Cordoba day 2

We got up this morning to discover that Chris' sneezes from last night had turned into a full on cold which wasn't a great start to the day.  He dragged himself to breakfast at Don Pepe where me and K had churros and he had toast and butter but you could tell he was suffering. The churros were great, proper thick porras style ones and the venue was great - a proper locals' joint.

Once sated we headed to the Mezquita, the mosque cathedral. It was incredible,  totally rammed with beautiful moorish arches from its time as a mosque juxtaposed with all the opulent Catholic imagery expected from a major cathedral. It was relatively busy but I still managed to get photos without people in them. We were in the for ages and we were all super snap happy. When we came out I could tell that Chris was flagging so we went a wee walk through the old Jewish area then stopped for a drink and a snack at Cafe Bar Metropoly near the Alcazar. I had a slice of the delicious local sweet tart Pastelón Cordobés. K had some toast and butter and Chris had a roll and chorizo.

Our next stop was the Alcazar, we enjoyed the towers, the mosaics, the ruins of the old baths but most of all the opulent gardens. The gardens were topiary and water fountain mad. There was even a tree cut to look like a castle.

It was about 2 when we came out and Chris was done in so had to go for a lie down. He told us he didn't want lunch so we headed towards some restaurants I'd heard about via the old synagogue. It is only one of 3 synagogues left in spain from when the Jews were expelled hundreds of years ago. It was quite wee but interesting to see and the preserved detailing was incredible.

As we headed for lunch a big posse of middle aged men in similar suits passed us and I suddenly realised that some of them were security. Everyone got really excited and one the guys was waving at everyone and shaking their hands. K asked a woman who it was and she excitedly exclaimed "Rajoy!". Turns out he was until very recently the prime minister of Spain but lost his majority at the recent election, in fact only yesterday he told the King that he couldn't form a government. Spain is kinda without a government just now and may have to have another election!

After out excitement we went to Casa Rubio for lunch, we were lucky to get a table cos it was rammed! Unfortunately, we didn't manage to snag an outside one. We shared some salmorejo, some hard goats cheese, moorish potatoes and croquetas. It was all absolutely wonderful, the potatoes were like patatas bravas but in a light curry sauce.

Stuffed, we headed back to the hotel to check on Chris. He was still feeling rubbish so after for chilling for a bit me and K popped out for some fro-yo. K loves fro-yo. We both had liquid turron as our topping and were very pleased with our choice. K fancied a coffee so we had a wee wander then stopped at Mercado Provenzal cos we managed to grab an alfresco spot. Turns out it was crazy cheap, 40c for a caña cheap! 2 coffee and a caña came to €1.80 - understandably it was a very popular place.

While we were sitting there we got a text from Chris saying he felt a bit better so he came and joined us. Hurrah! After some chilling we headed to a fudge shop that Chris had wanted to visit but kept being closed when we passed. Delighted with his swag we headed back to the hotel roof terrace to plan our evening. On the way back I bought a bottle of local Cordobeer IPA to enjoy on the terrace.

We got our regular spot on the roof and sat there chilling as the sun went down and an ever increasing number of stars filled the sky. We decided on a dinner destination but it was still a bit early (this is spain afterall) but Chris wanted more of the olives from last night so we headed down there for a drink.  Unfortunately, it was too busy so we went elsewhere but Chris wasn't impressed with his olives. It was about quarter to nine so we thought we could safely go for dinner,  especially as we'd chosen a very popular joint. However, when we arrived at Bodega Campos it was still pretty empty. We order anyway and slowly the place started to fill up. By the time we left it was very busy. Dinner was good but not super amazing. I enjoyed last night's much more. K and I both had pork wrapped in bacon with potatoes and peppers with a grape sauce and Chris had pigs trotters stuffed with iberico pork and foie, he said it was very rich but very good. Chris wasn't up for an extended evening so we walked him back to the hotel and went to Califa, the craft beer bar/microbrewery, round the corner. We sat outside trying some local brews and chatting. I had a delicious IPA and k had a less delicious wheat beer. As we're total lightweights we decided to call it a night shortly after 11 and we're now back in our room. Lots to do tomorrow before heading home!