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Jerez 2025
  • Tim Lynette Wilkins

Jerez 2025

A 34-day adventure by Tim Lynette Read more
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  • Trip start
    February 1, 2025
    Tim Lynette WilkinsJerez 2025Traveler

    First day back

    February 2 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 12 °C

    Long day traveling yesterday, thirteen hours, mostly because we needed to stop in Barcelona and the wait between flights was 4 hours. Otherwise it was all OK.

    Today we spend just pottering and getting settled in, but we went out for a good lunch. Sunday lunch is a big thing for the spanish, it's a time for families to go out and spend all afternoon together in their favourite restaurant so they were all quite busy. Afterwards we walked down to the alameda, which is the open space surrounding the castle, and managed to pick a good bag full of marmalade oranges to bring home before they all get picked by the local council and sold to the marmalade factories.

    It was quite cloudy and overcast this morning but the sun came out this afternoon. Due to rain tomorrow.    Read more

  • Tim Lynette WilkinsJerez 2025Traveler

    Settling in

    February 3 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 14 °C

    There was a bit of rain this morning as we walked to the market to stock up on food for the week, but by late afternoon it was warm (15 degrees) and sunny enough to sit out, with a jumper on. Mmm!

    The market is pretty well empty on a Monday morning and especially the big fish section is completely empty. Maybe the boats don't go out on winter weekends. We'll go back tomorrow and maybe get some tuna steak for dinner!    Read more

  • Tim Lynette WilkinsJerez 2025Traveler

    Lovely day!

    February 4 in Spain ⋅ 🌙 11 °C

    This morning there was a bit of a chill in the air, but the sky was blue and clear and the sun was shining. A trip to the market to get things we couldn't get yesterday, including a great thick slab of tuna for dinner. It was wonderful, tuna is caught all along this coast so it's fresh and so tasty, and crazy cheap. This slab, big enough for three people, was just 10 euros. Then a walk to my favourite sherry shop to get some special finos and olorosos.

    Laze in the sun (18 degrees) in the afternoon. It's a hard life!    Read more

  • Tim Lynette WilkinsJerez 2025Traveler

    Davina arrives for a few days

    February 6 in Spain ⋅ 🌙 14 °C

    Davina arrived yesterday, and will stay till Monday. At first she wanted to go sanlucar but we realised that the buses are only one each way so we could only go, have lunch and then come straight back so it wouldn't be worth the trip. As it is we plan to go on the train to cadiz tomorrow instead, she wants to go to the museum, which was closed the last time she was here.

    On the way home from a restaurant last night we found part of the centre of jerez changed into what looks like a film set, or stage set if the french revolution. I know there's a travelling version of Les Mis, perhaps it's coming here.    Read more

  • Tim Lynette WilkinsJerez 2025Traveler

    Sunny friday

    February 7 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 17 °C

    We walked down to the market for Davina to choose some fish for dinner (she chose slabs of tuna and shark), and took the opportunity to get some churros and chocolate.

  • Tim Lynette WilkinsJerez 2025Traveler
    Cylinder idol like the one I made in bronzeVery fine carved rock crystal

    Day trip to Cadiz

    February 9 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 18 °C

    Yesterday we took the train to Cadiz, the last time Davina was here the museum in Cadiz was closed, so she wanted to go back and visit it. It's a small museum but with some wonderful pieces, especially from the phoencian period. Lunch in a bar we know with good food from the time we stayed in cadiz a few years ago.

    In the evening we tried a new tapes bar just down the street (it was very good!) Then some drinks and a show in our favourite flamenco bar.

    Today it's hot hot! 20 degrees and full sun., and lunch at the taparia at the fundador bodega. The food there is spectacularly good, the opposite to what you get in a tapas bar at home, of meat balls, patatas bravas and squid. I don't include the tapes bar in wendover in that - the food there is excellent.    Read more

  • Tim Lynette WilkinsJerez 2025Traveler

    Saying bye to Davina

    February 11 in Spain ⋅ 🌧 16 °C

    After a busy day on Saturday (Davina's watch said we walked 19000 steps!) we had a quiet day on Sunday. Church in the cathedral and an excellent lunch at the Fundador taperia were followed by a lazy afternoon in the sun on the terrace. She went off in a taxi at 11.00 to the airport to fly to Gatwick via Madrid.
    Today returned to normal with shopping and washing. It has been breeze and partially cloudy with even a brief shower.    Read more

  • Tim Lynette WilkinsJerez 2025Traveler
    Cylinder idol
    Set of idols. The little one is bottom rightZuberan young Mary

    Museum and cathedral

    February 12 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 16 °C

    This morning I walked across the city to the museum. I've been there many times before, but it's still nice to go and see favourite artifacts. There's always something I hadn't noticed before. This time it was a little cylinder idol from the second or third millenium BC. There are two much bigger ones but this one is just a few cms tall and really nicely worked.

