| Glenn's Sevilla Journals 6-07-02 It's Friday and our last full day in Sevilla. We actually have planned to take a day trip to Jerez. Why Jerez you ask? So did I until Erin told me about the Real Escuala Andaluz del Arte Ecuestre (Royal Andalucian School of Equestrian Art). I was, now, more excited than I could imagine!!! Actually I am not much of a horse buff but Erin enjoys them and how often are you going to be in Spain to see some of the best horses and riders perform? The train ride was an hour or so before we arrived in Jerez. Once there we headed into town with only the Lonely Planet guide to show us the way. Luckily, on the way we ran across an information booth and picked up a map and more specific directions to the school. We arrived around 11:00 am in time to catch an English speaking tour of the stables. The tour provided some insight into the different types of horses and about the school itself. The school is government funded and has 16 professional riders and 13 students (You can tell them apart by the color of the shirts.) of which only 3 of the students are women. The school is a 4 year school with quite a very regimented schedule. Monday, Wednesday, and Friday's they train the horses between 11:00 am and 1:00 pm while on Tuesday and Thursday they put on a show with classical music. Since it was Friday we sat and watched the professionals and students put the horses through their paces. It was very interesting but I didn't understand as much as I wish I had. (A friend of mine in Kansas took me one day to watch her practice formal riding but that is the extent of my understanding. Thanks Diane!!). The school closed up at 1:00 pm so we headed back into the town of Jerez to see what else there was to do. We did find a shop that sampled the local sherry but you must require a certain liking for sherry to enjoy it. I tried a few samples but couldn't drink it all. Erin preferred the medium dry sherry over the dry or the sweet sherry. After the sherry we were ready for lunch. After walking for a while we found a plaza with a few restaurants and sat down to enjoy a leisurely lunch. We had no other plans so why not? After lunch we made our way back to the train station and caught the next train back to Sevilla. We arrived back in Sevilla around 6:00 pm. Tonight dinner was at an Italian restaurant that we had walked past over the past few days on the way to the Cathedral. The place was pretty busy and with mostly tourists. What do you expect for an Italian restaurant in Spain? We didn't know it until some other gentlemen sitting next to us told us, but it was listed in the Frommer's guide book as a good place to eat. That is why it was full of tourists and not locals. We enjoyed our Italian dinners with Sangria (at least a little Spanish) before heading home for the evening. We had a travel day ahead of us tomorrow to Alhaurin El Grande and our first meeting with my cousin so getting a good nights sleep was important. |
| A photo of an Andalucian Horse that Erin had to practically sneak around to get the photo. |
 |