When she needs to collect another bit of paper from officialdom, Sharon loves to stop at the Confiteria Emilo Marin, on the Calle Ángel Bruno in Cartagena.
This is in the new bit of town, behind the old city, north of the Paseo de Alfonso XIII. The area used to be a huge lagoon which swept around the city making it an easily defended peninsula. The Carthaginians closed off the narrow neck of land to the east and ran walls between the hills and had a fine fortified place they thought was safe from attack.
They reckoned without the wily Roman, Scipio, who found out the lagoon could be forded at certain phases of the moon and tide and sent in an attack from the back while a diversionary fuss was made at the front. All this happened about 200 years before Christ was born.
However, the lagoon was a fertile source of malaria which swept through the inhabitants for the following 2,000 years until finally, in the 1920s, it was decided the lagoon should be filled in. The work took decades but now the area known as Ensanche provides homes for many of Cartagena´s residents. A special land development company was set up to promote the scheme and you can see its very attractive building, the Urban Expansion Company House, which is described as “a building of eclectic design, both in its construction and decoration.” It is located at the junction of Paseo de Alfonso XIII and the southern bit of Calle Ángel Bruna.
But enough history, it´s the food that counts and the Confiteria Emilo Marin, is the place to head for. There are pavement tables and it is best to go indoors to choose from the cabinets loaded with all sorts of pastries, cakes, tarts, mousses, meringues and confectionary. There are also savoury treats, such as empanadas, filled with meat or tuna, little pizzas and breads. A Spanish friend advises that the take-away meals are excellent and very good value. The café is near the Palacio Justicia, on a corner on the other side of the street. Parking is a nightmare, oh well, nothing´s perfect.
***
©Phillip Bruce
This is in the new bit of town, behind the old city, north of the Paseo de Alfonso XIII. The area used to be a huge lagoon which swept around the city making it an easily defended peninsula. The Carthaginians closed off the narrow neck of land to the east and ran walls between the hills and had a fine fortified place they thought was safe from attack.
They reckoned without the wily Roman, Scipio, who found out the lagoon could be forded at certain phases of the moon and tide and sent in an attack from the back while a diversionary fuss was made at the front. All this happened about 200 years before Christ was born.
However, the lagoon was a fertile source of malaria which swept through the inhabitants for the following 2,000 years until finally, in the 1920s, it was decided the lagoon should be filled in. The work took decades but now the area known as Ensanche provides homes for many of Cartagena´s residents. A special land development company was set up to promote the scheme and you can see its very attractive building, the Urban Expansion Company House, which is described as “a building of eclectic design, both in its construction and decoration.” It is located at the junction of Paseo de Alfonso XIII and the southern bit of Calle Ángel Bruna.
But enough history, it´s the food that counts and the Confiteria Emilo Marin, is the place to head for. There are pavement tables and it is best to go indoors to choose from the cabinets loaded with all sorts of pastries, cakes, tarts, mousses, meringues and confectionary. There are also savoury treats, such as empanadas, filled with meat or tuna, little pizzas and breads. A Spanish friend advises that the take-away meals are excellent and very good value. The café is near the Palacio Justicia, on a corner on the other side of the street. Parking is a nightmare, oh well, nothing´s perfect.
***
©Phillip Bruce
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