We'd read a bit about Cordoba and knew it must be rather nice as it had a Parador hotel there. We'd booked a couple of nights and were pretty happy to find a rather nice room with a balcony had been allocated:
The weather was nicer than that picture suggests by the way, fine for sitting outside enjoying a very British restorative cup of tea after the drive. It was another relatively new build hotel but still had the "Parador character".
although the delivery rider with his big yellow box is a reminder of current fashions. There is one must do thing in Cordoba of course. A visit to the Mosque-Cathedral. Have a look at their website for lots of background on the Mosque that became a Cathedral and has architectural elements from both religions, going back to the 6th centaury.
and stunning inside, both in scale and the detail of the decorations:
with an almost ethereal feel to the arched open spaces:
The areas where the original Muslim style and decoration survive seem so incongruous in a Cathedral:
but have been beautifully restored. We were most amused by the rather specific project funding displayed for one renovation activity:
We would love to know how / why they costed it to that level of detail and how much it finally cost. The buildings are designated as a UNESCO world heritage site and we saw why as we wandered around:
After a most enjoyable cultural feast, we wandered over another elderly bridge:
and found a surprisingly good restaurant for a small lunch on the other bank. Great service from a waiter who had worked and lived in the UK until Covid with a great sense of humour, good food and rather good coffee too. The only slightly weird bit was the ceiling decoration:
It was a little bit intimidating but didn't steal any food.
