[Photo: An entrance hall in Cordoba]
Started the morning with breakfast in bed, then had a final swim. We have enjoyed the long pool, even me. Then down to the simple task of cleaning. A final lunch of bread, sausage, lettuce, peppers and beer, and at 1:00 our hosts arrived as they had said. We were a bit surprised to find them very pleasant – the volume and tone of the instruction manuals suggested they might be a bit on the fussy side, but it wasn’t the case. They had just come back from their daughter’s marriage to a German, and had had an excellent event by the sound of it.
We had decided that the mosque at Cordoba was too good a sight to miss since we were so close. It also had the benefit of reducing the drive to Madrid down to 4 hours instead of 5, so we were aiming to spend a night in Cordoba, with a visit to the mosque and anything else that we could fit in. As always, the drive was rapid and easy on the dual carriage 120km/h roads. Into Cordoba fine, and found a hotel pretty easily, with parking at a fair rate. The parking has been a constant minor annoyance the whole trip – it would of course be easier not to have to find parks all the time, and cheaper too, but having the car has been great, and we have never struggled to find carparks. At worst we have used council parks and just paid the fees whatever they are.
Had a really enjoyable walk around the old areas of Cordoba. We were not able to visit any of the sights as most of them closed at 6 or 7pm, but we enjoyed the walk through the old lanes, particularly in the old Jewish quarter. The city has a very old feel here, with nothing in straight lines.
We went to an Arabic-style restaurant for dinner, but on getting in found that prices were steep, and more important, there was no beer on the menu, and we were desperate for one, so we moved down the road for a menu del dia, with beer! We set the alarm for the morning to make sure we got to see a decent amount of the city before our long drive to Madrid.
No comments:
Post a Comment