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Plaza de las Tendillas

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    • Laurie ReynoldsAndalucía 6/21
      1
      Day 2

      Travel Day number 2!

      June 17, 2021 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 22 °C

      We landed in Madrid at about 9 am Madrid time. It took us no time at all to get through immigration, get the train to the main T4, and then walk through the line where they checked to make sure we had a QR code issued by the Spanish government. This code is given to you online two days before your flight, after you provide the information on your vaccines. No one actually ever checked the vaccination card, so the trust quotient is pretty high. The booth had one of those long snaky lines like they have at airport security, but there were no people there!

      I had thought the train tickets to Córdoba were all sold out, but when I checked in the Renfe office at the airport, they found me two seats not together on a train at 2:30. That gave us another 3 hour wait, but we’re getting used to those. If the weather had been nice, we would have walked through the Retiro for an hour or so, but it was raining. And I just didn’t feel like the Reina Sofia, which we had visited on our last Madrid trip. So we took the Cercanías to Atocha and sat outside under a cover and drank café con leche!

      By 5 we were in our hotel, which is a nice, small place in an old building, Eurostars Azahar. Joe took a nap and I went to the elliptical, and then took a stroll around town to get my bearings. I went past the Hotel Seneca, where I stayed when walking the Mozárabe in 2019, and made my way down to the mezquita. What a beautiful little city.

      We had dinner in Taberna Góngora close to the hotel. Salmorejo was YUMMY (Córdoba’s version of gazpacho, a little creamier and with jamón serrano). Green asparague grilled and eggplant with honey for the finale. Now after 26 hours of travel I am ready to go to bed!      Read more

    • Laurie ReynoldsAndalucía 6/21
      11
      Day 3

      Gobsmacked once again

      June 18, 2021 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 26 °C

      When you start your day with an early morning walk through the ancient Judería, then walk along the river and across the Roman bridge, and then saunter around the mosque while your better half sleeps, it is a pretty good omen. We had a late breakfast in the hotel and then just waltzed into the Mezquita/Mosque and punched three buttons on a machine and out popped our tickets. No lines, no hoards, no big groups, it was wonderful.

      The information I’ve read describes this as the greatest mosque in the world, and if that’s hyperbolic it’s not by much. Not that I’ve seen many, but I can’t imagine it could get much better. It was built in the 8th century on top of a visigothic cathedral, which was probably on top of a Roman temple. Now the mosque has a Catholic Cathedral plopped into the middle of it. What’s surprising, I guess, is not that the Christians added on a cathedral, but that they left the mosque untouched for three centuries. Apparently, they could resist no more, and hence the appearance of a 16th C Baroque altar, choirstalls, and cupolas. I was surprised to read that the local people and the municipal government begged the religious authorities to leave it untouched, but to no avail. But all of humanity is extremely lucky that the conquering Christians did not destroy this site.

      Next stop, the Royal Alcázar, the home of Ferdinand and Isabelle when they were in residence, and apparently where Columbus’ trip was organized and agreed upon. Also where a lot of the Inquisition was put into place. The main attraction is the huge and beautiful garden, with many fountains and pools.

      We had lunch in a Sephardic restaurant recommended by a dear camino friend. Several small plates were all we needed, it was great.

      On the way back to the hotel, we stopped in the small but very nice Arqueological Museum, built on top of the excavations ongoing on the Roman theater below. The mix of cultures and regimes is just there out in the open for you to enjoy every time you turn around. It is a really beautiful city.

      The temperature hit a high of 77 today, much cooler than we ever expected. Warming a bit in the next few days, but nothing really hot till we get to Granada next week.

      We’ve fallen into the routine from earlier trips. Late breakfast, mid afternoon nap/exercise and then dinner later. We are eating outside, in small plazas, in various recommended places. The Spanish meal times work very well for us, because dinner starts no earlier than 8 or 8:30. It is working well so far, knock on wood!

