Jerez de la Frontera: Land of Sherry and Horses

We made another day trip from Sevilla to Jerez de la Frontera, which is famous for sherry and horses. We were introduced to sherry on our first trip to Spain in 2007 and are big fans of the sweet dessert sherry, Pedro Ximénez (which is also the name of the grape varietal), but we knew very little about the numerous other types of sherry, especially the dry white style. After visiting two port bodegas in Portugal, we wanted to learn more about how port and sherry differ. So, we hopped on a train and were in Jerez within an hour.

Our first stop was Bodega Lustau for a tour and tasting, in Spanish (of course). There were only four of us on the tour, so it was easy to follow, although our guide spoke a bit fast. Both sherry and port are fortified wines with their own protected designation of origin. Port can only be made from grapes grown in the Douro Valley (Portugal) and sherry can only be made from grapes grown in the Jerez region of Spain. Port and sherry are fortified at different times during the fermentation process. Both are aged for varying lengths of time, depending on the style being produced. We learned about the Solera System of aging sherry, in which the wine is blended in various fractions from different aged barrels. There is a sequential-set of oak barrels used in this process. The magnitude of barrels lined up and stacked is astounding – we walked through football-field sized warehouses with rows upon rows of barrels. In parts you could smell the difference between the types of sherry being aged in the barrels.

The best part of the tour was the tasting. We tried 8 different wines, ranging from fino and manzanillo, the dry white varietals, to oloroso (reds), to the sweet dessert varietals, and also “vermut.” We were surprised but thrilled to finally try Spanish vermouth. Vermouth is a fortified wine as well, but it is aromatized, i.e. infused with herbs and spices, and sweetened. Most people only know vermouth as a martini (or other cocktail) ingredient. Here in Spain, vermouth is very popular and the Spaniards drink it neat or over ice. We really liked it and even bought a bottle of the vermut rojo, along with a bottle of our favorite Pedro Ximénez. We continue to adopt the Spanish customs that please us most.

The week we visited Sevilla also happened to be when Jerez was holding its annual Feria de Caballo (horse fair), so after our sherry tasting, we headed to the Feria. Each May the whole city turns out over the course of a week to celebrate the Andalusian horse culture, flamenco, sherry and food. Most everyone is decked out in their finest traditional garb – this was the first time in Spain that I truly felt under dressed. The photos below show you why. The women were wearing beautiful Sevillanas dresses. Even the horses were dressed up for the occasion. You can ride through the fairgrounds in a horse-drawn carriage, dance the flamenco, and eat your heart out in the various casetas (restaurant stalls).

It was a bit of an overwhelming scene for us. Too many casetas to even know where to start and while the horses are beautiful, exploring the fairgrounds required that you watched where you stepped at all times.

We spent just enough time at the fair to get the feel of it and then headed back into town for a lovely lunch at La Carbona, where the chef has created a tasting menu that matches each course with a sherry wine. This was much more our speed than the horse fair. We enjoyed it so much, including the people watching, that I forgot to take pictures of the best dishes and the few photos I took didn’t do the food justice.

Jerez was a worthy day trip. Perhaps next time we'll go back and see a show at the Royal Andalusian School of Equestrian Art.

Hasta Luego,

Shana and Jeff

Cordoba and The Mezquita

Cordoba is another city we visited in 2007, but since it is home to one of the coolest sites we have ever been to, we thought it was worth going again as a day trip from Sevilla. Also helping us make this decision is the existence of high-speed trains in much of Spain outside the north. (We don't have high-speed trains yet where we live due to the mountainous terrain.) Although the high-speed trains in Spain do not travel as fast as in China, Japan or even France, our non-stop train made the 85 mile trip from Sevilla to Cordoba in just 45 minutes (it would have taken 2 hours on the bus or 1.5 hours driving).

