Jerez de la Frontera

We had an early start and wrapped breakfast just after eight so that we were able to visit the Alcázar just as it opened.

The Alcázar is just a few minutes walk away, and we were one of the first in so we had the place more or less to ourselves. It was pretty cool in the morning and the sun was only just rising, and it took a while for it to really warm up. The Alcázar itself is an impressive fort that has been well maintained and rebuilt over the years, dating back to the 13th century initially and was originally part of the walled city of Jerez.

We spent a couple of hours looking around and then popped back to the hotel before returning to the Alcázar to go up to the camera obscura. The camera gave us some great images of Jerez, but we were glad that we'd been to the fort earlier as by now it was pretty busy with other tourists.

We had another break before heading to Tio Pepe for our sherry bodega tour. Tio Pepe is still family owned and the tour took in some of the older wine cellars. We were told how they make brandy, sherry and how they store and distribute. We also saw their weather vane, which apparently is the largest in the world.

At the end of the tour, we had some tapas and tasted four different sherries, from light right through to dark.

By now it was mid-afternoon and we decided that we would go to the cathedral, which is also very close to the hotel. We spent some time looking around the cathedral, although I have to confess that much of the terminology was a bit of a mystery to me.

We also planned to go up the tower to get some good views, but by the time we came out of the cathedral it wasn't yet open, and so we had a couple of drinks in the rooftop bar at the hotel before popping back out to climb the stairs to the tower.

We spent the evening back in the main square, having a drink, some food, and playing Yahtzee before heading back to the room for about 10pm.Read more