Jerez 2019

A 36-day adventure by Tim Lynette Read more

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Trip start
January 25, 2019
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Day 1
Friday, January 25, 2019
☀️ 16 °C
Altitude: 56 m
Spain Parroquia De San Dionisio 36.683124, -6.1376236°40’59” N 6°8’15” W
Arrived
January 25, 2019 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 16 °C
Straight forward journey for once and we arrived at the apartment just on midday local time, in time to sit in the sun in the square and get some tapas.
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Day 2
Saturday, January 26, 2019 at 8:36 PM
🌙 11 °C
Altitude: 56 m
Spain Parroquia De San Dionisio 36.683155, -6.13760336°40’59” N 6°8’15” W
Settling in
January 26, 2019 in Spain ⋅ 🌙 11 °C
This morning we walked down to our favourite cafe in the market square to get churros and chocolate for breakfast and, horror, it's closed for refurbishments! Natalie will be distraught!. Fortunately the next door cafe has stepped up and their churros is almost as good. Resting this afternoon in the sun , with a view of storks nesting on the nearby church steeple. Every time mummy stork arrives all you can hear is the beaks of the baby storks clacking to say me, me, me ! ( they are mute so they shout by clacking their beaks).Read more
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Day 5
Tuesday, January 29, 2019 at 2:15 PM
☁️ 13 °C
Altitude: 56 m
Spain Parroquia De San Dionisio 36.68309, -6.13761136°40’59” N 6°8’15” W
Oh Wow! Just ... Oh Wow!
January 29, 2019 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 13 °C
Yesterday, like every day so far, was sunny, warm and clear blue skies, so I went for a wander around in the afternoon, revisiting places like the castle and the cathedral, seeing what's new and what's the same. There are a lot of buildings refurbished in the centre and lots more new or refurbished to rent as holiday lets. The local paper has articles about people being unhappy that these are taking priority over residents who want new homes in the centre. Then we stayed in last night glued to the radio to listen to the FA cup match between Barnet and Brentford, dubbed "the battle of the Bees", or as Barnet fans would put it "real Bees vs fake Bees".
With Barnet being the last non-league team in it, it got huge amounts of coverage, although only on BT on TV, and full coverage on the radio. The Hive was packed with a capacity crowd of 6,250, and the noise was immense even over the radio (where are all these people for normal league games when we just get maybe 1,200?) It was a fantastic game, swinging first one way and then the other, and Brentford, despite being a championship team over 70 places higher than Barnet knew they had been in a match. In the end it was a 3-3 draw and could have easily been more either way, and we have to do it all again at Brentford next week. Let's hope some of that magic rubs off on our league form , which has been patchy to put it politely! It would so good to see and hear the Hive rocking again!Read more
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Day 7
Thursday, January 31, 2019 at 3:22 PM
🌬 16 °C
Altitude: 56 m
Spain Parroquia De San Dionisio 36.68311, -6.1376236°40’59” N 6°8’15” W
Restaurants
January 31, 2019 in Spain ⋅ 🌬 16 °C
One benefit of the rise in tourism is that there are more restaurants opening and some that used to close for the winter are staying open. On the first night we tried a new one just down our street, called Carmela, where the food was good but the red wine not very, should have stuck to sherry. On Saturday they are having a flamenco concert so we will go see. Two of our favourites from 3 years ago that were being renovated last year are now open again and good as ever - VinaT and Almacen. We went to Almacen last night - it's in an old store that has beautiful wooden ceiling and tiled floor. We spent ages looking at the tiling pattern and realised it's just one tile used in different orientations! Very impressive. It's due to rain tonight and tomorrow so we have bought hake from the market and various types of sausage and plan to cook at home the next two nights.Read more
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Day 8
Friday, February 1, 2019 at 12:26 PM
🌬 14 °C
Altitude: 56 m
Spain Parroquia De San Dionisio 36.683113, -6.13761736°40’59” N 6°8’15” W
A week!
