Our second venture into Interrail began in Nimes before crossing into Spain via Barcelona to Madrid. On the third day we were in the wonderful, eclectic city of Cordoba. We stayed at a simple apartment in the old Jewish quarter, two minutes’ walk from the Mesquita in one direction and some good bars and restaurants in another.
The Mesquita dominates the centre of Cordoba but there is much more to see and enjoy. It was atmospheric to walk through the orangery courtyard before thinking of entry to the mosque-cathedral. A glass of wine and a snack just outside added to the mood. We also took a short walk to the tourist office where, as chance would have it, there was a special event in progress to encourage tourism and interest in the local culture. Tapas and wine were on offer and, beneath the arch framing our view of the Roman bridge, a Flamenco group was in full flow. Lively, raucous and exciting, we could have stayed there for hours.
One of the incidental delights of the tourist office is its cafeteria. We went there several times for brunch; it was always tasty and very reasonable in price. The toilet was out of action but the tourist office itself not only provided a facilitty but its reached by way of a staircase between walls of Roman masonry with the remains of two first-century granaries: a very rare experience.
A delicious sea-food paella was our first evening meal – so good we returned for a second the next evening before venturing to restaurants on the other side of the Mesquita. One of the local specialities is fried aubergine in a cane honey sauce. Two local restaurants serve individually distinctive versions of this delightful starter. On balance I preferred the one in a Jewissh quarter restaurant where the rest of the meal was also outstanding.
We had booked a walking tour of the Jewish quarter, and found it moving that once the Muslim and Jewish faiths could be accommodated in the same small city. Once bustling, the Jewish community is now reduced to two families aand of course the Muslim faith has long since been superceded by Christianity. It was the anomaly of Christian chapels in the Mesquita that struck when we finally entered the great building. The synagogue we had seen previously on our tour had of course retained its integrity, despite interventions by other faiths at various times.
On our last eveing we met some people from the Balkans, now resident in Canada and Portugal and working for aid agencies. They had a great deal to tell us about the need for tolerance, both racial and religious, over drinks in the little square near our apartment.
We left Cordoba for Cadiz, by no means as picturesque yet as eclectic and historic, after a final walk across both the modern and the Roman bridges and along the river. We took a last look at the Moorish water mill and recalled the delights of the gardens of the Reyes Catholicos before yet another super-efficient rail journey.
One of our priorities in Cadiz was to revisit the wonderful museum that portrays the many phases of civilisation in that part of Spain. We also found great pleasure near the beach, where the kind of restaurants likely to serve tourist fodder provided excellent local meals with a sea or harbour view.
Our apartment was close to the central market and provided a great range of resonable restaurants for evening meals that we knew would as fresh as the morning’s tide. Local people provided a constant gentle buzz of conversation to create a leisurely mood all day and late into the evening.
Too soon wee were at the station, to find the connecting train from Cadiz to Seville was fully booked. This meant rebooking a through train diect from Cadiz to Madrid. Glad we had done so, we settled into the kind of seats HS2 is promising in 10 years or so and that business class flight currently offers.
Madrid to Narbonne was a further ecenic delight, enhance by the place we had booked for an evernight stay. It was called Le Patio en Ville and for enyone looking to stay in that elegant city is highly recommended.
The onward journey to Paris was highly efficient, as was the final leg via Eurostar and local train home. Third ttime looms next year; we plan (hoping the DB network will have improved) to return to Germany and Denmark.
