started out a bit chilly but was overall a fantastic day with sun and a
high of 26C (about 80). We lost our final hour last night as we are now
on Barcelona time, and I overslept again but rose at 5:15 Lisbon time,
not really too bad.
As we approached Cadiz our target was clear as we could see Costa
Atlantica marking our destination. We docked about 8am, and I left on
my tour, Legendary Seville Without Lunch, about 9. Seville is an inland
port for vessels MUCH smaller than ours (PERHAPS Silversea or Seabourn),
and is about a 90-minute bus ride from the port of Cadiz. There is
evidence of civilization there 8,000 years ago, but the city is
officially about 3,000 years old. It was home to an international
exposition in 1929 and many of the buildings from that exposition form a
vibrant part of the city's life today. Our first stop was the Spanish
Pavilion from that exposition, a massive pavilion which holds government
buildings and a huge public garden.
We spent most of our time in the ancient city of Seville. The cathedral
there was originally built as a Mosque and was converted to a Cathedral
in the 13th century, with the ancient minaret extended with a bell tower
on top. There is a lovely garden on the grounds and the building itself
has a large open space surrounded by several chapels and also a huge
pipe organ with about 7,600 pipes.
Leaving the Cathedral we explored the (former) Jewish section, a lovely
area of small shops and narrow streets. We visited the Alcazar Palace,
an eclectic combination of many architectural styles from arabian to
gothic with a wall dating from Roman times, many mosaic tiles, and
ornate plaster moldings. There is a large garden but we did not see
anything like living quarters. This is apparently still officially a
palace but seldom actually used by the royals, the last visit was for a
tennis tournament a few years ago.
We returned to the ship about 4:30. As we were approaching the port we
passed some of the walls of Cadiz, an ancient city in it's own right. I
took a short walk along the waterfront but reboarded the ship about
4:45, with a wonderful Fillet Mignon in Blu.
This evening's headline entertainment was another case of deja vu all
over again. Nicola Loud is a violin virtuoso I last heard on the
Crystal Symphony about 6 months ago. She plays all forms of music, from
traditional classical to jazz to country fiddle and Broadway. As she
did on the Symphony, she pressed the horn section of the Orchestra into
service as vocalists. Unfortunately she played to a lot of empty seats
at least in the first show as the show's end coincided with our all
aboard time. She promised us another performance, most likely as part
of the farewell show Saturday night.
As the show ended Captain Berdos came on the PA with our sailaway
update. We expect light winds and moderate seas tonight on our way to
Malaga. We should be passing through the Strait of Gibraltar sometime
close to 1:30am.
As today's parting shot I find the violin a vexing instrument. I love
classical music but generally find music for solo violin dull and
dreary. I find it amazing that an instrument so dull by itself can
produce such beautiful music when several of them work together, or
sometimes in the hands of a Nicola Loud.
Roy
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