Cadiz, Spain

Cadiz, Spain is one of the oldest continuously-inhabited cities in Europe, one of the most densely populated cities, and a city so small you can actually see all of it on foot in just two days, as I actually set about to do and did quite enjoyably, sometimes with family in tow, sometimes just walking around by myself.

Reloading the ship.

Adler, Vivi, Ollie, and Jazzy all went on a cafe date with Mom and Dad, with the Cadiz Cathedral in the background of the plaza.  

As soon as we sat down, Adler started smoking his breadsticks.  Check the method: that's a breadstick lighter too.

Which of course inspired Genevieve to light one up as well.  When in Europe...

Genevieve liked posing in front of large statues, or public art, or what is this thing, Dad?

Ollie, Jazzy, and Walker take a stroll by the seashore against the medieval wall that protects the city.

The little boys, feeling like big men.

Awesome Ficus Treeness.  Several of these amazing beauties behind the sea wall and seemingly wider than they are tall.

The Ollie Oopster on the sea wall.

Inner courtyard of the Santa Catalina Castle on the waterfront beside the Playa

Playas on the Playa (de la Caleta)

We saw other large cruise ships, who had stopped in the port of Cadiz for just 8 hours...

...but we were glad to not be on them, because by their name alone we figured it woulda costa fortuna... Capiche?

On my solo day, I got to explore the city on foot, and saw museums and churches galore, and the best of all undiscovered wonders in Cadiz is by far -- especially if you're a media history and technology professor -- the Museum of Lithography, dedicated to the works of the former Muller Lithography firm.

Massive stone with engravings and artwork on it, from which lithograph prints would be produced.

One of the many advertising gems produced from the Muller Lithograph stones.

Look closer at the bookshelf:  those aren't books, they are stones used for lithography printing.

A later development in the lithography technology.

A display of the many labels made by Muller Lithography

The museum was just at the city wall Las Puertas de Tierra, one of the major entry points to the city from the mainland.

Another excellent little gem was seeing the marionettes in the Museum of Cadiz.

A femme fatale on strings at the puppetry museum.

Courtly figures at the doll museum.

Two more ladies in waiting, wondering what their motivation is for this next scene. 

The fish market was amazing, and we saw all sorts of fishes, like these salmon.

And these unskinned critters.

Octopi, anyone?

Moray eel....

Or monster demon fish... all tasty choices.

Inner courtyard of the 18th century Baroque Hospital de Mujeres (Women's Hospital), whose chapel contains...

The El Greco painting of St. Francis of Assisi, which I got to meditate on for over an hour...

... only to be greeted by "Hello Kissy" at a toy shop next door.

Walking the narrow streets of Cadiz,  you come across all sorts of wonders you weren't expecting, like this home with marvelous quadruple spiral pillars carved out of single pieces of marble.  

... and ancient studded wooden doorways...

...inscriptions you can't read or understand...

...unless you know Latin... in which case it says that...

...spiral pillars are really pretty (I think that's what it says)...

Actually, it said something like this (click to enlarge picture and read text)

Lunch on the outside terrace at El Aljibe, a fantastic Cadiz restaurant and tapas bar.

Kids at their own table.

One hour before on-ship time, we bolted for a last-minute adventure to see the camera obscura on top of the Torra Tavira, and along the way ran into Pinocchio -- who was telling tall tales!

View of the colorful rooftops of Cadiz from the Torra Tavira

Another view over the city from the Torra Tavira

Rooftop view of the skyline and sea from the Torra Taverna

Dad and Kids on top of the Tower

The camera obscura was amazing -- the best one I've ever seen.

The MV Explorer in port, as seen from the Torra Tavira.  We actually got back to the ship on time, but there was a line, and we didn't make ship time!  So we got docked for an hour before we could disembark for our next port in Casablanca, Morocco.

Lisbon, Portugal

Adler catches up on his sleep on the ping-pong deck in preparation for Portugal.

Little mermaids:  three of Genevieve's bestest buddies on the ship.  From left to right:  Stella, Katie, Charlie.

Freaky monkeys trying to act normal after getting off the boat on a wet and windy day in Lisbon.

Neither all that super nor all that bock, but still the national beverage that you'll see advertised everywhere.  Suffice it to say that the port in the port of Portugal is far better than the beer.  

Pig sandwich -- delicious!  And also available without the pig as the bottom layer.

Colonial dreams die hard, especially for the very port from which a young Christopher Columbus set out to "discover" the new world.  But the Pastel de Nata, I'll admit, was some tasty pastry.

As were these, of which we tried one each... or so it seemed.

Lisbon students wearing the traditional capes that still linger from medieval times.

At the Extra-Large Gelato Shop...

The products were smaller than advertised, but not an ounce less tasty. 

Traditional streetcar in Lisbon, suffering from global advertising of the "anywhere-is-better-than-here" syndrome.  This was funny to me, because the first beer I had in Ireland was a Heineken (a Dutch beer, as the pub I landed in did not serve Guinness) and the first ad I saw in Portugal (after leaving Dublin) was for an Irish whiskey.  Ah humanity!

Adler bemused by the streetcar.  Daddy, I'm facing sideways, nor forwards:  is that okay?

Jasper, Oliver, and Adler on another streetcar, facing the right direction this time.

Walker and Chesterton seeing the sites.

Ollie and Adler hamming it up for the camera.

Dad gives Oliver's tired legs a break, while Genevieve wonders when her turn will be.

At the Museum of Electricity, Jasper and Genevieve get to know the local flora.

The Church of Santa Engracia in the Alfama district, with a large weekly outdoor flea market surrounding it on the hill.   

The oldest section of the original city wall back when Lisbon was a walled city.

The Rua Augusta arch in the center of the Praça do Comércio major plaza -- the largest in Europe.  

Vivi loves Portugal how much?  THIS much!

Young chilluns in front of the architecturally hysterical, uh historical,  Casa dos Bicos

Multi-tile portrait of the Virgin Mary floating above the faithful at the shop Loja dos Descobrimentos on the Rua dos Bacalhoeiros, where we saw many beautiful tiles, plates, decorations, and other hand-painted ceramic works.

Here's the American pop culture equivalent:  floating Virgin Mary symbolism from Terence Malick's Tree of Life.

Choosing the right one for friends Katherine and Stewart, who have a kitchen decorated in lots of these.

Rachel on date night, which was more of a date afternoon, since we had to be on ship by 6:00pm.

Fado music played here...

and here...

And sung by her, with instrumental backup by him:  no idea who they were, but it seemed like everyone and their dog had a side job performing Fado for tourists like us.