ANDALUSIA STAGE 7 - CORDOBA & GRANADA

Stage 7: Culture? I don’t do very well normally…sidetrack: as an example, through the years, me and close buddy, Paul….would “do” a museum, to try and shorten the afternoon start pub time in that London….a full hour would be a result! Once we headed for the British Museum at Holborn, we actually stayed in the Museum, for about 6 hours…and staggered out mid evening. Unfortunately that was the Museum pub, less that 50m from the entrance of the actual British Museum, a swift pint proved too much of a temptation as we passed it, or not... 😂 True story. Paul? 🤷‍♂️

So first stop Cordoba - and La Mezquita or the Mosque Cathedral. In the 10th century Cordoba was the capital of Islamic Spain, and the largest city in Western Europe, however after a bit of a barny, Sevilla took over….and more-so, with the location after the discovery of the New World, Sevilla’s importance, influence and size grew even more.

I decided to get an audio guide, to add some interest, and on asking, the nice chap, estimated 90mins to 2 hours for an average explore. The outside and inside were amazing, the architecture and mosaics quite stunning. However, considering I must have spent 15 mins up the bell tower, at 1pm, on exiting La Mezquita, it wasn’t even 2pm. Once I’ve seen a handful religious artefacts and listened to its history….I sort of run out of steam, and move on…🚶‍♂️🚶‍♂️

So, I guess that must qualify as a fail. Although if there was a Strava segment, around La Mezquita, I’d be near the top of the leaderboard! (As I probably am at the Basilica in Venice too, on my 50th weekend).

Next challenge then, Granada (I’ve overdone the Coronation Street jokes, anyway I couldn’t find it, even with Google Maps) 🙄 and the famous Alhambra. 

More than a two hour drive, inadvertently passing numerous Los Pueblos Blancos….but also noticing, as the research enthuses about, the olive trees! I reckon over 100km of nothing but bloody Olive trees, and they are not the prettiest of trees, not sure I’d want to live in that environment? And I wouldn’t enthuse about them, and how on earth to do they pick all the olives, surely not manually, with those long sticks? 🤷‍♂️😰

Only 21 euros for an apartment in the student area of Granada, just 15 mins walk from the bars etc. Thinking this is a smart apartment all to myself, and so cheap. After 30 mins, I could hear a key in the door…first walked in Lucia, an Argentinian living in Italy and teaching Italian, she went off to start an online course. Then I couldn’t get in the bathroom, but who is in there? Eventually out popped the exuberant Qing, a Chinese student from Beijing studying business studies in Zurich. She was great, very bubbly and friendly…and we really connected…we went out for the evening, really great company, interesting too….discussing Covid and China, the ostracising of China to a point and of course much lighter topics! I’d class that as a cultural exchange too…brownie points me thinks on the culture front, yes? 🤷‍♂️😊

Qing was travelling solo too, she was due in Faro meeting three “friends”, then taking a hire car to Lisbon then Porto. She’d never met these friends, all app driven for like minded people to engage….the modern world! 

A new lesson learnt there, I would never do the dorm sharing hostel thing, but this was a compromise….clearly a good way to meet people, and if solo, we all need companionship at some point….experience noted.

Anyway, culture. Granada was the last stronghold of the Moors, but with a clear legacy. The tight warren of the Albayzin barrio was very Arabic, with cafes, bazaars, Shisha pipe places and all that tat for sale - also full of bars, cafes and restaurants. With the obligatory dude, giving you the eye and whispering, “hash, hash”….reminds me of Egypt (and probably Morocco). 

Up on the hillside was the spectacular Alhambra palace….with my ticket and audio guide, off I went. Think I faired better this time, was more impressed….still probably near the top of the Strava leaderboard on speed, but slowed down more-so by the incredible gardens and their vistas (that’s my culture, mountain views - Sierra Nevada in this case). 

Walked across the city to a couple of miradors to get that “across the city” Alhambra photo….then walked through the heart of Albaycin back to the gaff. Out with Qing again in the evening, said our farewells and then off to get that antidote to the cultural overload 🤯, headed back west first thing the following morning….to nature, mountains and water, for my sadly final hurrah! ⛰🦩

                                                                                   GRANADA - ALHAMBRA

Olive Trees!

                                                                 

                                                              CORDOBA - LA MEZQUITA & ROMAN BRIDGE

Qing