February 1, 2019 in Spain ⋅ 🌬 14 °C
A week - we have been here a week already! We really haven't done much other than reacquaint ourselves with the centre of the city. Today I walked over to the west edge of the city where there are big sherry bodegas like Garvey, Fundador, Gonzales Byass and Tio Pepe. In amongst these is a old hermitage, built in 1675 but on a site dating back to the 8th century. It's a neat building, but sadly now surrounded by blocks of modern apartments.Read more
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Day 9
Saturday, February 2, 2019
🌬 11 °C
Altitude: 56 m
Spain Parroquia De San Dionisio 36.683056, -6.13761636°40’59” N 6°8’15” W
Yesterday
February 2, 2019 in Spain ⋅ 🌬 11 °C
Weather has been very dull and overcast for three days, it even poured with rain over night Friday. Yesterday though was sunny again but with a sharp cold wind. I walked around the south of the city through areas I really didn't know much. It is mostly old and residential, and pretty thread-bare, no new apartment blocks here. It is one of the flamenco areas though and I found lots of flamenco penas (music schools) and some statues of some of the great flamenco stars of the past. There were also great views looking down over the valley below and across to the hills where the sherry vineyards are. On the way back I ran across a demonstration in the main square about Venezuela.Read more
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Day 10
Sunday, February 3, 2019
☀️ 9 °C
Altitude: 56 m
Spain Parroquia De San Dionisio 36.683128, -6.13761736°40’59” N 6°8’15” W
Flamenco and football
February 3, 2019 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 9 °C
Today has seen clear blue skies and sunshine again, although there is still a cold wind. Last night we went to our favourite flamenco bar for the late night performance and it was as good as usual, the dancer was even someone we have seen before, this time last year. This afternoon I went to a home match of my football team. They play nice football but it ended as a 0-0 draw. Try again next Sunday! It was lovely watching in the sun, but after the sun went down behind the roof of the stand it was really cold!Read more
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Day 11
Monday, February 4, 2019 at 5:23 PM
☀️ 14 °C
Altitude: 56 m
Spain Parroquia De San Dionisio 36.683072, -6.13759336°40’59” N 6°8’15” W
Going on a trip
February 4, 2019 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 14 °C
Tomorrow we are going to go to Córdoba for a couple of days. We have been there before a few years ago and it's easy to get there from here. We can get a train to Seville then change to another train to Córdoba and arrive in time for lunch. The old mosque in Córdoba is one of my most favourite buildings in the world and it will great to see it again. Back on Thursday afternoon.Read more
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Day 12
Tuesday, February 5, 2019 at 5:10 PM
☀️ 19 °C
Altitude: 121 m
Spain Plaza San Agustín 37.8916, -4.772737°53’30” N 4°46’22” W
Journey to Cordoba
February 5, 2019 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 19 °C
Bit of an early start for us - up and out by 9.30 to walk to the station. The first train to Seville was an ordinary Media Distancia train but still very comfortable. The second was the high speed train from Seville to Madrid travelling at over 250km per hour - very smooth and showing movies on TV screens! Our hotel is right beside the Mezquita and after changing rooms we have a view of its outer walls. It is a beautiful and serene building despite being a major tourist attraction. The first part of the mosque was built by the Moors in the 8C AD on top of a Visigoth cathedral which was built on top of a Roman temple. In 2017 they uncovered some Roman mosaics under the floor and you can now see them under a glass panel in the floor. Added to in subsequent centuries it was then ruined in the 16C after the reconquest when they plonked a cathedral in the middle of it. The mihrab dating from the 10C has wonderful mosaics done by craftsmen loaned by the Byzantine emperor.Read more
