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.