Day Trip {Jerez}

Jerez (pronounced her-eth) is the closest big city to us at about 20-30 minutes by car depending on where you are going.  I can't believe it has taken me three years to write a post about Jerez because we go often, but mostly for shopping -- grabbing something at the bigger department stores or IKEA.  Or my personal favorite is when I sneak away for an afternoon at the Hammam (or Arab baths) -- highly recommend if you have some time and are without kids!

While we go to Jerez often, this was the first time we really explored the city (we have gone for feria in the past).  We went with some of our very close friends as sadly one of the families is moving soon so we figured it was about time to enjoy what the the amazing city of Jerez has to offer!

We started off at the Alcázar -- which is a type of Moorish castle/fortress (many cities around southern Spain and Portugal have them) and most date back to the 11th century.  This alcázar is much smaller than the ones in Cordoba or Sevilla but still worth a trip, especially since it is a great size for kids to run around.  Not the most stroller friendly (lots of rocks and cobble stones) and not always safe (no railings) but still fun!

Next up we did a sherry tour at Tio Pepe -- one of the more famous sherry bodegas in Spain.  We are lucky enough to live in the "sherry triangle" so we have some amazing sherries at our front door.  If you hate sherry, then you have to try true Spanish sherry as there is only one place in the world that can make true sherry -- and that is right where we live!  A sherry tour is just like a wine or beer tour -- you learn how the sherry is made and then you get to taste it!  This tour was LONG so I would recommend no kids, although you do get to a ride a train so that was fun, but seriously it was over two hours (the longest tour we have done).  And yes, most bodegas (sherry places) offer English tours!  Bodegas Tradicion is another good bodega but on the much more expensive side (both the sherries and the tour).

If you do have kids, there are a few kid friendly activities if needed -- the zoo is very small but decent for younger kids; La Cuidad de los Niños is a big park/playground/activity center all for kids (I'd say elementary aged kids would like this best, we went when Sera was about three and she was a little young -- also it is all outdoors); CostaJump is a trampoline place -- make sure to go during comida (lunch time) to avoid big crowds; and finally Luz Shopping has a decent playground and some good/quick restaurants.

Jerez is a great little big city that is worth a visit if you are ever in southern Spain!

Day Trip {Arcos Live Nativity}

Once a year for one day only, a nearby white hill town -- Arcos de la Frontera, puts on a huge belén viviente (live nativity) event.  We went two years ago and loved it, so we knew we wanted to take my parents this year as they were in Spain for all of the holiday season!

For one day only (and if it rains, it will be cancelled and not rescheduled), the entire town of Arcos transforms into Bethlehem in various scenes and reenactments all throughout the city.  It is no simple nativity scene, that is for sure!  It is insanely detailed and well planned out, complete with actual bread and other food being cooked and live animals.  It really is amazing and should be seen at least once, especially if you live in Spain!

When we went two years ago, we waited in line for easily 2+ hours before being able to enter into the upper city to see the nativity area.  So this year, we went much earlier.  We knew it started about 5:30pm but we didn't know when the town would shut down the upper city, so we arrived probably about 3/3:30-ish.  It seemed as if they didn't shut down the city until closer to 4:30/5:00pm so you could easily head up into the upper city about an hour before it starts and be good.

Closer to start time, we noticed people just hanging out -- drinking, eating and not moving up into the city to follow the route of the nativity event.  We decided they must know something, so we hung back too and we lucked out!  The event starts by the Three Kings parading through the city to go see the baby Jesus before taking their place in the nativity -- basically meaning they sit on their thrones and all the kids deliver their letters and sit on their lap and get their picture taken.
Remember Santa doesn't really come to Spain, the big holiday is Three Kings Day when the Kings deliver presents.  So for Spanish children, sitting on the Kings' laps is like American children going to visit Santa.

And then we just wandered the route of the belén viviente which is really well marked and will easily take you 1-2 hours (probably closer to two hours, even if moving at a decent pace).  The route takes you all around the upper city/hill area of Arcos past all the scenes and such.  You can go as slow or fast as you want!

Serafina has a slight obsession with the Baby Jesus (she does get religion classes at school) so she was so excited to go see the Baby Jesus and was just in awe when she finally saw Him.  It was pretty adorable watching her!  She would have stayed at this scene all night if we had let her :)

the real baby Jesus

Some quick tips -- we parked at the bottom of the hill in a dirt lot where everyone else was parking.  This really is the best place to park but just know that you will be walking a lot and up hills!  It also gets super crowded (literally wall to wall people at some places) so if you can wear your kiddo, that is best -- strollers can be tricky to navigate the large crowds.  We did a stroller our first year and I wore Serafina this year and wearing was MUCH easier!

