On my way by bus from Ronda to Cadiz, I had passed through two places; one was Arcos de la Frontera which looked gorgeous, and the other was Jerez, which didn't.
Perhaps Jerez does not like the sort of people who travel by bus, so keeps them well away from the nice bits by placing the bus stop on a bypass?
There might be a less conspiratorial reason - traffic management, for example - but I was going to fool them by making my day trip by train.
And indeed, the train station (below) is a whole lot more attractive than the bus station, to put it mildly.
Jerez is known for three things: sherry, flamenco and dancing horses. I suppose if you want to diversify, then why not?
My parents loved sherry, and used to drink it every day. But Tio Pepe, the most famous bodega in town, doesn't open on Mondays apparently, so my own potential drinking habit came to an abrupt end on only the second day.
A repeat of yesterdays magic in El Puerto was not going to happen.
The dancing horses also have a day off on Monday. Note to self: do a bit more planning next time.
As you can see, I had more success with flamenco, but only by accident, as they were filming something in the Alcazar and very precious about their filming they were!
However I sneaked this photo while they were reviewing their footage and not glaring at me. At the time I thought the lady was having a fag, but on closer inspection back home, its clear I need to visit the optician.
The Alcazar
Jerez has a beautifully preserved Alcazar which was the highlight of my brief visit.
Some of it dates from the 12th Century, albeit complemented by newer buildings, and is one of the few structures that exemplify Almohad architecture in the region, serving as a castle, fortress and mosque.
The gardens (below) are beautifully kept.
JEREZ CATHEDRAL
The Cathedral dates from the 17th century and is one of the few I entered on this trip.
I did so because it sounded like they were tuning the organ which I thought might be interesting.
In fact, after paying the entrance fee, it turned out they were just vacuum cleaning the place, and their machines gave off a high frequency tone. Oh well.
It was an impressive interior as you can see from the photos below.
It was only a half-day trip before heading back to El Puerto for my final day to explore the lighthouse and marina I had seen at sunset the previous evening.