Córdoba

The first time I went to Córdoba, one of my favourite Spanish cities, I found a hotel. I settled in and went out for a walk, carefully noting how to get back.

When I arrived back fairly late and having consumed some wine, I found the place locked. I hammered on the door. A head appeared at a window – female-furious. I argued – in English; my Spanish was non-existent. She replied in Spanish – and even I thought I had a fairly good idea of what ‘policia’ might mean.

I retreated a short distance to think out a srategy – and saw my hotel in the next parallel street!

I spent less than a day here and it was sad, but the things I saw made it worth it. And the jewelry I got. ^_

It’s really pretty and it’s nice to just wander round. It has a lot of little streets and traditional houses, but there’s also big highstreets with a lot of nice clothes shops, some supermarkets, loads of cafes/restaurants etc. There’s also a big plaza with tapas bars and places to eat.

If you go during Easter (Semana Santa) there’s the most amazing procession with huge wooden floats that people CARRY slowly all the way through. The music they play is really haunting and you can smell the incense a mile off! Don’t be intimidated by the ku-klux-klan-style masks they wear though..

Around Cordoba there’s so much to see, like the castle in the picture.

First time living free of all I knew… great walking city, botleon for university students, feria in May, old winding streets, cafes, clubs. Great European experience, easy train access to larger cities.

Make sure to save time to get lost wandering the juderia.