There just aren't places like this in the States...

Today was more of the same. Class, lunch, rest. The weather was awful today. No sun. Just clouds and a little bit of rain.

After a siesta, we skipped our run to go exploring with Carmen. She took us to the Catedral de Cadiz. Apparently, a very, very long time ago there was an old cathedral in Cadiz that burned to the ground. So they decided to build a new one down the street and it took several hundred years to build. When you look at the outside, you can clearly see that each level of the cathedral came from a different time period. The bottom has baroque influence and the top has a classical influence.

The outside of the Cathedral

Inside, there are a number of small chapels as well as a chorale chamber similar to the one in the Cathedral in Toledo. The altar is very simple, but is incredibly beautiful. I would also like to mention the relics that we saw today. Apparently, it is quite common to save the bones/body parts of Saints and display them in ornate monstrances. Check out some pictures below:

The chorale chamber

The altar

The monstrance made entirely of silver

So the coolest part of the day was the crypt! I have never been in a crypt before - I mean, really, who has? It was a very cool experience. Apparently this crypt is below sea level, so it had a very unique smell. They say if put your ear up against the wall, you can hear the ocean.

The girls at the entrance to the crypt!!

We are pretty sure this thing is a mannequin, but we weren't entirely convinced.

It was a creepy experience, but its not anything you can do back in the States. We all thoroughly enjoyed it. After, we stopped by the museum down the street. It was filled with mostly religious artifacts and of course, more relics. We saw a lot of old bones. Very odd.

As Natalie and I were walking home, we stopped at a pasteleria (a bakery) to try some local pastries. They were delicious! I hope I can bring a box home for Christmas! 


That's all for now! We need to get ready to go out with our host brother Hugo and his friends!


Besos