{"id":58,"date":"2025-07-20T11:44:14","date_gmt":"2025-07-20T16:44:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.uml.edu\/cadiz-spain-summer-2025\/?p=58"},"modified":"2025-07-20T11:44:20","modified_gmt":"2025-07-20T16:44:20","slug":"first-impressions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.uml.edu\/cadiz-spain-summer-2025\/2025\/07\/20\/first-impressions\/","title":{"rendered":"First Impressions"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>So, we have been in C\u00e1diz for one week now and to sum up, it has been well\u2026DIFFERENT. To be sure, as this is my first trip abroad, I was expecting a unique experience, but this place takes the prize. To understand where I\u2019m coming from, I think a brief history lesson is in order.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.uml.edu\/cadiz-spain-summer-2025\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/228\/2025\/07\/map-of-cadiz.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-59\" width=\"627\" height=\"413\" \/><figcaption>Cadiz, Spain<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>This map should help to clarify things in a very general sense. At the top, the roughly circular portion of the image is regarded as the old city because \u2013 its really old, and it still maintains that feel today, even though all the modern amenities are available. Phoenician sailors established a trading post here around 1000 BCE. The strategic location makes this spot ideal for a settlement. It has defensible coastline and access to natural resources such as precious metals, salt, and tuna. Also, the Bay of C\u00e1diz to the east provides shelter from the Atlantic and deep water for ports. Anyway, the Phoenicians were impressed, and so were the Carthaginians, the Romans, the Visigoths, the Byzantines, the Moors, and finally the Spanish kings. In fact, this site was home to the Spanish treasure fleet during the Age of Exploration. This multicultural influence can still be seen in the streets of the old city today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The roughly rectangular land formation on the bottom is the new city. I have not been there much but, as far as I can tell, it looks like a modern city with traffic, stoplights, modern buildings, gas stations, stores etc. What strikes me is the radical transition. Here is a street (I use that term hesitantly) in the old city. Please do not misunderstand, there are many spectacular sights here, but I just want to give an idea of the street layout.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"3024\" height=\"4032\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.uml.edu\/cadiz-spain-summer-2025\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/228\/2025\/07\/narrow-streets-1-1.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-60\" \/><figcaption>Narrow, Right?<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Here is a shot of a street in the newer part of the city<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.uml.edu\/cadiz-spain-summer-2025\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/228\/2025\/07\/modern-street-1-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-61\" width=\"840\" height=\"1120\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Just a little different.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I guess my point here is that in the course of about half an hour, you can walk past sites that predate the Greeks and Romans to urban landscapes that resemble places in the United States. It is quite a contrast and a very unique opportunity to engage in a wide variety of activities both educational and recreational. Oh, and they also have beaches here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1428\" height=\"836\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.uml.edu\/cadiz-spain-summer-2025\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/228\/2025\/07\/santa-maria-beach-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-62\" \/><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>So, we have been in C\u00e1diz for one week now and to sum up, it has been well\u2026DIFFERENT. To be sure, as this is my first trip abroad, I was expecting a unique experience, but this place takes the prize. &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.uml.edu\/cadiz-spain-summer-2025\/2025\/07\/20\/first-impressions\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1646,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.uml.edu\/cadiz-spain-summer-2025\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.uml.edu\/cadiz-spain-summer-2025\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.uml.edu\/cadiz-spain-summer-2025\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.uml.edu\/cadiz-spain-summer-2025\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1646"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.uml.edu\/cadiz-spain-summer-2025\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=58"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.uml.edu\/cadiz-spain-summer-2025\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":63,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.uml.edu\/cadiz-spain-summer-2025\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58\/revisions\/63"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.uml.edu\/cadiz-spain-summer-2025\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=58"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.uml.edu\/cadiz-spain-summer-2025\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=58"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.uml.edu\/cadiz-spain-summer-2025\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=58"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}