As with much of Southern Spain, Cordoba was ruled by the Moors prior to its "reconquest" by the Catholics, which in the case of Cordoba occurred in 1236. For the last 200 or so years of Moorish rule, Cordoba was ruled by the Almoravids (Berbers from Northern Africa), but before that it was ruled by Muslims from Damascus (the Umayyads) and during that time (around the years 750-1000), Cordoba was among the most populous and technologically advanced cities in Europe. It is estimated that during the height of Umayyad rule, Cordoba's population was 200,000 people or 0.1% of the global population - equivalent to a city of over 70 million people today(!!)).

The result of this mixed history in Cordoba is one of the most amazing buildings we have ever visited -- the Mezquita (known in English as the Mosque-Cathedral of Cordoba). The Mezquita is a huge, ancient Mosque, which was built over centuries beginning in the year 784. At its peak, as many as 20,000 people would worship there together. And remember, for Muslims worshiping means having enough space to lay out a prayer carpet and prostrate yourself during the service. Now try to imagine a big enough space for 20,000 people to do this together.

After the Catholics conquered Cordoba, to their credit, they did not destroy the Mezquita. Instead, they placed a Church in the middle of it. And, that is how it remains to this day...a giant (non-used) Mosque, with an operating Catholic Cathedral rising up from the middle of it. We recommend that you do a quick search for pictures of the Mezquita from the air, it is the only way to really understand the magnitude of it.

Of course, the Mezquita is a giant tourist attraction. It seemed to us that most of the people were more interested in the Cathedral in the middle, but we can see and have seen plenty of old Catholic Cathedrals (there is even one in San Sebastian). For us, the most interesting part is the remnants of the old Mosque and the way that the Church has integrated itself without destroying what was there. Here are a few pictures of our favorite parts:

The different shades of red in the double arches reflect the original arches in contrast to newer arches added as the building expanded. The third picture is the mid-10th century mihrab, where the imam stood as he led the prayers. You can see many more pictures on the web, but we recommend a visit to the site itself. It is definitely something that should be experienced in person.

In addition to the Mezquita, Cordoba has an interesting history that includes a significant impact from its Jewish citizens who lived there in peace with the Muslims and Christians under the Umayyads, but  Cordoba's Jews were later forced into conversion or exile after it was conquered by the Almohads in 1148 (the great Jewish philosopher Maimonides was among the exiled). And, the Catholics completed the process begun by the Almohads after the Reconquista. We enjoyed walking through the narrow lanes of the old Jewish quarter and around the ancient walls of the old part of the city.

A triumphal arch in the Renaissance style:

The ancient Roman bridge (the foundation is from the first-century AD and the arches are from the 16th century) across the Guadalquivir River, which was once navigable but is now silted up:

All in all, we had a great day in Cordoba. And, we even slept on the brief train ride back to Sevilla :).

Hasta luego,

Jeff and Shana

A Night at the Real Alcazar of Sevilla

An Alcazar is a Moorish fort. They were built in many cities controlled by the Moors in Southern Spain and were often later re-purposed as Christian castles/palaces after the Reconquista. In the case of the Real Alcazar of Sevilla, most of the original Alcazar was rebuilt starting with King Pedro I of Castille (1334-1369), although some parts of the older Moorish sections remain. The Real Alcazar is built primarily in the Mudejar style, which was prevalent in Spain after the reconquista. It still functions as a royal palace today, and thus is the oldest European palace still in use.

The Real Alcazar is, of course, a highlight of any visit to Sevilla. Although we had visited in 2007, we planned to return. And, we did; however, Shana discovered that we could visit at night, which we thought would be a particularly special experience. It turned out even better than we expected. Instead of walking through the building, its decorations and gardens following Rick Steves' self-guided tour, we were treated to a performance by a series of actors dressed in period costumes that included singing and dancing (Shana even got to participate, minimally, in the dancing) as a way of explaining the history of the Real Alcazar. As a bonus, because Sevilla is celebrating the Year of Murillo, commemorating the 400th anniversary of native Sevillan artist Bartolome Esteban Murillo's birth, the performance also brought his story into the history of the Real Alcazar. 

