A sherry in Jerez.

Yesterday Cadiz, today Jerez! Conveniently, El Puerto, where we are staying, is halfway between the two, and the whole area has an excellent, modern, spotlessly clean public transport network. It's only 10 minutes by train to Jerez, the downside is the station is a good 40 minute hike across town from the campsite. This is not such an inconvenience, El Puerto is a nice old riverside town, with venerable  bodegas, an ancient castle and a famous bullring. The downside - we struggled past these walking against a warm, but determined westerly blast, bent forwards like  those spectral stick men you get in Lowry paintings, or the very drunk.

Thankfully it was less windy in Jerez; it's a few Kms. inland, so more sheltered. The station is a spectacular building, covered in decorative tilled and beautifully maintained. There is nothing old fashioned about the trains though. Even the local commuter service had sleek state of the art trains which put to shame the ramshackle rolling stock you find in the UK' s local rail network. 

Modern rolling stock...

gorgeous old station

Again, it was a bit of a hike from the station to Jerez's city centre. The shopping area runs east from the central Plaza del Arenal. In England, such a mix of 19th century buildings interspersed with 60s and 70s 'improvements' would look naff. Here though, whether it's the sunny skies, vibrant light or the effect of a few weeks of exposure to a laid-back, hispanic outlook, it's difficult to be negative about the eclectic mix of styles which typify Jerez's streets. Once you fill them with cafe tables, and people watching the world go by, it takes on a kind of mundane charm.

Jerez's main shopping street

mixes the old

with the modern

We were looking for somewhere to eat, but broke a few of our self-imposed rules and ended up paying through the nose for our stupidity. It is simple enough not to get ripped- off, don't eat in be central square, find somewhere down a side street popular with locals. so what did we do? Fell for the sales pitch of a waiter in the central square, ate at his half empty cafe, and were charged €25 for a few plates of tapas, a couple of glasses of Tio Pepe, and dos cortado that should have been €18 max. We did drink sherry in Jerez I guess, but if we had not given in to our sore feet,  then the bars in the old streets to the north of the square would have been a more atmospheric place to have lunch.

Sherry in Jerez

Plaza d'Arenal

These older streets lead up to the cathedral, which is a pretty weird mix of Gothic and Baroque. Beyond here is Jerez's Alcazar, a sort of Alhambra-lite. Another time we agreed. There's some kind of lame pun in this about not feeling moreish about the Moorish, but I'm far too sensible to make stupid jokes like that, don't you agree?

Baroque meets Gothic to gruesome effec

numinous light behind the campanile!

We wandered back to the station, hopped on a train to El Puerto, trudged our way back across town, with a following wind thankfully, reached the van - knackering this tourist malarkey; time for a drink! 

So what do Jerez builders call these...sherry pickers of course!