Hola Córdoba!

After our travel day - about 5 hours on a train - we arrived in Córdoba, Just an aside - the train system in Europe is fabulous! It's clean, it's efficient, its schedules aren't terrible, and you can get just about anywhere on the continent. There is a direct train from Valencia to Córdoba, but it's a little slower, so we took a train back to Madrid, and then a train from Madrid to Córdoba. Not direct, but faster in the long run.

We've been here before. Our previous trip to Spain included a day trip here; this time, we're spending three weeks. Córdoba is known for its Mosque/Cathedral. Whhhaaaat??? A Mosque AND a Cathedral??? WTF? Well, back in the day, when Muslims outnumbered everyone in the country, they built an incredible Mosque here in the old city (in fact, in many cities across Spain). When the Christians stamped their collective foot and decided to oust the Muslims, their first act in Córdoba was to build a Cathedral...right in the fucking middle of the Mosque. That's a huge fuck you!

So, you're walking through this amazing Mosque and WHAM, there's an altar and a cross. Yeah, it's weird.

We just passed by it today - we'll visit later in our stay - but here's a picture of the Mosque part of it. 

Our arrival last night included a bit of a haul. We're staying in a VRBO just a couple of blocks from the Mosque. I wanted to use this trip to feel like a local, so we're staying in the middle of a tiny pedestrian street that taxis can't get to. It's one of a hundred in the old city. And it's uphill, over cobblestones, past so many lovely doors, up some stairs, through a courtyard...all while dragging luggage. I don't feel so much a local, as I do a mule.

We took out this morning and wandered. No particular place to go - just exploring our neighborhood. We took a couple of turns and ended up on a main thoroughfare with toms of shopping, bars, and restaurants. It was almost noon, so I steered Joe to a restaurant on La Plaza de Las Tendillas for a beer and some cheese. It's a beautiful day here - that sky!

After a casual nosh, we walked toward La Mezquita-Catedral. We came upon a street filled with restaurants, so we stopped and ate. And ate. And ate. Then had some Pedro Ximenez sherry. Mmmmm.

This afternoon (well, it's almost 6pm), we'll do a bit of laundry, take a nap, and then go back out around 9pm for dinner. I'm really getting used to this schedule - especially the part where I get to take a nap in the late afternoon!

Tomorrow - more wandering. Maybe down to the river or over to the Roman ruins and forum.