Adventures in Andelucia - Part Dos

Boing!, boing!, boing!, boing!, boing!, boing!, boing!, boing!, the church bell tolled 8.00am not twenty metres from my ear. Opening the front door, a cool breeze swept up Calle de la Inglese from the sun-kissed hills beyond.


Our day-trip was due to start in an hour and we had not eaten. As I turned to start toasting, Bang!. I ventured back out the wooden front door to observe a small green car extracting itself from the church wall. "O my gawd.......", the expression on the faces of the driver and the ancient passing local said it all - was this a greater sin than mortal?. The driver peered guiltily at his crushed petrol cap and rear bumper: God 1 - local 0.


Shane arrived promptly at 9.00am and we rolled out of town for a day trip to Cordoba. Almond trees, freshly harvested, stood in geometrically arranged stands on the nearby hills. Billboard advertising is not permitted along Spanish motorways (Autovias) and companies wishing to promote their products have to think a bit differently. Osborne Sherry have therefore installed 25 huge black metal bulls across Andalucia - when the authorities attempted to have them removed, local protests overcame the government action.


Just before arriving in Cordoba we saw two nesting storks sitting atop an old chimney; below extensive scorching of the fields showed evidence of recent burnt olive stumps. Cordoba has had a very interesting history with the Moors governing for 700 years until around 1500. Shane told us of the various significant historical figures responsible for greatly influencing Arab, Jewish and European philosophical thinking.

Near an impressive brass statue a Flamenco guitarist entertained the crowd. We gave him some Euros because he was playing an unamplified guitar unlike almost all other guitarists who insist on ruining their performances with amplification and accompanying percussion.

The major feature of Cordoba was the Mezquita which is regarded as only the second in importance to Mecca by Muslims. The mineret has been built around by Christians converting it into a belltower for the Cabildo Catedral. It is most impressive! The ochre and sand coloured arches support the roof of the building as large as St Marks Piazza in Venice. Many chapels are included in the Catedral with our favourite being one featuring a statue of Christ dressed as a Roman Centurion.

We left the Catedral and headed off for tapas and alcoholic refreshment (again). Bodeges Mezquita adjacent to Catedral provided spectacular tapas including wild mushroom croquettes, grilled baby squid and slow cooked venison being the standouts. I finished with Helado Artesamo de Turron = home made nougat icecream....yum.

We returned to the car through Cordobas retail centre noting various Roman architectural remnants and Spanish monuments. Upon reaching home we decided to eat in on the rooftop terrace testing out my new dish spaghetti Rio Gordo.

.....to be continued