Road Trip Today ... Jerez and Cadiz!

We were up and out early this morning to enjoy our road trip to Jerez and Cadiz. They are only about 75 minutes away and during our journey, we learned that 80% of Spain's olive oil comes from the trees in this region. We also learned that there are sweet orange trees and almond trees. Apparently, in a couple of months, the fields will be filled with sunflowers! Wouldn't that be a sight to behold!!! 🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻

We were interested in seeing Cadiz because it is the oldest city in Europe. This little island has 3100 years of history behind it! It also has Muslim roots and was conquered by the Christians somewhere along the way. I forget the dates though. I could never remember them in high school social classes either! 🥴

It was so interesting because as we were gathering for the tour, I looked over and thought I recognized the woman standing beside me. There were 45 or 50 people on our coach ... and because I'm not great with faces ... I was delighted when she finally said ... I know you!!

We had sat beside one another on the Hop On Hop Off bus on our first day here in Seville! Her name is Lynn and she lives in Scotland. She was travelling alone because her husband went back to work after he retired and was not able to take the time off. She had a great sense of humor and we shared our table at lunch with her. We also thought it must have been meant to be that our paths crossed ... because ... TWICE in the midst of all these people and options for tours!?! It could not have been a mere coincidence!

It was great fun because she and the old boy enjoyed a plate of mussels. Some of you will laugh, when I say that he touts these mussels as the best and freshest he has ever had! I know he has said this before, but this time ... Lynn agreed. The mussels were simply served in salt water and the two of them raved about them. The jumbo shrimp gave the old boy a run for his money getting them out of their shells! Lynn and I agreed that we don't enjoy working that hard for our meals. 😉

After lunch we took a one hour guided walking tour around Cadiz and learned that the old town was built entirely with "oyster rock"! They look kind of like pumice stone but are filled with shells and rocks. These blocks stand up to the intense humidity and 40-45 degree Celsius summers in Andalusia. The rock pavement is the original too! It was made with Mississippi stones that the boats from the Americas carried on them to as ballast while they were sailing into ports to deliver goods. Once the goods were emptied, they didn't need to balance the weight anymore and left the rocks in Cadiz ... and ... were used to build the roadways!

Although we didn't have a whole lot of time we wandered down a couple of the lanes! Fortunately it was not as easy to get lost as it is here in Seville! In fact, the large plaza in front of the town hall reminded me of Havana, Cuba. We also took a little walk to the ocean. The sea is such a gorgeous turquoise color!!

On our way to Cadiz, we first stopped in Jerez at a vineyard that makes sherry! This is very popular in this area. We learned that the dry white sherry has only 15% alcohol and will turn brown if 18% alcohol is added. Apparently the alcohol stops the fermentation and oxygen gets into the wine. So, even though they are both considered 'white' ... one is definitely brown.

I could not drink either of them. They both tasted to me like wine that was turning bad. I don't think I was alone in this ... many of the glasses were not fully consumed until we tried the sweeter varieties. Still ... a hard NO from me. The old boy eagerly consumed both Lynn and mine for a couple of rounds!! But then again ... he likes the turpentine taste of scotch and port and bourbon and all those other unpalatable aperitifs.

We headed home at 5:30 and should have arrived by 6:45pm ... but guess what! The motorcycle 'Grand Prix" was happening in Jerez today and so traffic on the highway was backed right up to a standstill. At 7:30pm, the tour guide announced that we were only 20 minutes out of Seville. Our enthusiasm was short lived when only moments later we slowed to a snail's pace again. She then shared that there was an accident on the highway and we were diverted through Dos Hermanus. We finally arrived at 8:30pm!

We weren't sure what to do for supper. We had planned to head out for tapas after we got home tonight, but with it being so late, I just wanted to get home and make a sandwich for supper. The 'travel mountain' for today (aside from being two hours longer than we anticipated) was that we needed buns ... and ... it's Sunday. All the grocery stores are closed on Sundays. We were a bit befuddled about what to do ......

And then, as we were making our way down the 15 minute walk home through the maze of lanes ... we came upon a little store that was OPEN!! They happened to have buns ... tomatoes ... and ... eggs. It was SUCH a gift. They had no egg cartons, but the proprietor simply folded a newspaper into a cone and filled it with a dozen eggs for us! 🙌

And ... more good news!! For the first time EVER since our arrival ... we navigated our way through those maze of lanes without pulling out Google Maps. It was a high-five moment for us!! 👏👏👏

So, supper tonight will be sandwiches which is absolutely perfect in my humble opinion. It will still be a late dinner (we are definitely taking on the Spanish custom of late dinner!) because it's already 10:05pm and we haven't even moved into the kitchen!

More good news! We don't have to set the alarm for tomorrow either! So, we are feeling relaxed about the next couple of days before we head to Malaga.

Sending hugs to one and all, k&j ❤️
P.S. I'll post this and then add pictures ... if you don't see the photos, pop back later!

P.P.S. I forgot to mention that Cadiz is the starting point for one of the many roads known as the Camino Santigo!!Read more