Carnaval in Cadiz

 I got back last night from a long weekend away in the countryside outside of Granada. It was fantastic, refreshing, and lovely, which means I have hundreds of pictures to go through before I can share with you all. But for now I have have some photos from Carnaval in Cadiz last weekend. 

Carnaval is a time of celebration before the beginning of Lent, which focuses on reflection and sacrifice and some people choose to give up indulgences (still going strong without one of my favorites!). Carnaval in Cadiz is one of the biggest and most popular in Europe. For 10 days straight the city is filled with revelers from all over the country and continent. 

Market finds + Salad with Figs & Arugula

Here is what we brought back to the casa from the Cadiz market. We would have loved to have gotten some seafood, but we'll need to remember to bring a little cooler with us to do that. All of this was purchased with some Euro coins Meghann found at the bottom of her purse. It's amazing how inexpensive fresh produce is here.

Big, beautiful sunflowers for a Euro a stem.

A few delicious pears. 

Ferry to Cadiz

On Saturday, we took the ferry from Puerto to Cadiz. Cadiz is close (we can see it across the bay from our bedroom balcony!) and we've been many times by car (we went just a couple weekends ago to see the Tall Ships). But we had heard the ferry was fast, cheap, and easy (just how we like it...?) so we decided to give it a try.

It was a gorgeous (and very hot) day.

Cadiz is (according to the Spanish) the oldest, continuously inhabited European city. Whether or not that is true doesn't really matter, Cadiz is a beautiful and ancient city, full of character and winding streets. 

Tall Ships in Cadiz

Last week we noticed some tall masted ships making their way into the Bay of Cadiz, which we can see from our bedroom balcony. After asking around, we found out that Cadiz was hosting a tall ship regatta over the weekend and that some of the world's most famous sailing ships were in port for it. So yesterday we drove over to Cadiz to take a closer look at them before they paraded out of the bay.