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Tim Lynette Wilkins
Tim Lynette Wilkins

Tim Lynette Wilkins

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  • Tim Lynette WilkinsExtremaduraViajero
    Theater
    AmphitheaterAmphitheater entrancesAmphitheater bricked roofTheaterStatue of Minervs (?)StatuesTheater bath houseTheater gardens

    Spectacular sights!

    16 de mayo de 2024, España ⋅ ☁️ 21 °C

    The roman theater in Merida was listed in the "12 best sights of spain" (of which we have now been to ten !) And today we went first to the amphitheater, and then to the theater , which are next door to each other . They were founded by Agrippa in the 8 BC, and are both spectacular and really well preserved.Leer más

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  • Tim Lynette WilkinsExtremaduraViajero
    Roman Bridge
    Moorish cisternRoman/Visigoth/Moorish wallsCasa del Mitreo wall paintingRoman Wall paintingGeometric mosaic floorMosaic floor with central cherubMagnificent mosaicTemple of Diana

    A taste of each era

    15 de mayo de 2024, España ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C

    Merida has been occupied since pre-Roman times and today we thought we would have a gentle introduction to the remains. We started out with a visit near the hotel to the Alcazaba which was a Fort built in the 9c ad by the Moors who ruled hereabouts at the time. However it was built on top of the Roman Fort at the end of the Roman Bridge crossing the river Guadiana. So we got two cultures in one place with the Moors reusing lots of Roman masonry. Oh and the Visigoths added to the defensive walls so a third! The highlights were walks along the walls with good views of the Roman Bridge and another Moorish cistern.

    We then walked around some Roman remains they discovered when building new office blocks. They went ahead with the building just raising them on pillars so it was pretty difficult to make out anything significant.
    After a coffee and snack we went to the Casa del Mitreo - a large 1c ad villa just outside the city walls which has lovely mosaics - mostly geometric- and great extant wall painting. It's only about waist high so no fabulous murals like Pompeii, but clear colours and designs. It must have been wonderful in its day.
    After lunch in the bull ring cafe we walked back via a temple to Diana which some chap in the 15c incorporated into his palace.
    When the sun is out it is lovely but there are plenty of clouds and then it gets chilly. Still an hour on the hotel roof terrace this afternoon was very pleasant.

    Whereas Caceras was quite green and pleasant, and the old town well-looked after, Merida seemed mostly a modern but down-at-heel and threadbare city, so far not much to be pleased with, other than the incredible histor.y and our hotel which is in a beautiful old palace!    Leer más

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  • Tim Lynette WilkinsExtremaduraViajero
    Plaza mayor at evening
    Old town9th c - 11th c cisternMoorish house roof 12cCathedralFig tree

    Caceres

    14 de mayo de 2024, España ⋅ 🌬 20 °C

    Lovely hotel, slept well, and a gentle start to the day. Caseres has a really nice feel to it and the sights in the old town centre are in easy walking distance. Just as well as it was distinctly chilly this morning!
    As it was cold, we started in the museum, which is small but has plenty worth seeing, from prehistory to roman and Muslim eras, including some Latin inscriptions dating from the 8th to 10th centuries B.C. - I didn't know Latin could go back that far in Spain!

    Next a moorish period house dating to 14th century, and the cathedral with great views from the Bell tower looking out on the plains of Extremadura. The cathedral itself is quite plain for a Spanish church and very elegant. And finally to the small but lovely gardens of a Palace with a fig tree that is hundreds of year old.

    Somewhere in there we had lunch in the main square. We had a small dinner inthe square last night and the food was OK, but expensive with small portions, which we put down to it being the main tourist centre, but lunch today, in a different restaurant, was half the price for a full three course menu of the day , and good food too!

    Local bus drive for an hour this evening to arrive in Merida.    Leer más

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  • Tim Lynette WilkinsExtremaduraViajero
    Madrid train station

    Long day!

    13 de mayo de 2024, España ⋅ 🌬 22 °C

    Up at 4.30 to get a taxi to the airport, then fly to Madrid, taxi to the train station in time to have lunch. And train to Caceres, in theory !

    But they are building a new High speed line between Madrid and Lisbon and so we had to get off in Plasencia and take a bus replacement. At least the buses were there waiting and comfortable and air conditioned, not like the ones they put on the northern line which are never there and leave you cold and waiting in the rain. Then a final taxi from the train station in Caceres to the hotel.

