed in a revolution that brought democracy to Portugal.

Finally we paid a short visit to Eduardo VII Park, before heading out to lunch in a fairly swanky restaurant. 

Next stop: Spain.

JFB