Weekend Getaway: Cádiz and Sanlúcar, Spain

Back when the weather was a little bit warmer, we went on a short weekend getaway south of Seville with our friends, Hani and Pepe. Our main focus was stopping at our pal Pepe’s father’s bodega – more on that in this post – but we also hit up a couple of other cities just to hang out and walk around.

Food, drink, sun, stroll, and friends. Just what we like for a relaxing visit to pretty much anywhere.

After getting set up at Papa Pepe’s house in the village of Trebujena, we all hopped in the car and headed south to the coast. We had to stock up on food for cooking, and what better place to get seafood than the area where it all comes from?

The central market in Sanlúcar de Barrameda was the first stop on our agenda, and we perused all the seafood stalls, looking at old, delicious favorites, as well as all sorts of sea creatures we’d never seen before. Apparently, we were so dazzled by it all that we only took one picture. D’oh!

Papa Pepe did his best to overload the bags with an endless array of delights, and we stocked up the car before going to do what we all do best: Eat.

So, Papa Pepe directed us to the patio of a restaurant in a small plaza atop the town. I have no idea if he’d ever been here before, but you can’t really tell since he seems to always be in his element. He could be totally lost on Mars and he’d probably still look like he knew exactly where he was and what he was doing. And he’d have a smile on his face. Because that’s how Papa Pepe rolls.

Father and son, enjoying life to the fullest.

We stuffed ourselves with an overabundance of prawns, seafood fritters, fish, squid, and roasted padrón peppers, as well as plenty of drink to go around. The bright sun and red umbrellas made for a pinkish hue of everything we did here, so you’re just going to have to take these photos as-is.

After a properly long, Spanish lunch, we made our way downhill, where it seems the entire world of Sanlúcar and its visitors were congregated. In this central part of town, there’s a huge square lined with cafe upon restaurant upon bar, and everyone was having a proper Saturday afternoon.

We specifically stopped for ice cream. Maybe Papa Pepe said we were going to, maybe not. We still have trouble with the accent down here, so we weren’t sure about that. In any case, ice cream it was. A perfect finish to a good meal and just right for a walk to the beach.

We walked by the La Gitana bodega and stuck our heads in the gates, but they were closed for the weekend. So, on we went to the beach.

A huge apartment building near the water had this great piece of work from the super-talented artist Aryz, which he painted back in 2013. It left me wishing – as always – that more cities (and more of this city) would invest in work like this. It really hit the spot for me on this day.

There weren’t too many people around once we got to the boardwalk. I’m not sure where everyone was – except the aforementioned town center – but one would think the beach would be quite packed on a day like this.

So, we just stood there for a while, admiring the beautiful weather and the natural sights.

We all walked a lot more, headed back to the car, and made our return to Trebujena. The next day, we figured we’d bound around the coastal city of Cádiz for a while, because, why not?

I can tell you right now that we did not make the most of the sights, or do anything, really. It’s not always about that, so I don’t want to hear it! We simply had a few hours to kill before heading back to Seville, so we thought we’d hit Cádiz for leisurely strolls and a bit of nourishment.

The weather was unfortunately gray and gloomy on this day, so it didn’t make for the sun-soaked delight that often casts itself over this city. Nonetheless, we walked all around the boardwalk of town, up and down the streets, across the beach, and naturally made our way to a table for some drinks and tapas.

 

One thing I was really feeling were some of the hand-painted advertisements and tile signs we saw on the street. I just love this.

In addition to that, the central market here was showcasing a display of artists on its exterior walls, which I thought was a nice surprise.

I can’t really tell you the names of anything we saw, as we came totally uneducated and didn’t bother with any of that. Just strollin’, lookin’ at the pretty architecture and the waterfront, and that’s about that!

Cádiz obviously deserves more than we gave it, and has oodles more on offer. Some people we know here in Seville love to get away to this city, and understandably so! We certainly need to return with the intention of giving it more than a few hours of attention. The same can be said for Sanlúcar as well.

No matter how you slice it, though, we had a great time relaxing and walking and eating and drinking – always best with good company – and made the leisurely most of our time here. Of course, we’ll have to head back at some point and give it a more intricate study.

Thanks much to Papa Pepe for hosting us, and thanks to our pals, Hani and Pepe, for the good times!

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Have you ever been to Cádiz or Sanlúcar de Barrameda? If so, what’d you think? If not, what say ye? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!