Córdoba

We arrived in Còrdoba on Thursday morning after catching the commuter train into Málaga and then transferring to a long distance train headed to Córdoba. The commuter train is by far the best part of Torremolinos, if you happen to get stuck in the outskirts of where you would rather be, be sure to look into the local commuter trains before switching hotels.

We stopped at the tourist information booth upon arrival and grabbed a map so we could plan our day.

It was a beautiful outside and we realized that most of the monuments and the historical zone of the city were within walking distance so we began our trek towards the sights.

We arrived in the Juderia, or the old Jewish quarter. The small narrow roads form a labyrinth filled with restaurants, souvenir shops, and the like. We stopped and had a cup of coffee with toast and tomatoes with olive oil, absolutely delicious. This is definitely a breakfast we plan to repeat both on the trip and at home.

We made our way to the Mezquita, or mosque, this is likely the most noteworthy sight in Córdoba. Everything from the outside to the inside was amazing. The moorish architecture is very ornate and colorful, it was simply beautiful. From the outside it's hard to tell that there is a cathedral inside, and from the inside it is interesting to see both religious cultures expressed in one building. It was also amazing to see how well preserved everything was, the floors, the pillars, the colors of the fresco paintings, everything was so intact. The size of the mosque/cathedral was also very impressive, especially since there were at least ten tour groups each with at least 20 people and they were hardly in our way.

We left the Mezquita and walked towards the Alcazar, or fortress, and it's gardens. The fortress was also in moorish design, and was very ornately decorated from floor to ceiling. We stepped outside to the garden which was filled with brightly colored flowers, beautiful statues, and decorated fountains. The most prominent statue is of the King and Queen of Spain and Christopher Columbus requesting funds to sail towards the Americas.

We took several pictures and walked through the entire garden before heading back towards the Jewish quarter for lunch. We found a nice little spot and enjoyed some delicious tapas while people watching and soaking the sun.

After lunch we started our return walk towards the train station, stopping in artisan and souvenir shops along the way and taking pictures of the beautiful architecture and the flower lined streets nearby.

A few things to point out about Córdoba:
- many parts of the city, mostly near the monuments, are protected as World Heritage sights and are incredibly well preserved
- the city is a candidate to be the Cultural City of Europe, and it is a very well deserved nomination
- both the city and the sites are easy to get to, you can walk from the train or bus stations or take a short cab ride, and once you are in the historical zone the sights are all within walking distance

We took the long distance train back to Málaga and then the commuter train back to Torremolinos. We washed up and went out to dinner, this time picking a nicer looking place near our hotel. It was by no means authentic, and it had a very mixed menu of different cuisines but it was by far the nicest place in Torremolinos, which isn't saying much.

We made it an early night as we had a long journey to Sevilla the next day.

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