Malaga & Cadiz
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Malaga, the capital of Spain's Costa del Sol is our next port to visit. Great weather again and so we started the day with yet another hop on hop off
bus tour to see the sights. There are many places and museums here named after Pablo Picasso, the famous artist and it must have been a wonderful place to be inspired.
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The Castle of Gibralfaro was our first hop off stop as it just looked like an ancient castle one would find in a history book. There were turrets and towers with very large walkways between them that gave great
views over the city and the sea. An invasion would have been very easy to spot coming in those days! The Cathedral of the Incarnation or "one armed lady" as it is known
is in full view from the turrets and it is famous because the east tower was never completed. This construction started
in the 1500's but wasn't finished until two and a half centuries later. A museum here really compliments the visit as there are lots of historical items to see.
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The Bullring or Plaza de Toros can be seen from the castle and was our next place to visit. It was built between 1874 and 1876 in classic style and is still used today
for the bullfights. One can imagine the excitement here on these occasions and the building and its environs are very well presented with every seat having a good view. The Paseo de Reding or "Plaza de Toros
is a museum dedicated to Antonio Ordonez, a legend in the world of bullfighting and well worth the visit.
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Well, here we are in Cadiz today and we walked to the town center past mosaics on the walls and some realistic bronze statues. Some cannons went off in the distance to mark the time
and hundreds of birds flew out from the church roofs nearby. There was lots of stonework on the buildings and there was a site being excavated that in ancient times was an auditorium and theatre complex.
Once in the town square we discovered a beautiful cathedral that had a unique organ and many statues and gold artifacts around. Underneath there was an incredible crypt area that had a circular
ceiling that echoed voices and it all seemed quite eerie but very moving.
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What a lucky day for us as we stumbled upon a festival day here in Cadiz! Celebrations, a float procession, singing and dancing and what more could we want.
It was very exciting and entertaining with everyone being dressed in national costume for this special day. It appeared to be a day for women to celebrate but we couldn't find out any more just
enjoyed the atmosphere. The ladies in the pictures here just sat around, began clapping and two would get up at a time and dance! Wonderful!
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