Spain and Portugal Day 7 - Córdoba

Today we had another early start to our day. We woke up, grabbed some breakfast at the hotel, and then walked over to a nearby train station for a day trip to Córdoba.

We had a walking tour scheduled for the day, but we were running a bit tight on time since our train arrived just before the tour started. Luckily, we managed to grab a cab and made it to the starting point right on time. Phew!

The tour kicked off at the Mosque-Cathedral of Córdoba, which was a really interesting place. It used to be a mosque, but over the years, it's been converted into a cathedral while still maintaining a lot of its original mosque architecture. We learned that Córdoba is a unique place in Spain where both Christian and Muslim influences co-exist, and it was really fascinating to see how those two cultures blended together to create such beautiful spaces and architecture.

After the mosque-cathedral, we continued our walking tour through the Jewish quarter. Although the Jewish population in Córdoba is small now, it used to be a thriving community in the past. We followed a small bronze plate symbol that helped lead us through the Jewish quarter to the synagogue, which was one of the best-preserved medieval synagogues in Andalusia. We also visited a monument to Maimonides, a famous Jewish philosopher from Seville who's buried in Córdoba.

A mosque in the Jewish quarter because why not?

While walking through the Jewish quarter, we learned about patio culture in Córdoba. Since it gets incredibly hot in the summer, houses in Córdoba were built with an open-air atrium that was protected from the sun. Over the centuries, these patios were decorated with flowers, plants, and fountains, and in 1918, the city started offering an annual prize for the prettiest patio. People come from all over the world to see these beautiful patios, and Alison and I were really impressed by how lovely they were.

A patio cat

Our walking tour ended at Alcázar de los Reyes Cristianos, which used to be a castle but has now been converted into a museum. The gardens were absolutely stunning and possibly the most beautiful ones we've seen during our time in Andalusia.

A cat living in the ruins of the Alcázar de los Reyes Cristianos. We love ruin cats. 

After the tour, we were absolutely famished, so we found a local restaurant with patio seating and enjoyed a long, indulgent tapas lunch. One of our favorite things about this trip has been the long, relaxing lunches in Spain. It's like nowhere else we've ever visited!

After lunch, we had some time to explore on our own. We visited Palacio de Viana, a renaissance palace with tranquil courtyards and formal gardens. It was just as beautiful as all the other places we visited in Córdoba. We also wandered through the streets looking for interesting architecture and beautiful spaces. One of our favorite spots was the Calleja de las Flores, a street lined with flowers.

As evening approached, we headed out of the city to the Roman Bridge, which was originally built in the 1st century and was featured in Game of Thrones as the bridge in the city of Volantis. We walked across the bridge and found a path along the river, chatting and taking in the sights until it was close to sunset. Then we found a spot near the bridge and watched the golden glow of the sun shining on the bridge as it set. It was the perfect end to our day in Córdoba.

Once the sun had set, we headed back to the train station and caught our train back to Seville for the evening. It was such a great day filled with history, culture, and beauty.