    Although the new train is supposed to be from Madrid to Lisbon, it will only go as far as the border at Badajoz as the Portuguese decided they couldn't afford it so their section isn't being built. The cities along the route, like Badajoz, Caceres, Talavera, will all be very familiar to anyone who reads the Sharpe novels of Bernard Cornwell, as they describe the campaigns of Wellington's battles against the French that went along the Tagus valley towards Madrid.    Leer más

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  • Tim Lynette WilkinsJerez 2024Viajero
    Drinks time in the evening sun

    Andalucia Day

    28 de febrero de 2024, España ⋅ ☀️ 15 °C

    Andalucia (spelled with a "s" in english and "c" in spanish) is Spain's largest autonomous province. Created as such on February 28th 1980, it marks the date with a public holiday, so all the schools, public buildings and shops are closed although a few of the pavement bars and cafes are open.

    It's still the middle of the Flamenco festival so the streets are crowded with people; spanish tourists of course but also plenty of British, German, French and Japanese ones as well. There are always lots of Japanese here for the flamenco. With the streets mostly empty of traffic, the churches take the opportunity to practice carrying their floats.

    The prawns we bought in the market yesterday are big deep red ones called "carabineros", supposedly because they are the colour of Spanish customs police uniforms!

    Packing tomorrow to go home, we've been coming now since 2015, with just a few years out - one when finlay was born and only came here for a week with him and Natalie, one when we went to almeria instead, and one in the pandemic when we couldn't travel. That first time we came for three months from New year to Easter, just coming home for a week in the middle. So being here so long , it really felt like a second home!    Leer más

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  • Tim Lynette WilkinsJerez 2024Viajero

    Getting ready to come home

    27 de febrero de 2024, España ⋅ ☀️ 17 °C

    We are cutting our trip short - not going on from here to Merida as planned but returning straight home this Friday. Lynette's cousin has died and the funeral is next week.

    So today we went to the Market for the last time and bought some large red prawns to cook for dinner tomorrow. We have booked to go to two of our favourite restaurants and started thinking about packing - even booked a Waitrose delivery for Saturday!

    Natalie and Emily have a favourite jewellery shop here - just fashion pieces not valuable. But it's closing down so we had to take photos of the racks so Natalie and Emily could place their orders! Luckily we have managed to get most of them - and at half price.

    I'm very conflicted about going home. I am really looking forward our house, and wendover, and of course to seeing all the family again, but also walking around the streets today in the sunshine reminds how much I love living here too!

    Once again the time seems to have gone quickly and we are already saying 'we must do that when we come back next year'.    Leer más

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  • Tim Lynette WilkinsJerez 2024Viajero

    Orange blossom time

    26 de febrero de 2024, España ⋅ 🌬 14 °C

    The last time we walked to the market we noticed that the orange trees that line all the streets are starting to have blossom out - next years marmalade! And the streets should soon be full of the scent of orange blossom.

    However we had torrential rain and gales overnight so i dont know whether the blossom will have survived.    Leer más

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  • Tim Lynette WilkinsJerez 2024Viajero

    Great things about Jerez

    25 de febrero de 2024, España ⋅ ☁️ 17 °C

    We had a quiet day yesterday after the indulgence of the night before but no-one else did. Jerez is now in full swing practicing for the Semana Santa processions. Several churches had their troops out carring the floats burdened with concrete blocks instead of the statues they will carry. There were also a couple of brass bands marching through the streets and playing in the plazas.

    There are also many tourists here now that come for the flamenco festival that started this week. This evening we went to a couple of our favourite tabancos - El Pasaje to see the flamenco show ( which was really good) and San Pedro, just round the corner from us, which specialises in hard to find sherries and simple tasty tapas. It is run by two old ladies who speak no English but we manage to get by.

    Football here is usually played on a Sunday, so today I took the bus down to the southern edge of the city to see my second team here play, Jerez industrial. A 2-1 win puts them firmly in the play-off places.    Leer más

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  • Tim Lynette WilkinsJerez 2024Viajero
    Moonset over Jerez
    RestaurantFloat practice

    La Carbona

    24 de febrero de 2024, España ⋅ ☀️ 13 °C

    Last night we treated ourselves to what we think is the best restaurant in the city, at least the best we know of. It has a sherry pairing menu of 7 courses, each one with a glass of sherry designed to match with the food. It was as good as we remember, so pretty wonderful!

