Thursday April 25, 2019

Patios of Cordoba

I did not sleep all that great and still am feeling pretty pekid this morning. We are out the door at 0745 for the 30 minute walk to the train station. My navigation is good through the turns and backstreets of Sevilla. Today’s train is a Talgo train which apparently is older and more local. The ride is more classic, clickity clack of the tracks at a slower speed. I try writing on the train but my brain is foggy so I just close my eyes. The hour and ten minute ride is stretched to one hour and twenty, our first late train in Spain. We emerge from the Córdoba station to find our way. There are always several exits from the stations so the hardest part of navigating is always finding the right street to start from. We get oriented and start out. The map I have is sketchy, missing many street names. I wrote down the turns we have but we miss a street somehow. Backtracking, I see a park that I remember so we turn towards it and find a street on my directions. From there, the streets are better marked and we arrive a few minutes late at the apartment. They were letting us leave our packs there and the owner sent someone to meet us. Her English is not too good but apparently the apartment is not ready and she says to come back in one hour. I say 1130 in Spanish and she says one hour so as it is 1040, we think 1140. The email had indicated that we could check in early and this change throws us off. In our rush to take some things with us, I leave the camera and my glasses in the pack.

A Córdoba Patio

An hour isn’t enough time to do much as the sights part of town is about 15 minutes or so away. We decide to just meander the immediate area. We see a nice square with a church and walk further to a firmly Main Street. We pass a grocery store, a little park that we sit in for a bit and another church. We than check out the possibilities in the store but hold off buying anything until we see the apartment. We walk back to the place a bit before the hour and wait. The hour time comes and goes. No one shows. I now realize that I also left the phone number and info in my pack. So we wait some more. At noon, the owner Isabel walks up and says, are you waiting for me? It seems there was a mix up and the person she sent, meant for us to come back at 1300 (one o’clock) which she apparently thought in English was the one hour. Isabel still needs to clean the apartment but let’s us bring our packs inside, gives us a map, the keys, and checks us in. Now we can come back whenever we want after 1300. We leave with the camera, glasses, and other required touring items. Even with the new map, there are streets with no names and passageways unknown to modern map makers.

Outside of Mezquita

We make some calculated guesses in spots, some pay off, some don’t but eventually end up by the alcazar. It is supposed to be free until 1500 but that has apparently changed and it is now free after 1800. We did not plant to see this if it wasn’t free as reviews were disappointing if you have seen the alcazar in Sevilla, which we just did. We meander some more, pass the Mezquita, tomorrow’s main attraction, and check out the archeological museum.

Ancient Wine Bota

It is pretty interesting and dies a good job explaining the history of Córdoba along with ancient roman, Visigoth, an moorish artifacts that have been unearthed. I am really not doing too well so we decide to go back and let me rest. We stop at the market and buy some eggs, Cheese, chorizo, and bread to make for lunch. Carol does a great job making a sandwich with our purchase and then I go to try and get some rest while she does laundry. We have dinner reservations at 1930 so hopefully I can get a good rest as it is only 1500. I could do without the sickness but so far it hasn’t greatly altered our plans.

She is Wining

Later, we walk to dinner about .8 miles away and find it without a hitch. Al Grano specializes in seafood and rice, aka paella. We start with a nice red wine which I hope has germ fighting capabilities.

Tuna Tataki

We order a starter of salmon and tuna tataki  except he tells us tonight it would be only tuna if that is ok. It is and when it arrives it is really good, seared on the outside, with micro greens and a Asian type sauce drizzled over it. Very yummy. When our black rice paella arrives, they torch the red shrimp that is in it, apparently as they would overcook otherwise.

I Have to Share

The paella is super tasty and has mussels, shrimp and calamari in it. The black rice adds an interesting flavor. It also has a type of mayo Aioli on top which seems to be something they like to serve with their seafood. We enjoy the meal but do not linger as I need to go back and rest some more while I have the time to. So we retreat to our apartment and another day in Spain is done.

Expenses
Train from Sevilla to Córdoba 16.80E
Centro de Ciudad Apartment 59E
Archeological Museum 3E
Eggs, Bread, cheese,soda from market 4.76E
Dinner at Al Grano 37E
Chocolate Cake and Cheesecake from Roldan 4.60E
Walked 7.5 Miles