Arrived

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.
Settling in

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!. FortunatelyLes mer
Oh Wow! Just ... Oh Wow!

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 andLes mer
Restaurants

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,Les mer
A week!

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 bigLes mer
Yesterday

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 cityLes mer
Flamenco and football

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,Les mer
Going on a trip

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 trainLes mer
Journey to Cordoba

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 speedLes mer
First day in Cordoba

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 wouldLes mer
Full day in Cordoba

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 theLes mer
Alcazar

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.
Last day in Cordoba

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 forLes mer
Football . . . And more football!

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 thanLes mer
A day trip to Arcos de la Frontera

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 prettyLes mer
The kids come to visit

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. TheirLes mer
Kids arrive 2

More pics
Sunny saturday

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 weLes mer
More pics

Sunday

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'tLes mer
Kids going home

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.Les mer
Tuesday

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.Les mer
Wednesday

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 forLes mer
Leaving Jerez

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, butLes mer
Arrival in Cadiz

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 ofLes mer