We went to Spain - to the Costa del Sol from1st - 9th April. It coincided with Easter. We arrived Wednesday and on Thursday the celebrations of Semana Santa (Holy Week) began. It is a religious festival with processions that one would have only have seen in Ireland in the early part of the twentieth century We discarded that part of our culture with the economic upswing of the 1960s
After a late dinner, we adjourned to the plaza where many people including a number of young teenagers, were busy polishing the 'thrones' in preparation for the following day. As we passed, they had a long table set up in the plaza, and they were eating dinner at 2300hrs. Each church has a number of thrones - the more thrones, the more important the church, I suspect.
The following evening at 2100 the throne left the plaza and followed by bands and the local dignatories walked the streets of the town, while the inhabitants and tourists looked on. There was an atmosphere of reverence even among the young teenagers.
On Friday, there was another procession more sombre now as the throne depicts Christ crucified. I even saw a tear in the eye of many a young boy and girl.
Saturday, there was no
no procession but on Sunday at noon there was a procession of celebration (Christ arisen) with the highlight being the Spanish equivalent of the French Legion, who gave us a display of their gun skills.
All towns and cities celebrate Semana Santa. We have been to Marbella in previous years, where the procession is much larger as each city church participates.
There is also food associated with Semana Santa , including numerous cakes
On Tuesday, we left on a 21/2 hour drive to Jerez (pronounced Herez).
We found our hotel in the old part of the city without too much difficulty in spite of leaving the Sat. Nav. at home. It was an old merchant's home beautifully restored.
We took the receptionist's advice and repaired to a restaurant 5 minutes walk from the hotel. As Jerez is the home of sherry, I had a Pedro Ximines sherry with my artichoke and truffles - delicious. The weather was chilly so we sat inside though some more hardy folk sat on the pavement outside. I won't tempt you palate with a photo!! ( actually I forgot, I wished to tempt your palate!!)
After lunch, we walked the old town and sitting at a cafe on one of the side streets, I thought I was in London!
It is a beautiful city with large open squares and narrow streets ripe for exploration.
We walked to the castle
and visited the spectacular cathedral
and generally spent the evening wandering the streets, repairing to another highly recommended restaurant for dinner.
The following day, we breakfasted in a local establishment, teeming with local colour.
We went in search of the fish market, which was reminiscent of The English Market in Cork
We then adjourned to the Tio Pepe Bodega. It is owned by the Gonzalez Byass family and it has remained family owned since its foundation.
In the interests of research, dear reader, we took a tour to discover how sherry was made.
Train anoraks take note, we were taken around by train.
It was very informative as we saw the complete process
Above is the storage, with casks destined for countries all over the world, including Ireland.
All the above barrels are reminiscent of the last supper with each barrel named after an apostle with Christ; the larger black barrel, placed in the centre.
If you are a VIP, you can name your own barrel, including Winston Churchill and Picasso, Prince Philip and Edward VIII to name but a few. My name was added as you no doubt guessed! You can look out for it when you visit!
The Royal family have their own casks and request the sherry to be bottled for special occasions.
Our tour ended with a tasting of their 4 great sherries
That evening, we walked the city and found a lovely bodega where, even though it was chilly, most of the people were sitting outside due to the absence of seating inside. We sat near a door and the barman pulled down a Perspex cover to shelter us from the breeze. Much appreciated.
Next day, we walked to the Sandeman bodega.
We did not take the tour as it would have been repetitive but we purchased some sherry as we had already done at Tio Pepe. As we walked back to collect the car and return to San Pedro, the rain was pouring down and continued until we reached our destination...