    Afterwards to the cathedral, especially to see a painting by zuberan of the young virgin mary dozing while reading a book. Given that very few people were literate in jesus' time, is there anything in the bible that would indicate that Mary could read and write,? It's common for renaissance painters to show her reading during the annunciation.    Read more

  • Tim Lynette WilkinsJerez 2025Traveler
    Our friendly stork
    Prawns and smoked sardines

    Lovely weather

    February 15 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 20 °C

    I hope no-one at home is reading this but I wanted to make a note for our diary of the trip. The weather the last 2 days has been simply glorious - blue skies, 20c and sunny all day with just the slightest of breeze. We couldn't have asked for better. And a stork came to visit! It sat on the chimney we can see from our terrace for about half an hour. Woke up this morning and it's completely overcast and has remained so, but still warm.
    We have cooked some lovely food too - a whole hake last night with leeks and potatoes and for lunch today we cooked a half kilo of fresh local prawns, smoked sardines on toast and papas alinadas, with a salad. Yum.    Read more

  • Tim Lynette WilkinsJerez 2025Traveler
    New tabanco entre tercios
    Lunch at GabrielasGood food at Gabrielas

    Restaurants

    February 16 in Spain ⋅ 🌙 13 °C

    One of the joys of coming back to Jerez is revisiting our favourite restaurants and bars and discovering new ones. So far this trip we have really enjoyed Albores, Almacen and Fundador all of which we went to 10 years ago and they have got better. So last night was a big disappointment. We started out to go to the tabanco round the corner which has good hard to find sherries, but it was closed. Then on to another we wanted to try out but they were on vacation. So back to some old favourites that were dreadful. The one that used to be Vina T and is now Dos Esquinas the food was poor and the Tabanco Plateros, where we discovered some wonderful sherries, only had ones from the barrel from an unknown bodega. The evening was saved by calling at the new tabanco across the road which has been beautifully done up - entre tercios.
    Today we had lunch in the sun at faithful old Gabrielas where the food is still as good as ever.    Read more

  • Tim Lynette WilkinsJerez 2025Traveler

    Sanlucar

    February 18 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 16 °C

    Yesterday morning we took the bus from Jerez to Sanlucar de Barrameda, a town less than an hour away on the coast where the river Guadalquivir meets the Atlantic. We've been there many times before as its famous as one of the three sherry towns, and especially for manzanilla. And also for wonderful seafood.

    Lunch in the sun in the main square, but the food was disappointing. The restaurant is one we've been to before and the food has always been excellent, but this time it just seemed rather ordinary.

    In the evening we went to another restaurant we've been to before, with wonderful local langostines, but again it all seem a bit ordinary. The langostines are huge (and €8.50 each!).

    Thankfully lunch today in the tapas bar of one of the manzanilla bodegas was up to scratch.

    Back to Jerez on the bus (bus fares just €2 each) after a disappointing trip. Although we did manage to spend an hour on sanlucar's spectacular beach.    Read more

  • Tim Lynette WilkinsJerez 2025Traveler

    Armstrongs here! Yay!

    February 21 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 16 °C

    Natalie, Andy, Finlay, and Emily arrived in Seville a couple of days ago and came to Jerez on the train this morning. We met them at the station and lunch outside on the terrace in the sun. For tea finlay requested that we cook clams that he really loves, and we bought yesterday fresh in the market. Tonight Natalie and Andy have a dinner in the best restaurant in town and finlay and Emily and are staying overnight with us. I'm very happy!Read more

  • Tim Lynette WilkinsJerez 2025Traveler

    A day out in Jerez

    February 22 in Spain ⋅ 🌙 14 °C

    Breakfast of churros and chocolate in the sun in the market square, and a wander around the fish market afterwards. Emily doesn't like the sights or smell there, but finlay is fascinated by all the different types of fish, mostly ones we don't see at home.

    Then a long lunch at a restaurant that Natalie and Andy love and want to go to everytime they come. An afternoon in the sun on our terrace, and trip to the flamenco bar in the evening. The bar was so packed (the flamenco festival started yesterday) that we couldn't get in to see the show but the kids wiggled through and someone kind helped them to sit at the back up on the bar. They enjoyed it so much.

    They go home again tomorrow and we need to get the kids up at 6 am to get the train back to seville and then to the airport. Just a fleeting visit this year!    Read more

  • Tim Lynette WilkinsJerez 2025Traveler

    Football day

    February 23 in Spain ⋅ 🌙 14 °C

    We got the kids up 6 am this morning for Natalie and Andy to pick them up and get the train back to seville. Except then the flight was delayed over two hours. Seville airport is not a great place to waste 2 hours of your life!

    I went across the city to the southern edge where one of my jerez football teams have their stadium. It was good sitting in the sun, but neither team were very good and it was all very poor. I left at half time and with it being Sunday there were very few buses back so a 40 minute walk home up the hill to the centre. I'm sure it must be good for me after all the tapas and sherry!

    After lunch my other team were playing in the opposite direction, so I got a bus there and watched them win a scrappy game 1-0 (the other game finished 0-0, so I don't think i missed much) and walked home in the evening sun.    Read more

  • Tim Lynette WilkinsJerez 2025Traveler

    Last day

    February 27 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 13 °C

    Tomorrow is our last day in Jerez as we go out to the airport first thing Saturday to collect a hire car. It's due to be raining hard all day tomorrow and we have booked to have lunch in our favourite taperia. Then we drive across Andulucia to a finca up in the Sierra Subbetica mountains for a couple of days and then to the coast at malaga for another couple of days before coming home. Due to rain all the time i think!

