Córdoba
Monday, June 07, 2010
We got the Spanish Eurail Pass since we'll be taking the train through Granada - Cordoba - Seville - Barcelona - Madrid. But it turns out that there are additional booking fees on top of the flat rate for each ticket. We're probably not going to break even on this pass unless we do more trips around the country.
We took a two hour train ride from Granada to Cordoba. Most people probably spend a day in Cordoba, but we spent an entire week here. It was nice to just relax and take in the city at our own pace. Unlike most of our past stays in apartments, we stayed at a hotel this time. It was less convenient since we didn't have a kitchen but was otherwise very comfortable. The hotel was also very convenient, being right outside the old city walls.
Cordoba was quite hot but still very tolerable. Surprisingly the air temperature registered 39 degrees Celcius (102.2F), but it didn't really feel that hot. The main attraction of Cordoba is the Mezquita, or the Great Mosque of Cordoba (AKA the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Assumption). It is a Catholic church that is built on top of a mosque, that was built on top of a Christian church. One can visibly appreciate the layers of history in this monument. The interior of the Mezquita is a huge hall with seemingly endless columns and double arches. It was interesting to see all the Catholic symbols surrounded by Muslim architecture.
Other activities we enjoyed include visiting the Alcazaba, the ruins of a Roman temple and meandering through the city under the shade.
In culinary updates, we finally enjoyed some tapas and local cuisine for lunch. We continue to struggle with the late restaurant opening hours for dinner and our baby's early bedtime, but luckily the hotel bar served decent food all day long. We must confess though that we did try a Chinese restaurant and a Japanese restaurant during our time in Cordoba, along with a Burger King dinner one evening. Sometimes you just need a break from all the jamon, aceitunas, croquetas, boquerones and patatas.
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