      PS, and for my Camino friends, there is a Santiago Matamoros!      Read more

    • Laurie ReynoldsAndalucía 6/21
      Day 4

      To Medina Azahara

      June 19, 2021 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 26 °C

      Late breakfast, as usual, with a taxi ride out to Medina Azahara soon after. Yes, I am getting soft. We could have taken a bus to about a half kilometer from the site, but we splurged. This 10th century town in ruins was the residence of the caliph for about 70 years, until warring factions disputing his succession destroyed the entire place. It seems that moving the royal headquarters 6 km out of the capital city was not such a smart idea after all, because all the intrigue and skullduggery was easier to implement with the boss out of sight. It must have been an impressive place, though, with a lot of multi-arched buildings all interconnected through a maze of halls and tunnels— all to impress and overwhelm the emissaries from other kingdoms. I guess it worked with the foreigners, but the take-down came from within the caliphate in the 11th C. At least that’s my understanding. And then Fernando el Santo completed the final conquest in 1236. Great museum and video to get you acclimated before heading into the site. We very much enjoyed wandering all over, though Joe was usually holding onto my arm for extra balance. But no mishaps!

      A huge part of the fun in a city like this is walking through ancient narrow twisty streets, seeing the beautiful flowers and patios, and coming unexpectedly on a plaza with cafés and fountains. We have done our share of that these first two days — Spain really knows how to do life.

      We have been so lucky with the weather — I couldn’t believe we had to put on our fleeces both last night and this morning. Highs in the 70s or low 80s, when it is usually about 20 degrees hotter. It would not have been fun to walk all over the excavations in that kind of weather.

      We are eating all our meals outside and wearing our N95 masks. This part of Spain has had a big covid burst, but the vaccination rates are extremely high and they are vaccinating people in their 20s and 30s now. Hospitals are not full and death rates are low, so that’s all good.

      Tomorrow is our last day in Córdoba and we have a couple of good meals planned, so I’d better find some destinations for us to walk to and skip the taxis.      Read more

    • Laurie ReynoldsAndalucía 6/21
      2
      Day 5

      4Ps - Palace, Patios, Plazas and Parks

      June 20, 2021 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 26 °C

      This was not a day of 5***** attractions, but in slow travel mode, you always need an extra day in case you would otherwise miss something you wanted to see. And that uaually leaves lots of time for wandering and watching the world go by.

      Today we started at the Palace of the Marqués de Viana, a mumble jumble palace inhabited from the 15-19 century, with a beautiful ring of adjacent patios around it. After that, we just meandered, sitting occasionally in a little café in a neighborhood, or in a park (Córdoba has a lot of parks). And one big ice cream in the beautiful Plaza Tendillas. But we weren’t always sitting — my phone tells me we walked 5 miles. I found a few churches that could claim some romanesque-like features, but since the Moors were in charge till 1326, most of the post-Reconquest construction is gothic forward.

      Tonight one last good meal in a spot that had no reservations till Sunday when the hotel called on Thursday. So it sounds like a good last night spot. Tomorrow we have a 10 am train to Granada,      Read more

    • naturweltenbummlerDen Sommer verlängern
      Day 36

      Mezquita in Córdoba

      September 28, 2021 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 29 °C

      Die Mezquita ist für uns bei jedem Córdoba-Besuch einfach Pflichtprogramm, da sie uns in den Bann gezogen hat und uns fasziniert.
      Die Moschee-Kathedrale von Córdoba – auch so wird sie genannt - gehört zu den eindrucksvollsten Bauwerken in Spanien.
      Bereits seit 1882 ist die Mezquita Nationaldenkmal in Spanien (Bien de Interés Cultural) und seit 1984 gehört sie – zusammen mit der Altstadt von Córdoba und der Medina Azahara – zum Weltkulturerbe der UNESCO.
      Die Bauarbeiten zur Mezquita-Catedral de Córdoba, wie sie offiziell heißt, begannen im 8. Jahrhundert, als sich die Stadt am Guadalquivir zum Zentrum der maurischen Herrschaft auf der Iberischen Halbinsel entwickelte.
      Nach der christlichen Rückeroberung im Jahr 1236 wurde die Moschee in ein katholisches Gotteshaus umgewandelt. Die neuen »Eigentümer« ließen aber zum Glück einen Großteil der Mezquita in ihrer bestehenden Form.
      Und so wandelten wir fast eine Stunde durch dieses tolle Gebäude und ließen die vielfältigen baulichen und handwerklichen Kunstwerke auf uns wirken.
      Danach war noch ein Abendspaziergang durch die Stadt zu unserem Seppl angesagt.
      Morgen werden wir uns wieder auf den Weg zur Küste machen ....      Read more

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    Plaza de las Tendillas

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