Blogs from Jerez de la Frontera, Andalusia, Spain, Europe

A nice gentle start to the day. We wake around nine, have breakfast and lounge around awhile. We have tickets to see the Andalucian horse show but it does not start till midday. All the same we want to make sure we are there in time so we leave in that general direction allowing 30-40 minutes. In fact, it only takes us fifteen minutes and for once we find the place straight away. OK so we are about an hour early but no matter we are allowed into the grounds. Our ticket allows us entry to the palace and the saddlery. Plus we can go to see the horses training. This gives us ample time to see everything before the show. We walk through the shady gardens, behind the palace and on to the saddlery. A ... read more

Même si nous sommes déjà venus de très nombreuses fois en Andalousie, celle-ci est tellement belle qu'on ne finira jamais de l'explorer... Comme nous avons pris le temps de rester sur place plusieurs semaines... nous pouvons découvrir ou revoir certains coins devant lesquels nous ne nous sommes pas toujours attardés.... C'est ainsi que nous surlignons sur la carte les routes qui nous mèneront à Jerez de la Frontera puis Cordoue, mais aussi Malaga tout en nous arrêtons avant celle-ci à El Chorro pour une raison bien précise que vous découvrirez comment je m'y suis attardée... avec bien entendu de petits arrêts sur notre passage dont la ville d'Ecija où l'arrêt vaut la peine. J'aurais aimé m'arrêter également à Utrera, mais mon chauffeur en a décidé autrement... ce sera pour une autre expédition... Il a donc été ... read more

Bring on the dancing horses, as Mr McCulloch sang with his Bunnymen. The lyrics were unlikely to have been inspired by our destination, but makes a handy blog title. The train pulled into Jerez pretty much on time despite the slightly late departure. Jerez is famous for horses, motorcycle racing, sherry and flamenco -- but not necessarily in that order. I doubt that many visitors see the other thing it should be known for - the most fantastic railway station. In Seville, the visitor numbers to the Plaza Espana must run into the hundreds of thousands in a year. The Jerez De La Frontera railway station building is by the same architect. I doubt many regular commuters even spare it a thought and even less visitors know of its existence, but it features the same fantastic ... read more

We moved from Granada by bus and train yesterday and are now in Jerez de la Fronter (or on the the Frontier.) In 1492 the Christian King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella agreed to finance Columbus after he asked them three times. The needed their money at the beginning of the year to fight the Moors in Granada. They Conquered Spain and made Granada their Capital. They honeymooned at the Alhambra. When they Moors were driven back South and the Sultan no longer in power, and King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella, having secured the frontier which was everything in the south of Spain, they now could finance Columbus's voyage of discovery. We learned much of this history from the Alhambra quite. To continue the story, within 2 generations the capital had been moved to Madrid, the center ... read more

Friday 21st June My routine on the day I move on has developed into - sleep at late as possible (most breakfasts do not finish to 11am and checkout is Noon), have a leisurely breakfast, pack, taxi to the train station, train to where ever an...d taxi to new hotel! I have been so lucky with the hotels I have chosen since leaving Madrid. The accommodation for the first 3 weeks was all booked before I left Tumut. For the rest I have used a website www.trivago.es (yes - Spanish!) and the recommendations in Lonely Planet I am only booking a few days ahead. So far so good. The Hotel Eurico in Toledo was adequate (double bed but room badly organised), but noisy as my room faced the street. In Cordoba, Hotel El Conquistador was excellent ... read more