Cordoba

Outside the walls to the old city. We walked through beautiful parks from the train station

The Jewish quarter. The synagogue is supposed to be very impressive inside but we were there the one day it was closed

Courtyard of a craft market where I bought a beautiful tile

The plague monument dedicated to St. Rafael who protected the city from plague, hunger and floods

unfinished arch  at the stat of the Roman bridge with 2000 year old foundations an 450 year old arches ad 10 year old resufacing

from the other side

The outside walls of the Mezquita had lots of ornately decorated  portals

How many arches?800

lots of the columns were from an old Roman temple. Christians came in , then Muslims, then Christians again

A mix of Christian and Muslim styles

me in the Mexquita

the Mezquita from the other side of the Guandalquivir, same river that flows through Sevilla

lunch place in the Jewish quarter Got pista, local eggplant and pepper stew, and shrimp

Syanogogue does not look so impressive from the outside

narrow streets

art nouveau in the  'modern' city

hill castle from our train

The following are now all of mine. I can't use all the lenses Steve has so I focus on closeups Steve rubbing the foot of Maimonides so that his wisdom will rub off.H e was from Cordoba

750 aniversary of his birth

lion-dolphin combo?

No explanation was found for these two bizarre figures

on the main door to the Mezquita

Plaza de las Tendilles where flamenco music is piped in on the hour

We stopped for coffee con leche at this Art Noveau bar. Every bar in Andalucía featured Cruzcampo beer

Years ago on an overnight train from Paris to Madrid, I was sitting in the café car sipping my café con leche watching walled cities pass by and lots of snow reading my Sevilla guidebook. A man sat down besides me. 

Don't go there! Go to Cordoba, so much better.

Is it better? Well it is smaller and much less crowded than Sevilla. Maybe costs less. The Mezquita is more ornate than the Alcazar (they have another Alcazar there too) though it lacks the gardens. I am glad we went, a new city for me as all the other cities I have been in before.

After our deluxe buffet, an unpleasant long walk through the rain and dark on barely lit streets to the train station. The storm during the middle of the night had blown oranges and branches all over the place plus huge puddles that were impossible to avoid. I tried to keep up with Steve and our lone umbrella while trying not to trip over all the debris. Fortunately the rain had stopped by the time we got to Cordoba. The train was timely but the ride boring excepting seeing a stork on its nest just ten feet from the tracks. This would be the 4th and 5th time I had gone on this section of the route.

So we saw all that I have posted above. A good day. No more rain the rest of the trip though there was rain forecasted for our arrival in Barcelona that didn't happen. We picked up provisions for a picnic dinner at the trusty El Corte Ingles on the way back. The streets had been swept up by then.