    On the way home afterwards we came across a group of men practising carrying one of the floats for Easter . Each church has a huge statue of its Saint, or the virgin mary, normally in solid silver and incredibly heavy. These are paraded around the streets at Easter, but they need 40 or 50 people to carry them, so they need lots of practice getting them through the narrows streets and around the tight corners. They practice mostly at night when there's less traffic.    Leer más

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  • Tim Lynette WilkinsJerez 2024Viajero
    Bodega barbadillo
    Inside the bodegaIn la cigarrera bodegaCastle in sanlucar

    Bodega Barbadillo

    20 de febrero de 2024, España ⋅ 🌙 19 °C

    For breakfast we went to the small cafe next door to our hotel. Its a place I really enjoy. Its full of locals at breakfast time, they serve a basic anducian breakfast of toast with olive oil and pureed chopped tomatoes , and an orange juice or coffee. We cheat and have butter and jam on our toast.

    We booked a visit and tasting at Bodega barbardillo, probably the biggest and most commercial bodega in Sanlucar. It was the worst visit we've had - it didn't really feel like the guide was interested and explained every thing badly. Then they gave us just three wines -a glass of white wine, which was pleasant enough, but hardly unusual, then a fine manzanilla aged in the solera for 9 years which was very good , but at 28 euros a bottle. Then finally a cream, and we don't go for sweet sherries so much. All very disappointing .

    Lunch was at different bodega that we've been to before, la cigarrera, small and very friendly with a restaurant in an interior courtyard in the sun, and with great food, and great manzanilla.

    Then back on the bus to jerez,
    .    Leer más

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  • Tim Lynette WilkinsJerez 2024Viajero

    Sanlucar de barrameda

    19 de febrero de 2024, España ⋅ ☀️ 22 °C

    Sanlucar de barrameda is one of the points of the "sherry triangle", along with jerez, and el puerto de santa Maria. Its on the mouth of the quadalquivir river and is famous for its manzanilla sherry, which is said to taste of a tang of the sea from the ocean winds. It is also famous for it's seafood, especially prawns. We have a booked a tasting tomorrow at bodega barbardillo, which we haven't been to before, and spent lunchtime today in the sun in one of the restaurants in the town square. All very yum!

    Then for dinner to a restaurant renowned for its seafood, and had phenomenal lagustines - just wow!

    The 45 minute bus journey from jerez to sanlucar, like all the public transport here, was on time and efficient, and is remarkable value at just 2 euros each!    Leer más

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  • Tim Lynette WilkinsJerez 2024Viajero

    Fundador

    17 de febrero de 2024, España ⋅ 🌙 16 °C

    For lunch today we booked a table at the Taperia de Fundador, the bodega that includes Harvey, Garvey, and Terry. Its restaurant is somewhere we've been before and is very good. We were not disappointed, its still really good, and strangely cheap. The wines of course were excellent, and for a special treat they had pimientos padron, which are normally everywhere but which we haven't seen anywhere this trip. Andy in the tapas restaurant in wendover (tres corazones) says that the harvest this year for these peppers has been really bad, and the prices have gone through the roof.

    We discovered that a fino dry sherry that we really like is garvey san patricio sherry, and to buy from the bodega it's just, only, really (!) 5 euros a bottle! We bought one. (Suprised?)    Leer más

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  • Tim Lynette WilkinsJerez 2024Viajero

    Cadiz

    16 de febrero de 2024, España ⋅ 🌙 16 °C

    There is a new archaeological site in Cadiz that we wanted to go to so we got up early (!) And got the train into Cadiz. The site is the phoenician port dating from the 3rd century BC, that was discovered when they were extending the basement of a flamenco bar, and with later roman and visigoth additions. The port was a dry dock for military ships, and the design was copied by the Romans all over the empire. It was interesting, but very small. Afterwards we took Pete to see the roman theatre, the causeway walk out to the Fort, and around the wonderful market.

    It's carnival week in cadiz , and the streets were full of people in fancy dress or outrageous clothes, and there was something on at the cathedral for all the kids.

    We had lunch in a restaurant we've been to before where the food is excellent, then walked back to the train station to go home.    Leer más

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  • Tim Lynette WilkinsJerez 2024Viajero

    Hake for dinner

    14 de febrero de 2024, España ⋅ ☁️ 24 °C

    Down to the market square this morning for churros and chocolate in the sunshine, followed by a cruise through the fish market to pick up something for dinner. We chose a nice big hake, that i can bake (new oven!) With garlic, parsley and fino.