Not surprisingly, the performance was in Spanish, and we were very proud of how much of the dialog we understood. While I am sure we did not get all of the history that we might have had the performance been in English, it was very fun and the Real Alcazar was beautiful at night. Also, because of the nature of the tour, we visited with about 40 other guests and not the usual multitude that we would have encountered during the day. 

Sorry there are no pictures, but they were forbidden during the performance. 

Hasta pronto,

Jeff and Shana

A Week in Sevilla

When we visited Spain for the first time in 2007, Sevilla was our favorite city. After returning there for vacation last week, we think it is our second favorite city in Spain (after San Sebastian, obviously). We are not even sure exactly why we like it so much. Mostly it is just a feeling that Sevilla is a great place to have a glass of wine and watch the world go by.

As with much of southern Spain, we think Sevilla's history is fascinating because of its pre-Christian rule by various Moorish (Muslim) dynasties from around 700 until around 1250. Although there are few actual buildings remaining from the Moorish period, the influence is obvious in the Mudejar style of architecture and decoration.

Of course, after the Moors were driven from Spain (along with the Jews), the Catholics made their contribution to the city. The Cathedral of Sevilla is the third-largest in the world:

The Giralda bell tower is a perfect representation of Sevilla's history: at its base are stones from the Roman period, on some of which you can still see Latin writing. Above that are the remains of the Moorish minaret, and at the top, the bell tower that was added by the Catholics.

 Of course, we visited the Cathedral (again), including a climb up the bell tower's 35 ramps. The reason for ramps (instead of stairs) is that during the Moorish period, the Muezzin would ride a donkey up those ramps five times a day to issue the Muslim call to prayer. The views of the city from the bell tower are fantastic:

The stadium in the foreground is the bullring. Bullfighting is still a very big event (we refuse to call it a sport) in Sevilla and much of the South of Spain, but less so in the north. And, no, we have never attended a bullfight and have no intention of doing so, even if they did make it a fair fight for the bull.

In addition to bullfighting, Sevilla is known for flamenco dancing. Although we did not attend a show on this trip, we did see a brief flamenco street performance:

Another great site in Sevilla is the Plaza de Espana, which is part of the fantastic Parque de Maria Luisa with its many fountains, flowers, trees and birds. The Plaza was built for the 1929 Ibero-American exposition, which was basically a World's Fair for the world's Spanish speaking countries:

Among the coolest parts of the Plaza de Espana is a series of alcoves with artistic tile designs representing each of Spain's regions. Of course, we had to get a picture of the alcove for Gizpuzkoa, the region where we live:

We certainly enjoyed the warm weather in Sevilla, although we could never live there, especially after a waiter told us that last August the temperature hit 54 degrees Celsius (129 degrees Fahrenheit (!!!)) one day. And, of course, we ate well and took advantage of the greater variety of food in Sevilla compared to San Sebastian by eating good Italian and Middle-Eastern food, as well as more traditional Spanish dishes. All-in-all, it was a great week.

More to come about our week in Sevilla.

Hasta luego,

Jeff and Shana

A Breakthrough

We are a bit behind on blogging in part because last week we were in Sevilla on our last school break before summer. There are, of course, posts to come about our recent travels, but first this quick post about something that happened in our most recent week of school.

The week before we went to Sevilla was our 30th (!) week of Spanish classes. Up to then, I had been steadily improving, but still felt like I was struggling with speaking the language. Shana continued to do better with speaking although I felt our ability to understand was similar.  But, in the 30th week, I suddenly was able to speak better and with greater confidence. I still feel like I have a long way to go, but the path to great fluency seems open whereas before I couldn't really see how I would even get there.

I wish I could explain how this happened, but I suspect it was just a lot of accumulated knowledge and practice that allowed me to (finally) make a breakthrough. Now, hopefully, I can continue improving before we head out on our long summer break.

Hasta luego,

Jeff