Exploring Cordoba, Spain, Monday, October 15, 2018

After breakfast, my first visit was to the Roman Temple - there is still excavation and reconstruction continuing at the site.  It is amazing to see the multiple sites going back a couple thousand years to the Roman empire.  And each site is in the middle of a modern, thriving city.

I love how many older buildings have been lovingly restored.  Even a hotel can be beautiful.

As with other cities in Spain, many schools teach English.

Just in the old part of the city of Cordoba, there are some 30 churches/cathedrals/mosques/temples.

This one has a beautiful domed center with long wings off both sides, one of which contains a parochial school.

Sunday morning, I passed by the south side of the Alcazar and could see gardens inside the walls.  On my way back to the hotel, I found the entrance, but the gardens were only open until 1:30.  The sign indicated the gardens would be open on Monday from 10:00 to 1:30.  As I approached, I was intrigued by how these trees grew to be as tall as four or five story buildings, yet were perfectly shaped as a long slender cone.

But when I approached the door to the gardens, it was all roped off, apparently for some construction - hence, a visit to the gardens was not to be.  It is closed all day on Tuesday, so stopping on my way to the train station on Tuesday morning is out of the question.  Such is life.

I did get to visit the Royal Stables and see their collection of many horse drawn vehicles.  There is an arena and field for the horse show, but that is only open on Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays when they have shows - something for a future return trip.

Then it was on to another historic mill powered by water from the Guadalquiver River - but the museum is not open on Mondays.

There is a small church nearby - Ermita de los Santos Martires.  I looked inside and saw that it could seat only about 25 people.

A nice urban park and green space is nearby.

 

After lunch, I took a brief rest.  When I went back out, it had started raining.  What should one do on a rainy Monday afternoon?  Take a novel to read and find a pastry shop.

After the rain stopped, I headed back out and after walking through the pedestrian shopping area in the city center, I stopped by the Roman Mausoleum, another site going back a couple thousand years.

I started to wander in the direction of the University, but then some serious rain started.  By the time I got back to the hotel, it was raining fairly hard and the forecast was for more of the same at least until midnight.  So I decided to call it a day and went to my room in Hostal Santa Ana to let my umbrella, jacket and shoes dry out.  It has been an interesting day of exploration.

The Zoo, Cordoba, Spain, Sunday afternoon, Oct. 14, 2018

After lunch, I took a leisurely walk to the Cordoba Zoo.  The usual price for adults is five and a half Euros, but for senior citizens, it was only three Euros.  As with the Botanical Garden, the maps and guides were in both English and Spanish. There two sections for birds, one from the Amazon and one for raptors.

There were big cats visible through large sheets of glass.

There were both Indian and Asian elephants.

Although they only had brown bears from Spain, they had info about bears from around the world.

There was a section for wildebeests and zebras, but one of the zebras jumped the interior fence and was in with the ostriches.

After a couple of hours at the zoo, I headed back towards Hostal Santa Ana and passed through a different portal into the old city.

An then it was time for a short rest before dinner.

The Royal Botanical Gardens of Cordoba, Sunday morning, Oct. 14, 2018

After a pleasant breakfast of coffee, fresh squeezed orange juice and Spanish toast (two pieces of the largest bread imaginable), I walked to the Botanical Gardens.  On the way, I passed by a large water wheel which at one time was part of one of the mills that ground wheat - Cordoba is in Andulusia, which is known for agriculture.

My route also took me past the Alcazar of the Christian Kings.

And also past a riparian area known for birds.

The regular price for adults for the Botanical Gardens is three Euros, but for seniors it was only one Euro.  They had maps and written guides in Spanish and English.

There were lots of orange trees laden with ripening fruit.

The green houses had a variety of flora from different biomes, including desert plants.

They had a very interesting museum of ethnobotany - many of the tours and exhibits I do at the Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix involve information about ethnobotany, how people use the native flora.

There were many items in the museum showing how people take advantage of local plants.  One I found interesting was their version of maple syrup from the arce de azucar.

I had a coffee from their outside cafeteria, which is next to the roseleda (rose garden) - so I had to stop and smell the flowers.

They had a series of different types of forests and other gardens as well.  One of the more interesting was the blind persons garden, designed for blind people to touch and smell the plants - and all the signs are in Braille.

After a couple of hours there, I wondered back towards Santa Ana Hostal and found a cafe where I could have a thick Cordoba gazpacho sprinkled with chunks of boiled egg and ham; and of course, a nice cold beer.