    Excellent ! I don't know why hake isn't popular at home- the Spanish, like me, love it, and mostly it seems to come from cornish waters.    Leer más

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  • Tim Lynette WilkinsJerez 2024Viajero

    End of the rain?

    13 de febrero de 2024, España ⋅ ☁️ 19 °C

    The rain continued yesterday up until lunchtime when we went to the airport to meet Pete. Having left Zurich at 7.00am he was pretty exhausted so we ate in last night - a selection of tapas including prawns and chistorra.

    This morning remained cloudy but not raining!. Pete went for a wander accompanied only by a map and managed to find his way home. Still cloudy but warm so we had lunch outside at Gabriela's, eating too much. By the time we got home the sun was shining and we spent the afternoon on the roof terrace. Could this be the start of a spell of good weather? Fingers crossed.    Leer más

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  • Tim Lynette WilkinsJerez 2024Viajero

    Sunday again, rain again!

    11 de febrero de 2024, España ⋅ 🌧 17 °C

    I had thought I may go to watch jerez's non-league team play, Jerez industrial, but the stadium is way over on the other side of the city, its uncovered, and its been raining all day again, so I'm staying in! Yesterday we went to the fish market, which is incredible and full of all kinds of fish we never get at home, so today we're cooking white prawns from huelva, and the big clams that finlay loves ( sorry finlay!)

    This morning I went to the cathedral with lynette., she went to mass, but I just wanted to remind myself what it looked like. They also have two paintings that i would like to see, a madona and child by murillo and the other by zurbaran of the young Mary sleeping. (Both local artists from andulcia). Sadly they are both in the vestry and this is closed to the public during mass so I didn't get to see them. They have a poster showing the zurbaran outside, so I had to make do with that.

    The biggest excitement of yesterday was the arrival of an oven! The one disappointment of this apartment was that it had no oven just a hob. We mentioned this to Javier, the owner, when we arrived and he said he would get one. Lo and behold he brought an IKEA oven and installed it so today we are roasting vegetables to go with the seafood. He really is a good host.

    So tonight's dinner is white prawns, clams, roasted peppers, aubergines and garlic, and papas alinadas - potatoes in olive oil and sherry vinegar .    Leer más

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  • Tim Lynette WilkinsJerez 2024Viajero
    Rain from our window

    Rain!

    9 de febrero de 2024, España ⋅ 🌬 17 °C

    We have been quite lucky with the weather since we arrived. It has been dry , warm and sunny enough to sit on the terrace in T shirts each afternoon. Until yesterday. Yesterday was heavy cloud all day and in the evening the rain and strong winds started and continued until lunchtime today. We managed to get the laundry mostly dry before the rain started (no tumble driers here, just washing lines and airers) and have not been out all day today.
    Luckily the weather forecast was accurate for once and we prepared by cooking a big fabada stew for two days - chorizo, morcilla (black pudding) and beans cooked in wine. They forecast showers over the next three days but not like the downpour we have had. We are really hoping it improves next week whilst Pete is here - he caught a poor week last year.    Leer más

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  • Tim Lynette WilkinsJerez 2024Viajero
    Flamenco in El Pasaje
    Lunch in El Puerto

    El Puerto de Santa Maria

    7 de febrero de 2024, España ⋅ ☁️ 12 °C

    After dinner out last night we paid a quick visit to the flamenco bar to check it's still operating - which it is and it wasn't even as crowded as usual. We caught the last 10 mins of the performance and it was as thrilling as always.

    Today we took our first trip out of JEREZ, to one of the other sherry towns - El Puerto de Santa Maria. Its a very easy journey just 10 mins on the local train but, as so often in Spanish towns, the station is on the edge so it's quite a walk to the centre. The main purpose of the visit was to buy a bottle of one of our favourite sherries from the bodega as its difficult to find anywhere else. Also to have lunch at the restaurant run by a daughter from the bodega. It was delicious as always.

