It only took half an hour to drive into Córdoba from the camp site. The road side scenery has changed now that we’re n Andalucía; no more vineyards, just mile after mile of olive trees. The villages look different too, as they’re mainly whitewashed, brightening up the view from the van.
With the van parked up in the aire by the Puerta de Sevilla, we set off into town. We were in Córdoba about 18 months ago, and could recall how the town’s laid out. That didn’t stop us from getting lost in the labyrinth of narrow alleys in the old Judería though.
The day was spent wandering around the old town, which is a UNESCO World Heritage site. The main attraction is the Mezquita, a huge mosque which, in the 16th century was converted to a cathedral. Next door is the Alcáza de los Reyes Cristianos, a castle with lovely gardens. As we’d visited both of these before, we didn’t feel the need to go again, so decided to save ourselves some money. We did find the synagogue, which we didn’t visit last time, and spent the rest of the day wandering around, trying not to get too wet in the intermittent showers of rain.
In the evening we went out for dinner at Taberna Luque, which was our favourite restaurant of the whole trip when we were here back in 2015. It’s a small place, 40-50 covers, situated on a busy walkway in the old town. It’s run by Antonio, who is the sole waiter, and his wife Mari, the chef. They serve traditional Spanish food, and Antonio is an excellent host, making a fuss of everyone. I’d phoned ahead and booked a table, and it’s a good job I did as it was fully booked. For our main course we both went for the rabo de toro (bull’s tail) which just fell off the bone, and melted in the mouth. Three courses including drinks came to €80, well worth it. If you are ever in Córdoba, you’d be mad not to go there!
Today the weather has been much better, mostly sunny with temperatures in the high teens, and we’ve been out walking through the parts of town which we didn’t see yesterday. Over the two days we’ve walked over 18 miles, and are now back in the van having a good old rest.
Tomorrow we’ll be spending the day at Medina Azahara.
Mike
