The original plan for southern Spain did not have the Cadiz province on the tour. However, after buying our guidebook (in the airport in Manchester waiting for the plane to Malaga) we noted some neat things out that way that we'd like to check out. Based on the maps it seemed like it was somewhat on the way to Sevilla so we decided to add it to the itinerary. The big driver was to check out the Sherry tasting.
When looking for a place to stay the options in Cadiz were *very* limited so we ended up staying in Jerez de la Frontera. This is the lesser visited of the three cities in the area. The advantage is we had an amazing hotel, with free parking for a spectacular rate. The downside there wasn't as much in the city. It had the standard cathedral and alcazar, but they didn't seem that significant and we had enough of those for a while so besides looking from the outside we didn't check them out.
In addition to Sherry Jerez is known for its horse show/training facility. The shows only play on Tuesdays and Thursdays and since we happened to be there on a Tuesday we decided to take advantage. The horse show was neat, but not being big equestrian people it wasn't a huge attraction for us. I think we were slightly turned off as it was 21 Euro a person. I think it would be worth it if you were horse people, but it wasn't the best value for dollar for us. Having said that, it was neat to do/see something different. Another downside to the show is you cannot take any photos (even without flash). This too was a disappointment. They let us take Emily in, but we were concerned about the crying. She was a champ, but had a bit much at the end. So Mark missed a bit of the show so that she didn't have a melt down during the performance. The big thing about the show is the horses performing. They did interesting skipping and jumping and walking sideways... things that are not natural for horses.
Emily at the show during "half-time"
The "zamboni"
Family Photo! (Mark too a Spanish couple's photo so he wanted to repay us)
As we only had one full day and two nights in Cadiz, we decided to do the other activity that brought us to Cadiz, Sherry tasking. We headed out for the last tour so Emily could get a good afternoon nap in the hotel. In the end, although we tried, she didn't end up napping great that day... we paid for it later. We had planned to go to the Tio Pepe tasting. That is the big one in the city, but we got lost and were late so when we came across the Fundador Bodega (another big one) we decided to stop for the tour. The benefit was a much more intimate tour.There were three brands at that Bodega. They are best known for their Harvey's Bristol Cream. One of the more interesting aspects of the tour was the tasting. They put 4 full bottles on the table gave each of the 8 of us on the tour a glass and said have at er. If you wanted to ensure you got your money's worth you could pound back as much liquor as you wanted. The Danes on the tour put in a good effort. Emily and I refrained (well I had a few sips of three of them and a little more of the Bristol Cream). Mark had more generous servings, and had the unfortunate requirement of finishing two large glasses of the least appealing Sherry, Fino - the Spanish women on the tour poured the first taste and the portions were a little too generous. As there wasn't a place to dump out what you didn't like, as there is on wine tours we have done in North America, Mark took one for the team (good thing I was carrying Emily that day). Some pics of the tour...
The following day ended up pouring rain. We decided to try to check out the Tio Pepe tour as well before we headed off to Sevilla. With getting the car packed and getting there were a couple of minutes late and they refused to let us join the tour late. Needless to say we were annoyed... our annoyance was probably amplified by the fact that they weather was terrible and we were rather wet... Well Emily was dry, I was slightly wet and Mark was really wet (coincidently Mark was also the most "annoyed").
We cut our loses, hit the Carrefour for some supplies (including a 10 Euro umbrella) and headed off to Sevilla.
No comments:
Post a Comment