I have probably mentioned once or seventeen times that I like to travel a bit. In recent years around my birthday, David, a friend with whom I share common interests, and I have visited eastern Spain, Rome and North Yorkshire.
This year, we really fancied going somewhere different, and I mentioned the Jerez, Cadiz & Seville area of Spain. Tucked away at the bottom left of the country, it has a great reputation for history, food and Tapas bars. My sort of place I suppose, but the only problem was that David announced he had been there twice before.
However, he had enjoyed it so much that he was keen to revisit the fantastic places he had found on his previous short breaks. We decided on a four night holiday, giving us plenty time to see what was to be seen. He knew a good hotel in central Jerez, and so we needed flights now.
As David was visiting me in the North East, we wanted to fly from Newcastle Airport. Only problem was that Malaga was the only airport that went from there, and this was a 2 1/2 hour drive to Jerez.
Never mind, that would do as we needed a car anyway, and knew that trusty Amigo Autos would come up trumps. Sure enough, we arrived early on a Sunday to find – a huge queue for the hire car desk!
After a good 2 hour wait (!) we collected the car and decided to also go for a sat nav. Off we went, and the route was clear enough as we were straight onto the new toll road motorway. Whilst David(control freak) drove, I got to grips with the sat nav.
At least I tried to. Putting in the address of the hotel in Jerez, it desperately tried to point us back to the airport! Oh well, we didn€™t need it for now, but hopefully when close to the hotel it would be of help.
We made good progress, passing the impressive rock of Gibraltar, and before long it was just a few miles (kilometers) to Jerez. So I turned on the sat nav again, and hoped! No chance. It still wanted us to go back to Malaga.
However, I managed to get the map up with where we were and where the hotel was. So to cut a long story short, we got there, with the helpful sat nav voice objecting strongly.
We drove in to the hotel car park, parked, and got out, stretching our limbs. Breathing in as you do when at full stretch we were treat to the overwhelming scent of orange blossom. Wow, what a great start!
We booked in and David gave me the first big laugh of the holiday.
When asked for the car reg number, he confidently rattled off his own UK car number. He looked at me quizzically as I collapsed with laughter, and as it slowly dawned on him, he grimaced and blamed driving fatigue! The receptionist lady was giggling away as we went to our rooms, which thank goodness met with his lordships approval – control freak AND fussy!
After a small rest it was now early evening and time to go out on the town. David, no surprise here, wanted to visit an excellent bar nearby which had particularly good beer – no objections from me!
The hotel was just outside the old town, which is the place to go as it is very pretty and historic. So we got a local map and set off.
Walking along, we were again assailed by the scent of the orange trees, which line most of the main roads in Jerez. Fantastic!
On getting towards the centre, we were amazed to see huge bright red wooden booths lining the streets. Think the size of a single decker bus with the roof off, and we found out that they do lots of religious festivals with processions throughout the town. So people stand in these booths and watch the procession go by, no doubt also having a good old chat, with a tapas meal afterwards.
These booths were due to be left there for weeks as there were lots more saints days to come. Can you imagine that in a UK town? I don€™t think they would survive!
We found the bar, called the Gorilla Bar, and we sat outside eating olives and drinking beer. It was very interesting at around 9 at night to see families out for a stroll, and the locals grabbing a bite to eat. Then at 10, a football match came on the TV, and the volume rose considerably as fans shouted for their team.
Over the next 3 days we visited Cadiz and Seville, as well as walking the tourist route in Jerez, enjoying good weather. Yes, sherry was started here by Signor Tio Pepe (very nice) and the number of churches and piazzas was amazing. Fountains too were everywhere, giving that lovely drizzle in the air that you walk through when near to one.
We used the open top buses in Cadiz and Seville, with the commentary helping to gain an insight into these large and important cities. To say the least they are incredibly impressive, with history dripping from every street and piazza. Christopher Columbus sailed from Cadiz on his second voyage for example, and the wealth in Seville was immense with trade with the Americas, due largely to its navigable river.
Then there was the Moorish influence on buildings for example, and in the 1260s the Spaniards managed to push them back to Africa. The Cathedral in Seville by the way is the third largest church in the world!
Overall we had a great time, and will no doubt return. Thursday arrived all too soon, and we fired up the car, and for fun, the sat nav. Guess what? I typed in the airport details, but for the next 3 hours it attempted to get us back to the hotel!
Oh well.
