Last Thursday we made a day trip by train to Jerez de la Frontera. Jerez is known for two things: horses and sherry.
It is the home of the Royal Andalusian School of Equestrian Art. This is a university open to all EU students. The campus consists of an enclosed performance stadium with a royal box for the king and queen, several practice rings, stables, gardens, exercise ring, tack room, office buildings and a horse health center. We saw a performance called a horse symphony, but it might more accurately be called a horse ballet. Photos were not allowed, but you can see some video typical of the show here.

After the show, we had a quick lunch and went to the Sandeman Bodega to tour the facility and sample the sherry. In the EU, all sherry must be produced in Jerez. The name originated from us poor English speakers trying to pronounce the name of the town. In listening to pronunciations of the name, it seems both the “j” and the “z” are silent. A bodega is a winery and there are a lot of them making sherry in Jerez. We chose Sandeman because we liked their port in Portugal. It is clear I have a sweet tooth because the sweeter the sherry the more I liked it.