After a long, hectic day in Seville – I should mention that we got lost on our way back from the station, and ended up walking through some much less attractive areas of Córdoba – we had a quiet day catching up on cleaning, laundry and food shopping. Easter week in Spain is very different to in the UK, we were warned that nothing would be open over the weekend, not even food shops. So we stocked up our tiny fridge in preparation, especially as our next stop is in a national park in the mountains.
Feeling very pleased with ourselves we headed back into the city, on the bus this time. It’s always a worry catching the bus here for the first time, not knowing where it will stop and where to catch the return bus. Anyway all was fine, the bus stopped outside the El Corte Ingles shop so we knew where we were, and we headed off to the Plaza Corredera for a drink and some food.
We stayed there a couple of hours, people watching, and luckily for Grant there was some live football on TV in a bar across the square – too small for him to actually watch it, but he could get the gist of the score from the Spanish spectators! (It was Barcelona losing 3-0 to Juventus in the first leg of the Champions League quarter final. G)
We then headed down to the river as our tour guide on Saturday had told us the Mesquite and the Roman bridge are illuminated at night, and quite beautiful. We thought it was quite busy when we came across, yes, another parade of the penitents! We managed to get some good photos despite the crowds and set off back past the Alcazar (de los Reyes Christianos) to catch the bus. We walked through the narrow streets of the Jewish quarter with its lovely buildings and tiny courtyards and decided to come back in again the next day to explore.
We could have walked but the bus was so handy so we arrived back in Córdoba around lunchtime, and stopped for a drink and olives in one of the many squares. Buskers playing the clarinet and an accordion provided atmosphere so we chilled out and then headed off towards the Alcazar. It was very hot again but we took a small diversion and ended up in the Arabic area of the city, again with beautiful houses and colourful flowers everywhere. The ancient Arab walls still stand in some areas, and in a few minutes we reached the Alcazar.
The building is much smaller and not as impressive as the one in Seville, but we climbed the steps up to the tower and viewing platform to get amazing views over the city and the Alcazar gardens. Then the gardens – they are a more recent addition to the building, designed and planted up almost 100 years ago but they are incredible! So beautiful, with lots of colour, fish ponds, hundreds of trees, water features, statues – we both loved them and spent hours walking round. Moving on tomorrow!
