Jerez

Monday and our travels took us back over that Lisbon bridge and through the countryside on our way to Spain through the plain of the Alentejo region. We passed large areas of Cork Oak and Olives. There was some irrigation and more evidence of stock out in the fields.

In Sierra de Huelva we visited a delightful little village and learned all about the production and curing of Iberian pork cured ham. Martin is posing in his best factory coveralls and I follow in mine...




This ham will have been salted and hung in a variety of conditions for at least 5 years or possibly more. It is about 8 kg and is probably worth 450 Euros. We had a tasting with some wine matching afterwards but found it hard to discern which was the full blooded Iberian meat and whether it had been fed fully on acorns in the fattening period. Heathen Kiwis would probably prefer our normal Xmas ham. Lol.


Carving along the grain - must make it last longer.

The delightful village. What a sweetie. it even had the original communal washing area.

After a lovely visit we drove on to Jerez via Seville. We're off to see horses and taste sherry!

Around and about in Portugal and Lisbon

On Saturday we headed off to Alcobaca to visit an apple and pear farm run by 3 brothers. As you can see from the pic our host on the day was unable to dissuade us from trying the poor tasting giant strawberries... Our bus in the back, by the way is very capably driven by Alexandraes who manages to squeeze us through even the narrowest of spaces. On our way into Lisbon we had a police guide as there was a duathlon and lots of closed roads but we are sure he would have found a way without help...
On to the apple and pear orchard.

Nazare, a fishing port on the coat was our next destination. Lovely beach with beach soccer championships happening. Fish on racks drying. Jock bought some for the bus which we mostly turned down... someone ate it. Appetizing???? I think not - lots of windows open!!

Original fishing and lifesaving boats painted up on the beach.



And on to Sunday in Lisbon... a trip on the tram to ...wait for it ...the cemetery (obviously no commentary on the trip). Have to say the trip back down was much better with less people and probable pick pockets - yes, we had our suspicions!!

A big bustling city with lots to see and do.

Views from the hilltop fort. Stunning!

The bridge we passed over to and from Lisbon in the background. Amazing views.

Portugal

Lovely Villa Gale at Paco de Arcos looked a bit “loud” when we arrived. It’s a beach side hotel based on an historic building. Outdoor swimming pool was a welcome refresh after our long drive. Lovely gardens and superb setting in a small seaside village with long coastal trails and unsuccessful fishing folk everywhere. 

The countryside was beautiful on the way and we did chortle when our guide informed us we’d been in Portugal already half an hour at one stage! We’d been expecting a border. Lol!




Table set for dinner on our first night here.

Markets the following morning. A fishing area so the fish was really fresh.

Afternoon visit to a huge government farm - Samora Correla. Over 10,000ha which is mainly farmed by tenants. We saw grapes, olives, cork oaks, horses , cattle and some sheep. Rice growing is also a big thing here. On the way we drove for ages on a very long bridge over the low flat country near the river. And on the way back the "bridge" was 12.5 km long and we were able to see folk fishing or maybe gathering shelfish in the shallow water.

Jock taking notes and our host explaining the cork harvest.

Lusitana (Portugese) horses - for sale. 8-20,000 euros!!

And on to Mérida

A very “sheepy” day today in all respects... we drove through varied countryside for several hours. Cropping in long strips of all sorts. Lots of hay and baleage in places. Looks like they bale up barley for feedlots etc. We were heading for a sheep feedlot in Extremadura. The co-operative has 800+ members with an average flock size of 300 sheep. The feedlot finishes lambs for many markets. Tradition says that the first sheep exported to Australia came from the region. They don't look like merinos to us.  This is the feedlot where the labms are fattened for market. Usually about 10,000 lambs on site. Fed sheep nuts and straw.






On to a farm... no pics of them but these sheep were being looked after bu 3 really large dogs with long curly tails - protection from wolves etc.

And then there was the wool store and scour - everything processed - not quality wool!!

Merida is a city on a very historic site. Lots of roman connection etc. The bridge is over 1500 years old. 700m long there is evidence of it being refurbished in pre-roman times. It has to withstand a flood surge of over 4m so it's super sturdy.



More modern building in the central square.

Toledo

Looking out over beautiful Toledo this morning - just have to ‘pinch’ myself!!

Toledo is the capital of the province Toledo and is an ancient walled city wth narrow streets, ancient architecture, lovely open plazas and perfect views! 

We started off yesterday visiting a beef feed lot. 10,000 bull beef produced annually. Basically a family business. 

Took the opportunity to climb up onto the water treatment plant for amazing views. This is just a small amount of the hay or straw used. The tractor driver can cart 3 bales at a time seemingly by feel ‘cos there was no way he could see where he was going. 

And on to amazing Toledo. What a treat. Lovely narrow streets. Canopy overhead on many as I imagine it would get very hot. Absolutely charming city. Fortunately we managed to find our way back to our hotel through the maze. :-)

Tasting at the Cheese Museum (differently aged sheep cheeses) came with instructions... sniff, lick, taste and chew thoroughly, breathe and repeat...AND a Temperanillo Rose. Heaven!

View of the city from over the river. Our hotel was near the impressive building at the top.,

Here it ts closer up - the Presidents residence we think.

Panoramic view from the walls of the city. 

Madrid

We enjoyed our high speed train ride to Madrid yesterday. Top speed 310km/hr. Variety of terrain as we whizzed through the countryside. 

Spent yesterday afternoon wandering locally and enjoying the park across the road from our hotel. This morning we toured the central city by foot as a group and carried on exploring by ourselves this afternoon. Madrid is a very leafy city with masses of green spaces and parks. Although younger than Barcelona it has many buildings of significance. The royal palace is behind us. It’s huge - 300 rooms covering (on several floors) over 11,000 m2.
Shared electric bikes charging. €2 per hour or a year’s pass for €25. Know which one I’d have if I lived here!!

Olives in many ways in a market.

Girls on tour posing with one of 80 Les Meninas (ladies in waiting) strategically placed about the city. This one is styled with a collage of stamps. 

Our popular and traditional lunch spot! The kitchen was tiny but obviously well organised as they fed HEAPS of people in a very short time!


Architecture old and new....

Barcelona

A few pics of Barcelona and surrounds from the past couple of days...
This fascinating tree is a Kapoc Tree. The seed pods pop to reveal fluffy interiors. This is across the road from our hotel and there is fluff all over the grass! When we arrived at the hotel we had abit of time to fill in before tapas and welcome drinks... so had a look at an amazing super yacht in the harbour over the road. Wow. Later it was time to explore.

Love the balconies on the appartments...

Narrow streets...

All variety of produce in a market off Las Ramblas. 

Of course someone found ice cream. 

The cured meats smelled wonderful and it was interesting to watch the vendors serve their customers. Later in the evening we dined locally - just around the corner. Most folk chose pizza or paella. 

Roll on day 2 coating up to visit a cheese factory. Only caps and blue overshoe booties to go. This would have been right up your alley Dad. The factory produces cheeses from goat, sheep, cow and buffalo milk  - soft cheeses to hard. Some are ready for sake the next day and others have to go through the mound process. We had a yummy tasting after seeing goats milked at our guides (manager of the factory) goat farm. The breed is Alpine and they really looked hardy and were friendly. They graze free range up to 5 km from the shed but are always back for milking. :-)


A soft cheese drying out a bit. 

Cheese tasting view. We tried wine matched cheese outside on the lawn. So good! This was the original farm house with many alterations over the years. The room directly in front of the car was the cheese room before they moved to the factory in town.