Home in Jerez, Jerez de la Frontera, Andalusia, Spain

After our stay in Seville, we headed south and stayed in this house in Jerez de la Frontera for three weeks during which Amy hosted her photographer friends to share in the wonder and joy of Andalusia. This is the main entry looking towards the back courtyard....... Although it was too cold to use in April, I bet the splash pool feels great on a blistering hot summer's day in August.



This is the opposite view toward the front door. It was difficult to find a large enough house suitable for a group that would be centrally located in Andalusia but, as always, Amy, the master of research, found a winner in this Moorish inspired design. Jerez made a great central location from which to visit surrounding locations such as Seville, Arcos de la Frontera, Medina Sidonia, Gibraltar, Cadiz, Morocco, and many other wonders of the area.



Each and every day began for me with a taste explosion of a Spanish orange. A sweetness and ripeness and freshness that defies description. That juice we buy in a cardboard carton in America - not a very strong contender for second place.



Jerez is known for Sherry, Horses, and Flemenco.  These old bottles of sherry are on the wall of a local bar. The barman, a third generation owner, showcases these 1810 bottles in a case crusted with dust and leakage - hundreds of years of life and work spent in this very spot - generation to generation - it is hard for me from a more transient society to comprehend working in the same bar that my father did that my grandfather did that his grandfather did and that my son will - their entire lives spent walking back and forth along the marble bar serving customers for a lifetime.

Seeing and hearing about different traditions across the world is a sweet treat of travel - as sweet as a fresh Spanish orange still slightly warm from the sun.