The short train ride landed us in Cordoba at around 10:30. This gave us time to see lots of the city before we even checked in to our hotel. First, we visited some parks.
Then we visited the cathedral. It was amazing. The arches, doorways, and woodwork over the windows that was clearly arabic and then the traditional Christian artworks, alters, choir boxes, and stained glass. There was even a glass cutout in the floor that allowed visitors to view the beautiful tile floors that had been built over. New discoveries have been made as recently as a couple of years ago. But, this is not just a tourist destination or a museum (although it is both), it is also an active parish with regular masses.
Then we walked around a bit more and ate lunch in a cool square.
After lunch, we went back for our appointment for a quick trip up into the bell tower of the cathedral (lots of steps - but worth it for the great views).
Having seen lots of the downtown, we headed back across the Roman Bridge toward our hotel.
Once we checked in, we took some time to rest, go on a quick shopping trip for fruit, and then up to the hotel rooftop bar where we read for a while and enjoyed the views.
For the evening, we headed back downtown where we did some people watching and watched part of a free concert and then called it a night.
This morning, we had breakfast in our hotel room and then went for a nice walk to and around the botanical gardens. It was peaceful and lovely.
Afterward, we headed back to our hotel to pack up, walked over to a fun pizza place, and then headed back to the train station.
All in all, it was a quick fun trip to a nice Spanish city. Of course, now I need to do some serious Spanish homework time tomorrow!
