Day 11: More of Cordoba

Another full day to explore the rest of Cordoba. Again though, it was chilly and overcast which is not just a bit disappointing, it's apparently also very unusual for Spain this time for year! It's odd - it doesn't rain, just low and sometimes high cloud, but very little sun. Sometimes it breaks through in the afternoon, but so far we've only had a couple of clear sunny days.

First stop today was the Roman temple ruins. Cordoba was actually quite an important Roman settlement, one of the first on the Iberian peninsula and several famous Romans were born here, including the philosopher and writer Seneca, plus future emperor Hadrian. The remains of the temple were quite impressive, though it wasn't clear how "old" it actually was, nor whether we were looking at a heavily restored version.

We had another long wander around the old town, again just checking out the cobbled streets and narrow laneways, letting Schnitzel do his sniffing and inquiring. He's pretty relaxed out on walks now which is nice, he's not bothered by horses or even really by other dogs. It's just at home where external noises set him off.

We stopped for lunch at Victoria Mercado (markets), which was a gourmet food-court style place in the middle of the Victoria Gardens. It's fairly upmarket though, more like a David Jones food hall type place rather than a Westfield food court with 90% fast food options. Shandos had a tortilla which is actually a potato and egg omelette, while I had a local dish called a tarakin - thinly-sliced pork rolled into a tight wrap and then deep fried. It was interesting but not delicious, maybe not the best example.

Retired to our apartment for the rest of the afternoon, where we had a couple of drinks out on our terrace and enjoyed a brief moment of sunshine. Schnitzel made the most of it too, dragging his bed into the sun and laying there.

In the evening we visited a tapas bar a few hundred metres away that was quite highly rated. Had some wine, cheese & bacon croquettes, fried eggplant strips topped with honey, and an oxtail and red wine stew. All dishes were delicious, and fairly cheap too - I think the total bill was only about 30 euros. Nice way to spend our last evening in Cordoba, as we're moving on to the countryside tomorrow!Read more