Jerez de la Frontera
We woke up early again and took a taxi to the Seville train station to catch the 9 a.m. train to Jerez (pronounced Heh–res) de la Frontera, one of the Andulsian white hill towns. Jerez de la Frontera is south of Seville and very near the city of Cadiz which is on the coast. The train station at Jerez is a work of art.
Jerez de la Frontera
Jerez de la Frontera
More of the train station.
Jerez de la Frontera
Jerez de la Frontera
Inside the train terminal.
Jerez de la Frontera
Royal Andalusian School of Equestrian Art
We took a taxi from the train station to the Royal Andalusian School of Equestrian Art, arriving about 10:45 a.m. We had to pick up our tickets here that we reserved over the Internet for the horse ballet. The show was not to begin until 12 p.m., but the gates opened at 11 a.m. You had to pay extra if you wanted to go inside to view the grounds, visit the museum, and watch the horses practice.
Royal Andalusian School of Equestrian Art
Royal Andalusian School of Equestrian Art
One of the buildings on the grounds.
Royal Andalusian School of Equestrian Art
Royal Andalusian School of Equestrian Art
More of the grounds and the practice arena.
Royal Andalusian School of Equestrian Art
Royal Andalusian School of Equestrian Art
I have put a movie clip on this website of the rider practicing with the horse in this photo: Go to Movies, Western Europe, Spain, “Royal Andalusian School of Equestrian Art.” We were not allowed to take photos or movies of the actual show.
Royal Andalusian School of Equestrian Art
Royal Andalusian School of Equestrian Art
Close–up of the horse.
Royal Andalusian School of Equestrian Art
Royal Andalusian School of Equestrian Art
The horse ballet arena.
Royal Andalusian School of Equestrian Art
Royal Andalusian School of Equestrian Art
Plaque inside the arena commemorating King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia’s contributions to the school.
Royal Andalusian School of Equestrian Art
Royal Andalusian School of Equestrian Art
And a photo of a photo of King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia.
Royal Andalusian School of Equestrian Art
Royal Andalusian School of Equestrian Art
Inside the arena. All the seats were full when the show started.
Royal Andalusian School of Equestrian Art
Royal Andalusian School of Equestrian Art
Close–up of the flags.
Royal Andalusian School of Equestrian Art
Royal Andalusian School of Equestrian Art
No photography was allowed after the show started (of course, you could buy DVDs of the shows). I scanned this photo of a horse performing in the ballet from a postcard. If you are interested in seeing more photos of the horse ballet, search on the Internet for the Royal Andalusian School of Equestrian Art. The best sites are in Spanish, so look for the word “fotos.” Some of the sites are better than others and all the photos that I found on them are copyrighted and hence I cannot reproduce them here. Merrie is very into horses and was thrilled by the show. I am not into horses but still thought it was of interest, especially the 19th–century Spanish costumes that the riders wore and the feeling of Old Spain in the show.
Royal Andalusian School of Equestrian Art
Jerez de la Frontera
We were hungry after the show and decided to go into the town to eat lunch. A Hop–on, Hop–off bus was in front of the school and we hopped on, thereby avoiding a long walk into the town. This turned out to be the strangest Hop–on, Hop–off bus tour I have ever been on. It started out normal as we drove along the streets of Jerez de la Frontera. Photo of the beginning of our bus ride.
Jerez de la Frontera
Jerez de la Frontera
Mural on a wall that we passed.
Jerez de la Frontera
Jerez de la Frontera
Coming to a church.
Jerez de la Frontera
Jerez de la Frontera
I believe that the structure on the left is from the medieval times.
Jerez de la Frontera
Jerez de la Frontera
Then, our bus just stopped at the end of this street. A line of cars were stuck behind the bus. They couldn’t move until we moved and there was much horn honking. We didn’t move for at least 15 minutes. When we finally saw the bus driver walking back to the bus, and not in a hurry, we realized that he must have parked so he could find a bathroom.
Jerez de la Frontera
Jerez de la Frontera
Well, anyway, this interesting church was in front of where the bus was stopped.
Jerez de la Frontera
Jerez de la Frontera
A closer–up view of the front of the church.
Jerez de la Frontera
Jerez de la Frontera
Close–up of one of the statues.
Jerez de la Frontera
Jerez de la Frontera
Then our bus driver gave us a thrill ride on hilly one–way streets. In this photo, we are coming into a very small square.
Jerez de la Frontera
Jerez de la Frontera
To view this church.
Jerez de la Frontera
Jerez de la Frontera
This interesting building was on level ground.
Jerez de la Frontera
Jerez de la Frontera
Looking down at a cafe from another hill.
Jerez de la Frontera
Jerez de la Frontera
Entering another square on a one–way hilly street.
Jerez de la Frontera
Jerez de la Frontera
To view this church.
Jerez de la Frontera
Jerez de la Frontera
View of the cathedral. And yes we are going to go down the street in the photo.
Jerez de la Frontera
Jerez de la Frontera
At least this is a two–way street. Note that the buildings are white (though in need of some paint). Hence, the color of the buildings is why this town is called one of the Andulsian white hill towns.