    El Puerto is on the mouth of the river Guadelete, and the bodega and restaurant are on the banks of the river, so a great place to sit in the sun for lunch. As the name suggests it was a main port, where lots of the riches from the Spanish colonies came ashore, and from which sherry came down from jerez and shipped all over the world. Today its port is mostly unused, and the town is looking very down at heal.    Leer más

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  • Tim Lynette WilkinsJerez 2024Viajero
    Medieval city walls
    Handle of roman oil light. 1c ADVisigoth sarcofagos. 6th c ADIslamic plate 10th cIslamic dish 10th c.Medieval glass perfume bottles 15th c

    Museum

    6 de febrero de 2024, España ⋅ ☀️ 19 °C

    Well, I was wrong ! Despite a forecast of mist or fog, this morning was clear blue skies, sunshine and even hot.

    So my walk around the city was really nice, I love wandering through the narrow winding medieval streets, windows open, the sound of flamenco singing from a room somewhere.

    The museum is still really good, small but covering all of jerez history from prehistoric, roman, visigoth, Islamic and Christian periods.

    Well worth a walk in the sunshine!    Leer más

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  • Tim Lynette WilkinsJerez 2024Viajero

    A quiet day

    5 de febrero de 2024, España ⋅ ☁️ 16 °C

    We had intended to spend a day sitting in the sun today not doing much, but when we woke up we found that clouds had rolled in overnight and it was dull and grey. Also there was a quite a chilly breeze. Eventually the sun came out around lunchtime and it got warmer in the sunshine. Looking forward I think its going to be like this for a few days, then maybe a bit of rain early next week. I think I'll use the time to go for a walk around the city tomorrow and maybe drop into the museum to see some of my favourite things there.Leer más

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  • Tim Lynette WilkinsJerez 2024Viajero
    Win 2-1
    Where are my two juicers?Why are so many of our blogs about food!

    Sunday

    4 de febrero de 2024, España ⋅ ☁️ 14 °C

    The tuna steak last night was fantastic. Tuna is caught all along the coast from Gibraltar up to Cadiz, so its fresh and wonderful! I especially love Mojama, which is very thin slices of dried cured tuna in olive oil, and which I've never seen at home.

    Today I went out early (ish!) To get a Sunday paper. When we first started to come here, one of the street kiosks had english papers, but since the pandemic it closed so now I have to put up with the "diario de jerez" , which is mostly about local politics, which I dont understand, and local football, which I do. The little local shop just round the corner has a great range of foods, including lovely sweet juicy oranges. So it's great to squeeze fresh orange juice for breakfast, but sadly my two helpful orange squeezers are off skiing jn Italy!

    Lunch in a popular square in the sun , in a restaurant which we have been going to for years, and it's still excellent!

    After, a bus out to the football stadium and an pleasant evening watching my team play and win ( just like watching Barnet! )    Leer más

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  • Tim Lynette WilkinsJerez 2024Viajero
    Churros and chocolate for breakfast
    Marmalade trees!Inch thick slab of tuna

    Busy first day

    3 de febrero de 2024, España ⋅ ☀️ 17 °C

    First day here we always have to go and have churros and chocolate for breakfast followed by a trip to the Market and a big supermarket shop to stock up on essentials. In the fish market we chose an enormous slab of local wild tuna for dinner tonight.
    As we were exhausted from carrying all the shopping home, despite having a shopping trolley, we decided to treat ourselves to lunch in the sun in the little square behind the apartment.
    This year it is particularly warm for February - last night we could still sit out on our roof terrace at 6.30 enjoying our first sherry.
    This afternoon Tim went on the crucial hunt for Seville oranges still on the tree for us to bring home to make marmalade. He found a fine crop in front of the Alcazar.    Leer más

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  • Tim Lynette WilkinsJerez 2024Viajero

    Arrived

    2 de febrero de 2024, España ⋅ 🌙 14 °C

    After leaving home at 3,30 (a.m. ugh!) All the arrangements worked really well. We choose to fly to Jerez via Barcelona rather Madrid and that's so much better. , and arrived at the apartment about 3.30 (only 12 hours) in time to sit in the sun for a bit. Coming into Jerez in the taxi now feels like coming home.Leer más

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  • Tim Lynette WilkinsA few days back in MadeiraViajero

    Cruise ships

    19 de noviembre de 2023, Portugal ⋅ ☀️ 18 °C

    Funchal has a really good deep water port and it's a favourite of the cruise lines. The city is completely geared up for them and there have been two or three here every day. Then this morning while we were having breakfast this one arrived. We thought the other ones were huge, but this dwarfs all of them. Its the p&o iona, and carries over 5000 passengers and about 2000 crew.

    I think it's time to go home!    Leer más

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