Goodson’s Travel Photos

A friend and I went to the Flora Sur (flower show) one Sunday afternoon. The boys didn’t feel that they would like to embark on this journey with me (wonder why)?!

We enjoyed looking at the different growers flowers, the vivid colors, and the arrangements. It is amazing how many flowers are grown here and shipped all around the world. Spain is one of the largest suppliers for carnations and this is where Holland gets their tulips. I bought some of the local honey (good for the boys allergies) and plan on making a trip to the “bee farm” soon.

While we were in Chipiona, we decided to drive around- ok, we got lost- but as my boys tell me, “We are not lost Mom, we are sightseeing!” So we explored and found Spain’s tallest lighthouse (third tallest in the world)! It measures 69 meters high with 344 steps to the tower. On a clear day we were informed you can see Portugal.

We also had the opportunity to see the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Regla - 16th century with its Renaissance-Gothic inspired architecture.

What a picturesque town! We started off our tour by visiting a museum that contained items, as well as a smaller scale replica of the only surviving (of the three ships) that accompanied Magellan. We continued through the town towards the Plaza del Cabildo - the town square lined with restaurants and shops, then on to the street vendors (check out the snails).

We worked our way up the Las Covachas- the original wall that enclosed Sanlucar to the Plaza de San Roque, where the daily market is held. From this point we were outside the Palacio de Orleans y Borgon (was the summer home for a powerful Sanlucar family in the 19th century) now it is the Town Hall. It is decorated in flamboyant neo-Mudejar architecture with a public library on the grounds. Everyone spent their time looking straight up at the intricate ceiling tiles. We were unable to tour the Basilica (one of the reasons we went to Sanlucar) because they were replacing the front doors!

All in all it was a wonderful visit to Sanlucar and a lovely place to sit and enjoy yet another cola cao in the Plaza del Cabildo!

The day that we went to the Museo Marin in Chiclana, we also went to the market place a couple of streets away. This is what we had in mind when we thought of a market place in Spain. I have seen these types of markets on TV, but have never experienced one. To us, the boys and I, this was the highlight of our trip to Chiclana that day. Upon entering the market place, you could see a wide variety of fresh fruit, vegetable, meat, seafood, and flowers. It was very busy as the local people were buying their produce and meats for that days meals. I ended up buying a kilo of strawberries (2.2 lbs) for 2.25 Euros and a kilo of green beans for 3.00 Euros. We had more strawberries than we could eat for a couple of days and the green beans were some of the best that we have ever had! This is the way to buy your fresh produce- it comes straight from the farms.

Tomorrow we are off to the Royal Andalusian School of Equestrian Art in Jerez de la Frontera. We will take a tour of the facilities, watch a training session of the Andalusian horses, and tour the Horse Carriage Museum.