Jerez de la Frontera
Jerez de la Frontera
A closer–up view of the cathedral.
Jerez de la Frontera
Jerez de la Frontera
There are many pigeons on the top balcony of this house.
Jerez de la Frontera
Jerez de la Frontera
Back on level ground. The entrance to the Tio Pepe manufacturing plant, one of the many sherry manufacturing plants in Jerez.
Jerez de la Frontera
Jerez de la Frontera
We got off the Hop–on, Hop–off bus in front of the Alcazar.
Jerez de la Frontera
Jerez de la Frontera
We walked past the Alcazar gardens.
Jerez de la Frontera
Jerez de la Frontera
A pomegranate tree in the gardens.
Jerez de la Frontera
Jerez de la Frontera
The pretty square where we had lunch.
Jerez de la Frontera
Jerez de la Frontera
Close–up of the fountain.
Jerez de la Frontera
Jerez de la Frontera
Another close–up of the fountain.
Jerez de la Frontera
Jerez de la Frontera
And another close–up.
Jerez de la Frontera
Jerez de la Frontera
The cafe where we had lunch. It didn’t have an English–language menu, but it did have a menu containing photos of all their dishes. The photos of their hamburger and a plate of French fries looked very inviting and this is what I ordered. Both were delicious. Maybe it is the meat that they use or how they cook it or how they season it, but the Spanish really know how to make American hamburgers. We were entertained during our lunch by an accordian player. I have put a movie clip of him on this website: Go to Movies, Western Europe, Spain, “Music at Jerez de la Frontera.”
Jerez de la Frontera
Jerez de la Frontera
After a wonderful lunch, we walked around some. An interesting building.
Jerez de la Frontera
Jerez de la Frontera
The top of the building.
Jerez de la Frontera
Jerez de la Frontera
Tiled entryway that we passed by.
Jerez de la Frontera
Jerez de la Frontera
The Spanish trash can. You see these green trash domes all over Spain.
Jerez de la Frontera
Jerez de la Frontera
Tile advertising Gonzalez Byass, which is the manufacturer of Tio Pepe.
Jerez de la Frontera
Jerez de la Frontera
We walked around the Alcazar. Rick Steves thought it was a waste to go inside it, so we didn’t. A stack of sherry barrels as public art.
Jerez de la Frontera
Jerez de la Frontera
Close–up of the barrel art advertising La Ina Domecq sherry
Jerez de la Frontera
Jerez de la Frontera
Another view of the Alcazar.
Jerez de la Frontera
Jerez de la Frontera
Another view of the Alcazar.
Jerez de la Frontera
Jerez de la Frontera
And another view.
Jerez de la Frontera
Jerez de la Frontera
And one more.
Jerez de la Frontera
Jerez de la Frontera
If you are a true tourist, you would definitely go visit one of the sherry bodegas in Jerez and, of course, taste the sherry. We almost did. We were close to the Tio Pepe bodega and inquired there when the next English–language tour would be––not for over an hour. We did not have enough energy left to wait for the tour. Today we were really feeling the effects of our previous days of sightseeing. We decided to visit the cathedral which was just below where we now were and then call it a day. However, I did get to take this photo of the Tio Pepe bottle at the tour entrance.
Jerez de la Frontera
Jerez de la Frontera
The cathedral seen from the Alcazar.
Jerez de la Frontera
Jerez de la Frontera
Tio Pepe statue with a view of the cathedral.
Jerez de la Frontera
Jerez de la Frontera
View of the cathedral from the side.
Jerez de la Frontera
Jerez de la Frontera
A closer–up view.
Jerez de la Frontera
Jerez de la Frontera
Close–up of the dome.
Jerez de la Frontera
Jerez de la Frontera
Close–up of the bell tower.
Jerez de la Frontera
Jerez de la Frontera
View of the cathedral from the front.
Jerez de la Frontera
Jerez de la Frontera
Close–up of the front of the cathedral.
Jerez de la Frontera
Jerez de la Frontera
Another close–up of the front.
Jerez de la Frontera
Jerez de la Frontera
View of the top of the cathedral.
Jerez de la Frontera
Jerez de la Frontera
Close–up of one of the statues.
Jerez de la Frontera
Jerez de la Frontera
Side of the cathedral and street back to the Alcazar. The cathedral was closed so we couldn’t visit it. It wasn’t even 3 p.m. yet, but we were dragging and we didn’t think we had enough energy left to walk back up those steps. So we walked down the hill and looked for a bar or a cafe where we could ask to have them call us a cab to take us to the train station.
Jerez de la Frontera
Jerez de la Frontera
A taxi came and took us to the train station. The next train to Seville was at 17:33, which I converted to be 4:33 p.m. After waiting and more waiting on the Seville track for the train, I did finally figure out that the correct conversion was 5:33 p.m., so we went back to the station and had coffee and pastries. When we arrived in Seville, we took a taxi back to our hotel––or close to our hotel as the taxi driver insisted on leaving us off on a main street rather on our hotel’s one–way street. We didn’t tip the driver. Neither Merrie nor I went out to eat dinner and opted for room service. We were just two very tired tourists.
