Itálica is dead.

It’s a dead city, I mean.  It used to be one of the most important cities in the Iberian Peninsula during the time of the Roman Empire, and two great Roman emperors (Trajan and Hadrian) came from here.  Now, nobody lives here.  It’s just some Roman ruins chilling right outside of a town called Santiponce, a little bit north of Sevilla.  Methinks the ruins here are probably the oldest things I’ve ever touched.

A bustling Roman city used to be here.Incredible how it's lasted so long

Gods the weekdays are named after.Man v. Animal, battles to the death.Gladiators passed through here.Emperor Hadrian. What's left of him.
In any case, I think my favorite fun fact I learned was that none of it has been retouched.  All of the colors, all of the stones, all of the designs have been left completely alone for the past couple thousand years.  There are no coverings, so it’s all completely exposed to the elements as well.  So, taking that into consideration, the fact that I can still clearly see the murals and such is really quite impressive.  Way to go, Romans!
Owl!Awesome centaur.
Vivid colors, thousands of years oldTiger, Tiger, Burning Bright

The Oldest City in Western Europe

After visiting Jerez de la Frontera we continued on to Cádiz, the OLDEST (continuously inhabited) CITY IN WESTERN EUROPE. It was founded by the Phoenicians (you know, the dudes who invented the alphabet? No big deal.) circa 1100 B.C.  It’s also a great little beach town, so we enjoyed a day in the sun, sand and surf. The water was waaaaayyy too cold to fully enjoy the surf though haha. But the point is: now I know what a beach on the other side of the Atlantic is like, too!
In Cadiz with friends! Here's Katherine.Beautiful Cadiz
Carnaval weekend!
Walking the streets of the cityCity + beach = Happiness