We have visited Jerez twice before. The first time we caught the train from El Puerto, the second was a stop-off on the way to somewhere else. We stayed at a motorhome repair place that also does overnight parking on the edge of the city. It was too far to walk into the centre, we got no further than the nearby Aldi.
We returned to the place again, it was exactly the same, perhaps the building's balconies were not painted in lurid pink. One thing that was the same was the the welcome, every guest is offered a small glass of sherry, a nice touch, we opted for oloroso.
What I don't remember are the dusky pink bike tracks all the way into the city centre. Maybe they are recent developments. Anyway it's all very impressive, not just the cycleways but the traffic management system too. Every single junction is controlled by lights and cyclists are given priority. The whole set up is as good as anywhere we've seen, comparable with Stockholm or Copenhagen. Well done Jerez! The UK is decades behind.
We had no specific plans, find some nice old square and have lunch. Most of the old streets in the historical centre are semi-pedestrianised. There are bike racks provided where the pink cycle lanes meet the old cobbled streets. It's all well organised. We locked our bikes up and headed off on foot.
We had no idea where we were going, after about 200m we came across a shady square called Plaza Patero lined with cafés and restaurants, it was a little before Ipm. a little early for the locals to arrive for lunch, we chose a place at random called Casa Gabriella, ordered a Tio Pepe (Gill) and an oloroso (Pete) and asked for a menu.
A male Flamenco performer was doing his thing a few feet away, his acapella plaintive song interrupted from time to time by intense dance steps. He was slim built, of inderminate age with a craggy face and deep set eyes like an apostle by Zurbarán. After collecting small change from each café's customers he moved on.
We ordered food, but concluded it may take a while to arrive as suddenly everywhere went from almost empty to packed out. On a Monday in February, is it always this busy, we wondered. Our tapas arrived sporadically, the waiter apologised for the slightly chaotic service, but it was so busy that they had to bring out additional tables and chairs. We didn't mind, we weren't in a hurry and the food was excellent. Are the standout dishes always the ones you photograph? What looks good isn't always what tastes best. Still, I do remember both of these as looking great and being delicious ...
Empanadilla Pisto Huevno Poc
Carridillada al oloroso
It was mid-afternoon by the time we had finished our coffee. We made a a half hearted attempt at being tourists by walking to the adjacent square, Plaza del Progreso. It had a church and a monument in the middle of the Virgin Mary in majesty, but then so do many others, with a five kilometer ride back to the van we decided to head back via Mercadona.
The last time we were here I was a bit rude about the outskirts of Jerez. They are unremarkable, modern and quite bland, but they are not unpleasant. The whole place seems quite prosperous, well designed and looked after. I imagine the quality of life here would be good.
While checking the opening times of Mercadona we noticed it was closed tomorrow. It's Andalucia day and a public holiday. This explains why Casa Gabriella was so busy on a Monday If people are off work tomorrow quite a few of them probably took today off as well to make a long weekend of it. We are heading north tomorrow, either the roads will be full of holiday traffic or utterly empty because people are celebrating with a big family meal at home. We shall see.
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