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Day 12
Tuesday, February 5, 2019 at 5:24 PM
☀️ 18 °C
Altitude: 121 m
Spain Plaza San Agustín 37.8916, -4.772737°53’30” N 4°46’22” W
First day in Cordoba
February 5, 2019 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 18 °C
Our holiday in Cordoba started well with a delicious tapas lunch a few doors down and this is the town where all the restaurants give you a free glass of Pedro Jimenez after the meal, which it would be rude to refuse. After our visit to the Mezquita we walked down to the river to see the Roman bridge. It is a lovely warm sunny day here without the cool breeze we have had for a few days in Jerez.Read more
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Day 13
Wednesday, February 6, 2019 at 5:49 PM
☀️ 19 °C
Altitude: 121 m
Spain Plaza San Agustín 37.8916, -4.772737°53’30” N 4°46’22” W
Full day in Cordoba
February 6, 2019 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 19 °C
We spent the morning in the Archaeological Museum which has pre-historic, Roman and Moorish sections all very well displayed. The Roman finds are particularly fine as Cordoba was the capital of the Roman province of Baetica, which is just as well as there are very few buildings surviving in the town. Most were re-modelled or used as building material by the Moors who expanded Cordoba to around 500,000 inhabitants. The Roman temple in one square consists of some authentic foundations and several rather new looking columns erected on modern brick plinth. We had another good lunch in the sun in a pretty square typical of a Plaza Mayor in some towns but unique in Andalusia.Read more
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Day 13
Wednesday, February 6, 2019 at 5:57 PM
☀️ 18 °C
Altitude: 121 m
Spain Plaza San Agustín 37.8916, -4.772737°53’30” N 4°46’22” W
Alcazar
February 6, 2019 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 18 °C
After a siesta we went for a stroll around the Alcazar, similar to the one in Jerez but with beautiful gardens. Most was built in the 14-15C after the reconquest but still in Moorish style.
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Day 14
Thursday, February 7, 2019 at 11:38 AM
⛅ 12 °C
Altitude: 56 m
Spain Parroquia De San Dionisio 36.683105, -6.13755136°40’59” N 6°8’15” W
Last day in Cordoba
February 7, 2019 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 12 °C
For our last morning in Córdoba we visited the 8c Arab bath house. It was beautifully decorated and wonderfully elegant, but nearly all that has gone now, being stripped over the years to be used for other things. There are just some pieces of decorated wall plaster and column heads left, but it's still possible to follow the chambers through, going from the changing rooms to the cold, then warm and hot rooms, and the boiler room and heating ducts in the walls. Then on to one of only three remaining medieval synagogues in Spain, the others being destroyed when the Jews were forced to leave Christian Spain. The Jews left to go to Northern Africa, the Ottoman Empire where they remain, with Israel, today. They took with them their culture and Ladino language which was a mixture of medieval Spanish, Hebrew and Arabic, which they still speak and gives rise to some beautifully evocative music. After wandering in the sun through the winding street of the old Jewish quarter we had a last tapas lunch by the river and got our train back to Jerez. Not the superfast high speed train, but still travelling on the high speed line as far as Seville and cruising at 250 kph!Read more
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Day 17
Sunday, February 10, 2019 at 5:15 PM
☀️ 15 °C
Altitude: 56 m
Spain Parroquia De San Dionisio 36.683079, -6.13757236°40’59” N 6°8’15” W
Football . . . And more football!