    Tomorrow is anducia day. A public holiday and all the schoolkids (and adults!) will be out parading in fancy dress.    Read more

  • Tim Lynette WilkinsJerez 2025Traveler

    Weather continued

    February 28 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 11 °C

    The weather has been really good this year. Until today we had only had a couple of short showers and one afternoon of rain. Even today there were a few short downpours spread through the afternoon and this evening it is all dry again. We have had plenty of lovely days of warm sunshine and even a few when it got too hot mid-afternoon.

    Sadly the forecast for our remaining time is mostly rain. That would be annoying at Clive's place as it's in the middle of nowhere and there's not much to do if you can't go out.

    On the way there tomorrow we are going to stop in Antequera to see some prehistoric dolman tombs. We went maybe 17 years ago and they are very impressive- a bit like Mycaenian tombs but older.    Read more

  • Tim Lynette WilkinsJerez 2025Traveler
    El Romeral entrance corridor
    Entrance to burial chamberEnormous capstone on corbelled roofEntrance to Cueva La Viera with massive stone walls and roofOval chamber of Cueva La Menga with central pillarsView from entrance of rock where summer solstice sun risesBurial mound with entrance of a dolmen

    Antequera dolmens

    March 2 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 13 °C

    Picked up the car at Jerez airport and drove 2.5 hrs east towards Granada. Our cars at home are old and controlled by buttons and switches. This hire car has a touch screen that controls everything and it's a nightmare to navigate. It took half an hour to get the aircon working properly.

    Our first stop was in Antequera a centre of stone age settlement and later a Roman town. Our visit was to 3 stone dolman tombs each then covered with a tumulus. They date from 2500bc to 2000bc so around the time of Stonehenge and the engineering of the stone monoliths is equally impressive.

    We arrived at Clive and Maki's finca around 4.00 and it is lovely as it was 15 years ago. Only the local electricity substation developed a fault the night before and can't be fixed till Monday. There is only enough electricity for lighting not heating so the bedrooms are freezing but there is a wood burner in the dining room / lounge so we spent the evening there reading and enjoying Clive's delicious food.    Read more

  • Tim Lynette WilkinsJerez 2025Traveler
    Terrace of our room
    View from the terraceBreakfast in the sunIznajarView of dam to the eastView of dam to the west8c Moorish castleBeautiful Moorish plate in museumChurch of Santiago

    Iznajar

    March 2 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 12 °C

    Despite the cold we slept well with cozy duvet and blanket. This morning amazingly was sunny and warm enough for breakfast on the terrace. We drove to the nearest town Iznajar on top of a hill and visited a Moorish castle dating from the 8c. The town was under Moorish rule from Granada until the 15c. They seem very proud of their heritage and it's a nice town. It now overlooks an enormous dam built in the 60s which has become a tourist attraction with watersports and beach. The dam looks much emptier than it has been due to frequent droughts here. The sun lasted till about midday and we are now back to grey skies - but it hasn't rained on us yet!Read more

  • Tim Lynette WilkinsJerez 2025Traveler
    Roman theatreWalls of the Alcazaba

    Arrival in Malaga

    March 4 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 17 °C

    We left Clive's this morning to drive to Malaga. The power went off again during the night so there was no heating again. Clive's was nice to visit and his food is wonderful but I don't think we will be going again, it's just too primitive for us these days and there is not much to do if the weather isn't good!

    We arrived in Malaga in sunshine and enjoyed lunch outside. The hotel in Malaga is right in the central district and next to the Roman theatre and Moorish Alcazaba. Lots to see tomorrow.    Read more

  • Tim Lynette WilkinsJerez 2025Traveler
    Entrance to the Alcazaba
    One of several planted courtyardsCarved stuccoEntrance to Mercado - 14c archStained glass window in marketCourtyard of the museumPhoecian glass perfume bottleRoman glass plateRoman mosaic of the birth of venus

    Malaga in the rain

    March 5 in Spain ⋅ 🌧 16 °C

    It was heavily overcast this morning and the air was damp. Undaunted we went to see the Roman theatre- which is very small - and the Alcazaba - which is much bigger than expected. The rain held off until we got to the top of the Alcazaba when a steady drizzle started and hasn't stopped.
    Like all Moorish castles and palaces this one had lots of patios with water features and numerous rooms with carved stucco and painted walls. It dates from the 11 - 14 century. Whilst not on the scale of the Alhambra in Granada or Alcazar in Seville it was very pleasant even in the rain.
    The other must see here is the Mercado - the market which has been recently restored and is still a vibrant local market full of fish and meats.

    This afternoon we spent some time in the Malaga museum. A small museum in the building of the old customs house, but with a modern layout and well documented artifacts, going back to prehistoric times, lots of phoenician and roman material.    Read more

    Trip end
    March 6, 2025
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