Jerez de la Frontera..

Thursday, Mum and I went to Jerez de la Frontera. The only thing that I knew about Jerez, was the fact that there was a Formula 1 circuit there, and a famous horse fair that was held in May.

But, there was a lot more to Jerez than I'd realised... It turned out that the area was the sherry producing region of Spain! As far as I was concerned, sherry was the disgusting stuff that my great Aunt used to drink at Christmas...

The first stop on the trip (the one that I wasn't really looking forward to at all) was to the Harvey's sherry Bodega... (See http://www.jerezharveys.com/ for more info)



The main Bodega (pictured above) held about 1.5 million litres of Sherry, and the barrels were stacked five high, with the initials of the taster chalked onto the barrel, and the date that the various types had been tested:


That was a bit worrying for me, as I noticed that some of the barrels were leaking!


The various stages of the sherry making process were explained, and to be honest, I was pleasantly surprised by the taste... The Spanish drink it straight out of the fridge, over ice with a decent lump of orange in it.

The second part of the trip was the bit that I was really looking forward to.. We were going to the Spanish riding school... (See http://www.realescuela.org/ ).

Outside, there was a mounted police officer keeping the traffic moving, and preventing the tourists being run over by the passing motorists:


The school itself was impressive, and there were ushers keeping an eye open for people with cameras, as photography was forbidden...

But that didn't stop me taking photos!



Time to log off and bog off - my dratted mobile's ringing...

Back later, if I get the chance.

Karen.
I walk where others fear to tread