February 10, 2019 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 15 °C
We had a gentle day lazing in the sun yesterday, and today I took in two football matches. At lunchtime I went to Jerez industrial, who are a small non-league team probably at an even lower level than Wingate and Finchley who I sometimes watch at home. They play in an open air stadium to the south of the city and it was really nice sitting there in the sun, even if the football was dire!. They lost 1-4. On the way back I walked through the Sunday market all around the castle, then on to an evening game with my main team in the big city stadium. They won 4-2 , with two sending offs and a penalty - exciting game! It's easy getting round Jerez even if I don't walk, the buses run on time and have a flat fare of one euro ten cents.Read more
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Day 18
Monday, February 11, 2019 at 1:30 PM
⛅ 17 °C
Altitude: 187 m
Spain Iglesia de Santa María 36.748093, -5.80675836°44’53” N 5°48’24” W
A day trip to Arcos de la Frontera
February 11, 2019 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 17 °C
Arcos de la Frontera is one of the "white towns" of Andalucia, built on rocky outcrops in the north of the province. It is only 45 mins from Jerez by bus so we went for a day trip. It was quite pretty but two of the main sights, churches dating back to the time of the victories of the Christians over the Muslims (hence "de la frontera"), were closed. The town has great views down to the valley of the Guadelete river, which flows in a big loop round the cliffs that the town is on, and then to Jerez and to the bay of Cadiz. Lunch in the sunshine and back home for a snooze!Read more
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Day 21
Thursday, February 14, 2019 at 8:50 PM
🌙 12 °C
Altitude: 56 m
Spain Parroquia De San Dionisio 36.683052, -6.13762236°40’59” N 6°8’15” W
The kids come to visit
February 14, 2019 in Spain ⋅ 🌙 12 °C
Last night being Valentine's Day we thought the bars and restaurants would be overflowing so we just went to the bar over the street which is very local in character but has some good food. Their chips covered in melted cheese are to die for! Today we got a train out to the airport as Natalie, Andy, Finlay and Emily arrived for the weekend. We set up lunch in the sun on the roof, and in the afternoon took the kids to a little playground just over the road in the next square along. We've put Natalie and Andy into a hotel just down the road, near to their favourite churros cafe and sherry bar, and the kids are staying in our spare room. So far its been real fun and worked out well.Read more
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Day 22
Friday, February 15, 2019 at 5:57 PM
⛅ 17 °C
Altitude: 56 m
Spain Parroquia De San Dionisio 36.683083, -6.13763436°40’59” N 6°8’15” W
Kids arrive 2
February 15, 2019 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 17 °C
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Day 23
Saturday, February 16, 2019 at 11:45 AM
⛅ 16 °C
Altitude: 56 m
Spain Parroquia De San Dionisio 36.683086, -6.13758336°40’59” N 6°8’15” W
Sunny saturday
February 16, 2019 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 16 °C
We all met up at a cafe in the market square for a breakfast of churros and chocolate then wandered around in the sun till lunch time. The kids enjoyed kicking a ball around in the main square and we enjoyed a good lunch in the sun!Read more
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Day 23
Saturday, February 16, 2019 at 12:31 PM
🌬 18 °C
Altitude: 56 m
Spain Parroquia De San Dionisio 36.68309, -6.13758236°40’59” N 6°8’15” W
More pics
February 16, 2019 in Spain ⋅ 🌬 18 °C
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Day 24
Sunday, February 17, 2019 at 11:27 AM
⛅ 15 °C
Altitude: 56 m
Spain Parroquia De San Dionisio 36.683132, -6.1375836°40’59” N 6°8’15” W
Sunday
February 17, 2019 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 15 °C
After breakfast and walking down to buy a Sunday paper, we thought that the kids would like to go for a ride in the horse carriages that ply the tourist trade, but Finlay was adamant that he didn't want to - I think he wanted nothing to do with horses! So we went to their favourite central square where there is a huge fountain that they love, surrounded by wide open spaces for running and chasing and kicking balls. After that we took a bus ride to go around the centre of Jerez and out into the southern suburbs before coming back and meeting Natalie and Andy for lunch.Read more
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Day 25
Monday, February 18, 2019 at 9:19 AM
⛅ 13 °C
Altitude: 56 m
Spain Parroquia De San Dionisio 36.683098, -6.13760636°40’59” N 6°8’15” W
Kids going home
February 18, 2019 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 13 °C
This morning we had to get Finlay and Emily up and out to meet Natalie and Andy to go back home. They seem to have really enjoyed their weekend in Spain and we certainly love to spend time with them. They are just such good children and such fun to be with, and the weekend has gone so quickly. Last night Andy and Natalie went out for a meal in good restaurant and said it was very good, and we have booked to go to the same place tonight to cheer us up a bit!Read more
