Friday and Saturday

We had a quiet day Friday. We've been in this VRBO for a couple of weeks now, and it was time to do some housekeeping. So, pretty boring stuff. That is, until it was time to meet up with Rosa and our Patio tour.

Patios are EVERYTHING in Cordoba. Back in the days when there was a Jewish quarter in the city, several families would live together in what is now a typical patio in Cordoba. It's usually four apartments that are linked together around a courtyard. There was one, maybe two kitchens, one toilet, a place to wash clothes, a clean water well and the patio. In a long-standing - and quite charming - tradition, they were decorated with plants and flowers. 

As the Jews were escorted out of Spain, richer families moved into the apartments, but would renovate so that the whole place was just for their family. But they kept the patios. It was a culture thing. It was a home value. It was a family ritual.

In 1918, the city of Cordoba organized a contest (like a parade of homes show). Sixty-four families entered their patios. And in 2012 UNESCO declared the patios a cultural heritage. Now a days fewer than 20 patios compete, but Cordoba is working to bring back the patio to its glory days.

We toured toured three lovely ones.

Incredibly beautiful. The last one had almost 450 plants!

After our tour, we headed to a hotel near the Mosque. It had a rood-top bar with a view that could not be beat!

Then we were off to meet up with Steve and enjoy a fabulous dinner.

This morning (Saturday) Joe and I were both a little hungover but we had a 2p appointment at the Hammam Arabian Baths. Just what the doctor ordered. We had 60 minutes in the pools (cool, warm, and hot) and a 30 minute massage. Aaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhh.

It was right out of Arabian Nights.

This week we're heading to Montilla on Tuesday to visit an olive farm and a winery. It's also Rosa's home town, so I'm sure we'll get the full treatment. On Thursday, we're taking the train to Seville for the day. We're heading into our final week here - I can't believe it. I guess I'll have to get packing sometime soon.