And things got off to an interesting start here when I checked into my digs, a small private room in a backpacker hostel downtown. The room was spartan and contained only a bed, a lamp, a chest of drawers, and a small bedside cabinet - in the top drawer of which was a Fossil watch, a pair of Ray-Bans, a diamond-encrusted necklace, and five crisp hundred-euro notes.
I went to reception and told them, in bad Spanish, that I'd found something in my room and would gladly hand it over to anyone who could tell me what it was. I didn't want to just leave it all at the front desk, because frankly if it was going to be stolen by someone then I wanted that someone to be me. But it turned out that the room's previous occupants were still in the hostel, having moved out of the private room and into one of the dorms. They were suitably relieved and grateful, and at a stroke I became the most popular and respected person in the hostel. I think I'd rather have had the five hundred euros, though.
As part of my ongoing attempt at learning the local lingo, I've been watching large amounts of 'Big Bang Theory' dubbed in Spanish and with Spanish subtitles. It's easier to follow than the local programmes, because it's a show that I know well and so I've got at least some idea of what's happening even when the words go over my head. The Spanish actors who dub Penny and Sheldon sound convincing: unfortunately Leonard, a nasal California nerd in the original, is here dubbed by some gruff Spanish hombre who sounds more like Julio Iglesias chatting up the backing singers after a long concert and a couple of cigars.
I've also watched a bit of dubbed 'Simpsons', but that contains too much quickfire wordplay and allusion for me to follow in a foreign language. Incidentally, most big American or English actors are appointed one specific Spanish voiceover artist, who dubs every movie they make; that same voiceover artist is also called in, for extra authenticity, when the stars make guest appearances on the 'Simpsons'.
Cádiz on the whole is delightful. It's exactly like you'd expect: old, sleepy, unspoilt, and full of Moorish influence. Some historians believe it to be the oldest city in Europe. It's especially nice to be here at this time of year, when there are very few tourists even though the sun still shines most days. It isn't a big place and in theory you could easily tour the whole of the old town in one day if you were in a hurry. I of course am never in a hurry.
My only complaint is that the local cuisine is overwhelmingly seafood-based, which is really not my kind of thing. I did have a tuna sandwich but it tasted way more fishy than tuna is normally meant to taste. (I know how stupid that sounds, and I don't care.)
Footnote: when saying 'Cádiz', the stress goes on the first syllable, not the second. It's pronounced like the English 'caddies'. Hence the accent on the 'a'. And you can say 'caddeeth' if you want, but most natives of southern Spain don't. Similarly, they pronounce cerveza as 'serbaysa' rather than 'therbaytha'.
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| Cadiz Cathedral, seen from the west as the sun goes down |
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| Castillo de Santa Catalina |
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| Inside the cathedral |
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| Parque Genovés |
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| The cathedral, seen from Calle Compañia |
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| Plaza San Antonio |
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| Sunset by the shore |
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| Edd vs Food #50 Tapas at Casa Tino, Calle Rosa, Cadiz Gratin of goat's cheese with caramelised onions and Pedro Ximinez wine sauce. |
