Catedral de Cordoba and La Mezquita; the Ave from Cordoba to Madrid

A very quick wake up and prep (less than ten minutes after the buzz of the 7am alarm) saw me of to the lobby for breakfast with Tom and Marielana; Ian joined us just moments later.

Day 6
7:00am Breakfast
7:15am Luggage pickup inside room; turn in keys at front desk.
8:00am Depart for Cordoba, approximately a two-hour drive.

Due to a later train boarding time this afternoon, the bus departure was pushed back to 8:30am. The tour group swapped stories and caught up with one another while in the lobby and on the bus. Karen narrated the two-hour’s travel to Córdova with history and descriptions of the regions we were leaving and entering.

10:30 Walking tour of Cordoba, including a visit to La Mezquita.

Rain fell outside Cabildo Catedral de Córdoba while our tour guides showed us, in two groups, through the columned hallways and tall rooms of this World Heritage Site and oldest cathedral in Spain.

On this location stood a Roman building that housed high-class citizens within its protective walls surrounding the courtyard. In the sixth century, Jews, who weren’t allowed to live inside the walls, moved in when the Visigoths tore down the structure and erected San Vincente basilica, which in turn went down when the region came under new management by the Moors, who began constructing Aljama Mosque in 785, reusing construction material from the basilica. Conquered Catholics got the boot while Jews migrated back to Antigua Mezquita, the Jewish Quarter just outside the city walls. During the following prosperous Muslim times of the Independent Emirate, Córdoba became the capital of the Al-Andalus region as well as a Western Caliphate cultural, social, and political venue whose mosque arguably surpassed Damascus’ in its consummate design achieved over three expansions. As such it might have drawn King Ferdinand III’s attention: coming under Spanish rule 1236, it was one of the earlier gotten cities in his re-conquest of the country. Keeping the elaborate construction in tact, Catholics consecrated the building and remodeled it, making additions to coincide with their symbology.

We opened umbrellas and pulled on our hoods to walk through the moderate rain that landed on the Mezquita, visiting an old and rather meagerly preserved Jewish temple.

12:00pm Free time to explore.

Explore we did, grabbing tapas lunch (including Ian’s order of Manchego cheese) from El Patio hotel’s restaurant and dipping in and out of shops in the Mezquita.

1:30pm Regroup at bathroom stop and walk to coach.
2:40pm High-speed train departs for Madrid. Lunch served on train in business class cabin.

Itinerary change: The train Ave (Bird) departed at 3:44pm, and we in it, with each of us carrying a 58,65 € (including 7% IVA) billete y reserva. The ride was smooth, the té de poleo menta was warm, and I slept the less than two hours train “flight” between the stations in Cordoba and Madrid, catching a few glimpses of scenery and staying awake long enough to receive desert brownies from three other people’s meals; two were delivered by Rich and one by Carlos, who thought I might “need the nutrition.” At our 5:30pm arrival, I awoke curled into my chair with Rich’s Spain travel book and Bicycling magazine in my hand.

4:30pm Arrive in Madrid. Evening is at your leisure.

Leisure I did, maxin’ and journaling in a Westin hotel bathrobe following a refreshing shower. Sharing an elevator with un politico español, Ian went to the lobby to call overseas to Karen. When we had first entered the hotel, the buzz was that Bruce Springsteen was staying here, which likely explained the front entrance’s modest crowd of fans, paparazzi, and escorts past which we had to navigate in order to reach the front door.

At half past ten, I left room 463 and then left Hotel Palace to grab some tapas and enjoy nighttime in the city. I also managed a half-hour walk on the treadmill in the hotel’s gimnasio and a shower, relieved to be free of laundry duty since I had enough fresh clothes to finish out the final days of the trip.

Ian encountered a friendly Frenchman in Plaza Santa Anna (world-famous tapas zone), sipped wine to accompany tapas and people-watching, and met una joven Texan who was walking across Spain while on break from teaching in England.

Lights out came around 1am.