Jerez, Spain:
I thought we were going to the boat for the weekend; until Erwin told me no – we were not. This could only mean one thing – a surprise destination!
The home of sherry I was told.
It had to be “Jerez”.
I was right.
A weekend in the beautiful city of Jerez . Famous for three things – sherry, flamenco and dancing horses! I love surprises!
We stayed in a beautiful hotel in the city centre. The city itself is fairly small; you can really explore its beauty in a weekend on foot.
Which is what we did.
There are several beautifully coloured and painted small tile murals around the city – this one had incredibly bright colours. Beautiful.
For me, it is a city of churches and trees. So many churches!
And so, so many trees! The tree above is simply breathtaking. It is a huge, and I mean huge rubber tree.
I love a city with trees, it brings so much life ( and fresh oxygen!) into the heart of the city. And no doubt much needed shade during the hot summer months.
The Spaniards are a smartly dressed bunch, who give a relaxed impression. Tapas bars are found throughout the city and if you are there at night look out for the one in the centre that has a queue of people waiting for a table. The wait is worth it, believe me. We ate a very modern looking tapas with exquisite tastes. My favourite was a simple dish of toasted bread topped with caramelized red onion, warm goats cheese, walnuts and a delicious topping of balsamic vinegar mixed with honey. This was presented beautifully and the taste was in accordance with the presentation – absolutely delicious.
We missed out on a sherry “bodega” tasting tour due to the fact that it was a special Jerez holiday weekend and they were closed.
But we did treat ourselves to our own sherry tasting and tapas experience. Each to their own, and for me, as far as sherry is concerned I shall be sticking to a nice glass of wine from now on.
Here is a typical plate of assorted fried fish, Spanish tapas style. Quite tasty.
Another highlight of our weekend was the Flamenco show that we were lucky enough to watch. The bar / restaurant is on the map. Jerez is famous for flamenco because it has, apparently, been providing the World with outstanding flamenco artists for decades now. I can understand why. We watched a show, set in a crumbling old building, with a rickety stage and a cramped environment that was not highly polished, or even particularly professional but it was raw and full of passion and energy.
The flamenco artists themselves gave you the feeling that they had been playing / singing/ or dancing the unique flamenco way forever.
It is in their genes; they love it, and the raw flamenco spirit that they impart upon you is nothing short of impressive.
We did a short trip to the neighbouring city of Cadiz – predominantly to search for a good boat shop. Cadiz has a huge port and several marinas so we had hoped there would be one within the port vicinity. There wasn’t. At least we couldn’t find one.
It may have been the weather, which had turned pretty miserable, or simply our lack of Spanish but we found the people here particularly unfriendly and unhelpful. Perhaps it was not our time for Cadiz and so after a fruitless search we returned to the comparative friendliness and warmth of the lovely Jerez.
A city definately well worth a visit.