We had a wonderful time and so happy we were able to experience this event again!

Day Trip {Grazalema & Zahara de la Sierra}

This past weekend we took a day trip to two more white hill towns of Andalucia -- Grazalema and Zahara de la Sierra.  Both are gorgeous and worth a visit* but I highly recommend going to Grazalema during their Sangre y Amor en la Sierra festival (Blood and Love), usually in early October.  The whole town reenacts the life of a famous bandit -- Jose Maria Hinojosa or El Tempranillo.  He wasn't born in the area but carried out most of his famous criminal acts in the area as well as married a girl from Grazalema.  All of this took place around the 1830s so for this one weekend, the town returns to the 1830s to celebrate El Tempranillo.

We happened to arrive right when things were getting started, we heard gunfire as we walked into town (don't worry, it was fake but very loud).  We watched a bunch of bandits take over some soilders and storm the government building -- to a crowd of cheering people!  We had no idea what was going on which pretty much sums up the rest of our time in Grazalema, but we had an absolute blast!

The whole town seems to go back in time to 1832 -- cooking over open fires, wearing period costumes, old/make-shift buildings... the whole works.  The main plaza was set up as if it were 1832 and quite fun to see, especially as more and more reenactments happened throughout our time there.  We ate amazing food, the best chorizo I have ever had, drank beer from clay mugs and Serafina even tried the hand crank ferris wheel.  Our personal favorite was the random flamenco show that took place in the middle of the plaza, that included a dancing horse.  Serafina's favorite part was petting the ginormous boa constrictor that she is still talking about days later....

Some tips for going to this small but amazing festival:
Parking is rough (aka non-existent) in Grazalema on a normal day, let alone a festival weekend, so be prepared to get there early, get creative with your parking and plan to walk a little into the town.  Bring cash -- you can buy plenty of amazing food (get the chicken paella and the chorizo) and beer from the various huts that are selling food/drinks, but all take cash only.  The only glassware we saw were various clay mugs, different styles for different huts/food vendors.  So do some research and follow the mugs you want and get drink tickets for that hut -- as drink tickets only work at the vendor you bought them from.  I am sure you can return the mugs for a refund (pretty sure we had to put down a small depost) but of course we chose to keep our mugs as souvenrs!  Be prepared for random and loud fake gunfire throughout the day.  It'll die down and pick up at various points throughout the day so if you have littles, just be warned.  Serafina hated the gunfire so we used her headphones to help mute the noise.  There isn't a lot "to do" but the performances/reenactments are kind of fun to watch.  There is plenty to eat and drink and there is a small hand crank ferris wheel for the kids (along with various live animals -- birds, horses, sheep, and that dang scary snake!).

After we had our fun in Grazalema, we moved on to another white hill town just a short drive away, Zahara de la Sierra.  Zahara is known for its olive oil and goat cheese (hard goat cheese, not soft like most Americans are used to).  Some of the best olive oil in the world comes from this region, so stock up if you go -- or better yet, go visit one of the olive making places (not sure what the technical term is).  You do need a reservation/tell the owners you're coming so this part requires planning; it is also usually a full day thing with making your own olive oil, lunch, etc.  But Zahara is still worth a walk through as the views are gorgeous -- if you decide to walk up to the castle (ruins), be prepared for a long, steep hike....

*So the drive into these mountains is a little rough -- narrow road and massive amount of switchbacks, but once you get to one town there are many others just a short drive away (typically no more than 30 minutes).  So plan on hitting a few of these towns in one day so avoid doing the awful drive more than once!

Feria 2018

The best time of year to be in southern Spain has come and gone (sort of)... I am talking about féria season.  Féria means fair in Spanish but this is nothing like a county fair you'd see in the states.  While there are similiarities, there are many many differences but either way -- it is seriously the best party you will ever attend and the whole weekend is an absolute blast.  If you need to refresh your memory on what exactly féria is all about, including the food, drinks and clothing -- read my previous féria posts here (2016) and here (2017).

