This is the house we finally bought in the historic centre of Jerez. A three bedroomed, two storey building in a closed secure community. Amongst the cobbled streets and very  old churches and buildings this one doesnt look out of place. But inside the development is a fully accessible structure with undercroft parking, centralised air conditioning and a rooftop pool. It is close to the main nightlife and cafe culture hub of the city whilst having easy access to the motorway. The airport is a 15 euro taxi ride away. Also a kilometre or so from the train station where a trip to the seaside costs 2 euros. Jerez is the biggest city  for miles around bar Cadiz (which has limited land available) therefore it has a lot of internationally known stores and places to buy essentials.  Jerez ticked all of the boxes.

Jerez is famous for sherry and brandy production with over 20 bodegas in the city. The word Jerez is derived from Arabic and is now closely linked to the English word ‘sherry’. Also famous for the Andalusian horses bred and shown here. (Home of the Royal Andalusian School of Equestrian Art as well as the Yeguado Militar which  is a stud farm for purebred Andalusian horses). Moto GP fans will be aware of the Ciruito de Jerez, a motor cycle and car racing circuit just outside of the city.

Flamenco dance, music and song abound in Jerez with numerous dance schools. There are a large number of concerts annually and tabancos with live music nightly. Lola Flores was born and lived in Jerez, during the 60's Spains most highly paid female artist. One of the most famous sons of Jerez is Jose Soto Soto (stage name Jose Merce), born in the barrio of Santiago. A world famous cantaor (flamenco singer) he grew up not far from our house and took his name from the church where he sang in the choir. He has even sung with the London Philharmonic Orchestra. There is still a large gypsy community  in Jerez. A city dating back to the neolithic age and subsequently overrun by Visigoths, Vandals, Moors and finally  Christians after the battle of jerez in 1231, it is a mixture of numerous cultures and dripping with history. 

Despite it being one of the biggest cities in Andalucia (220,000 pop)  it has an enormous amount of agriculture and wildlife surrounding it. With global  warming marching on it is now hot enough for the storks to stay all year round and these enormous birds with their huge nests can be seen in large numbers around the farms bordering the city and on high chimney stacks in the city centre.