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Day 26
Tuesday, February 19, 2019 at 12:31 PM
⛅ 16 °C
Altitude: 56 m
Spain Parroquia De San Dionisio 36.683029, -6.13758636°40’59” N 6°8’15” W
Tuesday
February 19, 2019 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 16 °C
Last night we went to the posh restaurant that Andy and Natalie had been to the night before and indulged in some really good food and a series of fine sherries, most of which we hadn't tried before. Slept well last night! This morning we walked over to the archaeological museum, which I love going to every time we come here. It's quite small but well laid out and has artefacts from every period of Jerez history, from stone-age, Roman, Visigoths, Islamic and Christian periods. Last year a large square in the middle of the city was dug up and being renovated, and this year there lots of items on display in the museum that had been in the building work, especially some very fine Islamic period pottery. On the way home afterwards we passed one of the sherry bodegas and saw that they had put tables out in the sunshine in their courtyard and were running it as a tapas restaurant. We couldn't resist, and the food was as good as last night so a real find!Read more
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Day 27
Wednesday, February 20, 2019 at 3:40 PM
⛅ 18 °C
Altitude: 56 m
Spain Parroquia De San Dionisio 36.683037, -6.13759336°40’59” N 6°8’15” W
Wednesday
February 20, 2019 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 18 °C
Today we went to a small family-owned bodega, Dios Baco, named after Bacchus the God of wine, and owned and run by a man and his five daughters. The daughter who showed us round was "Lupe", short for "Guadalupe". I much prefer the small bodegas to the big conglomerates like Harvey's or Fundador where we were yesterday. The visit ended with a tasting of course, and the sherries we really enjoyed. One of their brand names is "Old Oxford 1970" and they let me sign one of the barrels of it. We are going to have a weight problem with our cases when we go home so rather than buying some heavy bottles Lupe said we could go back tomorrow with some plastic water bottles and she will fill them up for us. Nice people!

Starting to think about leaving Jerez, hence the thoughts about reducing weight. It's sad but we leave on Friday, and it feels like we only just got here. Still, we won't be going home just yet as on Friday morning we will get the train to Cadiz and stay there for a week.

The picture of the bird is of one that has been chirping sitting on our television aerial while we have been sitting on the roof all the time we have been here.Read more
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Day 28
Thursday, February 21, 2019 at 9:29 PM
🌙 12 °C
Altitude: 59 m
Spain Parroquia De San Dionisio 36.683033, -6.13764936°40’59” N 6°8’16” W
Leaving Jerez
February 21, 2019 in Spain ⋅ 🌙 12 °C
So tomorrow we are leaving. I can't believe the time has gone so quickly, but then it always does. We get a train from Jerez to Cadiz and we should arrive at our apartment in Cadiz around midday, but we may need to wait before we can get into the apartment - sounds like an excuse for lunch in the sun somewhere! I haven't heard the storks clacking at all this week so maybe the young ones are all grown up and left home. I don't know what they do - do they go off and build another nest somewhere, or migrate? Normally storks arrive here from North Africa in late winter and then nest here, but apparently many of them now stay here all winter anyway. So do they then migrate further ? - I would think not - north of here is extramadura, which renowned for being arid, barren and very hot in summer, whereas the stretch of Andulcia from Sevilla-Jerez-Cadiz has lots of marshy wetlands full of food like frogs and lizards.Read more
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Day 29
Friday, February 22, 2019 at 6:34 PM
☀️ 16 °C
Altitude: 17 m
Spain La Caleta 36.52978, -6.300836°31’47” N 6°18’3” W
Arrival in Cadiz
February 22, 2019 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 16 °C
The transfer to Cadiz went very smoothly and our apartment was ready so we were able to move straight in. It's not the apartment we originally booked which was in an old look out tower up 4 flights of stairs with no lift. As Tim has been suffering with gout off and on we thought it prudent to change to one accessible by lift, though he has been fine for nearly 2 weeks now. This couldn't be more different. It is one of several new apartments in a modern building but in the centre of the old town with many traditional tapas bars around. We had a lovely lunch in the sunshine and later went for a walk along the sea front. There is a beach at the end on the road and today was warm enough for people sunbathing in bikinis!Read more
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