Féria seaon kicks off after Easter and usually with féria in Sevilla -- as the first of the season and also the biggest, most eleborate fair.  Then on following weekends most towns in Andalucia have their own férias, sometimes going all the way through the summer!  However, we usually consider our féria season over once our small town has had their féria.

This year my brother happened to be visiting the weekend of Sevilla's féria so we took a bus with some friends up to Sevilla for a day of experiencing the largest féria.  While Sevilla is a sight to see, sadly it is the most exclusive féria of them all -- all the casetas (tents where food and drink is served and dancing takes places) are all private.  You must know someone to be invited in or be a part of the club that owns the caseta.  There are a few public casetas but they can get pretty crowded, and with over 1,000 casetas on the féria grounds, it can also be a little difficult to find them.  Sevilla's féria is so big a map is needed!

However, the exclusivity of Sevilla's féria did not deter us from having an absolute blast!  We knew that the Calle del Infierno (Hell's Road) would be a great place to hangout for the day -- public places to eat and drink and also ride some rides!  Calle del Infierno is the name of the area (for all férias) where the carnival rides and games are -- and Sevilla's area was SO big -- easily the size of Rota's whole féria!  We had a little hiccup with our lunch being slightly more expensive than we had planned but overall we had a wonderful time -- drinking, eating and riding all the scary rides (which takes some serious talent getting into the rides with a féria dress)!

I know I have touched on the rides at féria a little in my first post from our first féria but I want to talk about them again.  On the ride up to Sevilla we were all talking about how excited we were about the pirate ship and other rides -- my brother thought we were crazy as carnival rides aren't usually the greatest!  But we tried to explain that the rides at féria are not ordinary rides -- they have the Spanish way of thinking attached to them: fun first, safety second.  The pirate ship where you stand in a cage and jump or the insane upside-down/flipping/holding on for dear life ride or the ferris wheel that lasts 10 minutes and moves at easily 25mph!  Féria rides are crazy and fun -- and last a very very long time, you most certainly get your money worth!

such a scary ride.... oh so fun and oh so scary

And then the following weekend we had our town's féria.  It was just as fun as it has been in the past.  We started out as usual going to lunch with Trevor's coworkers on the first day of féria in one of the peñas.  This could easily be considered my favorite day of the whole year -- we get all dressed up and eat and drink our way through the afternoon with some of our closest friends here in Spain!  We are then treated to an amazing dance show (flamenco dancing).  And once again, our sweet girl just loved the dancing and sat mesmerized for the whole show...  I now have pictures of her just in a trance watching the dancing for three years in a row (she is finally old enough to start lessons in the fall)!  It was such a wonderful afternoon and evening.

watching the dancing

We actually went all four days of féria -- Trevor and I were lucky enough to snag a babysitter for one night so we could enjoy féria just us (and of course with our friends).  We did take Serafina the other days to enjoy a carriage ride and some more carnival rides with friends.  She had an absolute blast and loved going to "the big party" every day!

Our féria season was amazing and of course we are already looking forward to next year!

Day Trip {La Rambla}

Recently when my mom came to visit, she and I (along with a friend) took a day trip to a town about two and half hours away from here -- La Rambla.  La Rambla is famous for their pottery and ceramics.  In fact, this it the town were many larger companies get their pottery from (Crate and Barrel being one of them).*  And going directly to the source is a lot of fun and saves you the price mark up -- and the prices in La Ramba are amazing!

La Rambla is NOT a tourist destination, it is really only know to those that live in the area (and the Americans here).  It is a small (small) town, so you are only going for pottery.  Lucky for us, many Americans have gone before us and have shared their wisdom (word of mouth and also Facebook groups).  We had an amazingly detailed written guide to help us figure out the best places to go.  We strayed a little from the guide so here are my recommendations for La Rambla:

First things first -- BRING FOOD.  While we did get a few restaurant recommendations, I highly recommend bringing a sack lunch and snacks.  The stores close for comida (siesta) so you will definetly want to use your morning wisely and not stop to eat (snacks are okay) until you are done shopping!  Get an early(ish) start seeing as you only have until about 2:00 to shop until the stores close (we left Rota about 8:30 and pulled into La Rambla about 11:00 -- we moved quickly at each place and it was enough time for us... if you want to spend more time at the stores, leave earlier) and finally, BRING CASH -- some places will take credit card, but not all of them, so it is best to be prepared!

So -- the places to shop!  These are just the four we stopped at but there are plenty more in and around La Rambla, so if you have time -- stop into any store that's open!

El Titi: my personal favorite and right on the main street of town -- be prepared to call the number on the door (numerous times) when you arrive and maybe get help from the various old men having their morning chat or a street worker who knows where the owner lives (yes, this is how we finally got into the store)!  But once inside, it is WORTH IT -- gorgeous color spanish pottery and super cheap (but cash only)

Pepe Mejias: this one is down closer to the warehouse district of La Rambla, two floors of various pottery and outdoor pots and a really amazing collection of more Moorish influence pottery (like things you'd find in Morocco)

Rio Salada: in the warehouse district and has a HUGE selection of different patterns, you could easily spend so much time looking at everything!  Our personal favorites were the gorgeous plain colored pottery, very classic and different from anything else you see in Spain

Navarrete: also in the warehouse district and has a HUGE basement (tell the worker you'd like to go down and see if they don't turn on the lights for you aleady) -- mostly outdoor pots and other outdoor items but does have some gorgeous pottery

A few other notes -- while each place will pack your items, make sure you have it secure in your car so it doesn't break on the way home.  We brough blankets and packed things in the trunk nice and tight so nothing would move around -- the road out to La Rambla is a little rough and tumble :)




*So a friend of mine went to La Rambla and bought a gorgeous pitcher -- she got it home, went to wash it and saw the Crate and Barrel stamp on the bottom!  So yes, I turned over EVERYTHING I looked at to see if I could find one myself :)  (But I was not as lucky)

Weekend Adventures {Sevilla}

Not really sure I can count this as a true weekend adventure, but since we spent the night and were gone for more than 24 hours -- I am counting it :)

Part of my Christmas present from Trevor was a night away in Sevilla with one of my very close friends here -- and it did not disappoint!  My friend, Nicole and I took the train up to Sevilla early(ish) on a Saturday morning.  The train is super easy, about an hour ride.  The only difficult part is finding someone to take you to the train station since we live 25 minutes away from the nearest station!

The train station in Sevilla isn't super close to the main part of the city, so either take a 5-10€ taxi or walk the 25-30 minutes into town.  We chose to walk and grab Spanish breakfast on the way -- aka eating breakfast about 11am which consists of coffee, orange juice (fresh sqeezed) and a tostada (toasted yummy bread with whatever you want on it, but mostly jamon, olive oil and/or crushed tomatoes).  I couldn't tell you where we eat, but it was near the mushrooms (or Metropol Parasol).

We then dropped our suitcases off at our hotel -- Hotel Venecia which was seriously such an amazing hotel!  Close enough to the main areas (shopping, food, the Cathedral) but far enough that it wasn't loud at night -- and it was a great room and not too expensive. 

Then we went shopping!  This is the best time to be in Spain because of las rebajas or sales -- and very good sales at that :)  Twice a year, pretty much every single store has sales, with everything ranging from 30-70% off.  In the winter, sales always start the day after Three Kings Day (so January 7th), even if that day falls on a Sunday like it did this year.  And everyone, and I mean EVERYONE goes shopping during rebajas.  The stores and streets are just packed with people and it was SO MUCH FUN!  While I didn't buy anything...  I did find my feria dress (ha -- one year I will get a super fancy one...)

After a full morning of shopping -- mostly at El Corte Ingles and the main shopping streets, we had the most amazing lunch at El Pinton (they did have English menus and a few of the waiters spoke English if needed).  We were kind of in the tourist area of Sevilla but we randomly picked a place and it was seriously amazing.  We lucked out and got a table right away but it sure filled up by 2:30pm -- I highly recommend the buffalo mozeralla salad and the tempura battered egg.  So so good.

{mine was without the pine nuts}

We then wandered around the Santa Cruz area (or barrio de santa cruz) which is so very touristy (it is right near the Cathedral and Alcazar) but so fun -- all the small streets, the orange trees and funky little shops!  Also some great places to eat in the area if needed.

We made our way back to our hotel for a quick rest and break (but not before snagging some treats at the El Corte Ingles gormet food section!).  We had another amazing meal for dinner at Perro Viejo (no English menu and little English spoken by the waiters) -- highly recommend the salmorejo and churrasco de pollo.  We then bar hopped our way down to the cathedral where we went to the bar at La Terraza de EME.  And while the drinks were extremely expensive, the view overlooking the cathedral was worth it and such a fun way to end the day!

Then on Sunday we took the train back to our neighboring town -- it was such a wonderful short time away!