Before I say anything about Cordoba, just want to remember the restaurant we visited on our last night in Granada. It was called Noray, which in Spanish, for docking place. It was just a small seafood place but it had got good reviews on trip advisor and it looked great. We ordered beer and a free plate of tapas came with it. It was delicious octopus and mussels with chickpeas. Then we had our main meal, which for me was a plate of various seafood in a rich and creamy tomato sauce. Johnny had an enormous plate of ham, black pudding sausage and another spicy sausage... all served with walnuts. When we ordered a second drink, more free tapas arrived. This time it was fried fish and prawns with a yoghurty sauce. We asked for coffee but their coffee machine was out of order so they gave us complimentary chilled local liqueurs. This is a great country for great service in restaurants and great food. We left the lovely young man who ran the restaurant with his brother and mother a well deserved tip.
Getting to Cordoba we passed through rain and mountain mists but as we approached the city the blue skies and sun came out. It was still chilly but it looked great. Yet again we arrived during siesta time so only mad dogs and tourists were out on the streets. Regardless, we took a turn around the city.
This time, for our accommodation, Johnny selected a modern hotel overlooking the Guadalquivir river. From our bedroom window we had a great view of the archeological excavations next door and the roman bridge which lit up a gorgeous yellow in the low afternoon sun. This bridge was built in the first century and it was part of the Via Augustus. Over the years it suffered all sorts of additions but today it still looks quite magnificent. recent rains in the mountains had sent vast quantities of water down the river, widening the Guadalquivir enormously. Around the bridge it was a couple of hundred metres wide and swamping the little islands in the centre of the stream. There were a couple of ancient stone water mills in the stream that looked like they might be washed away with a little more rain. In the past, sailing boats filled the river and decanted their cargo of cereals, henna, perfumes and dyes here. The cereals were ground in these water mills, but they must have put out a fair noise as Queen Isabel La Católica ordered one to be dismantled because the noise it made so close to the royal residence was disturbing to her. On the middle of the bridge is a shrine to St Raphael and people stopped and lit a candle.
We entered the city beyond the bridge under a massive roman triumphal arch and walked along the Cordoba palace and the town hall towards the Jewish quarter. The Jewish Quarter of Cordoba is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The streets had a very Moorish flavour to them. The Jews of the city prospered under the Caliph of Cordoba and have a history in the city from the second century until their expulsion from Spain in 1492. Under the Moslems, both Jews and Christians were given religious freedom and self-governing communities. This was good for both the people who prospered and the rulers who taxed this prosperity. By the11th and 12th centuries the Jewish population the Jewish people had made Cordoba a centre for commerce and learning. At the same time, much of the rest of Europe was still in the dark ages. In contrast, Cordoba had paved streets and street lighting. When the caliphate was deposed in 1031, and the Berbers of North Africa gained power, religious intolerance destroyed many of the progressive elements of the city and when the Jews left, the city declined in status and wealth.
Of course there were winding little laneways all through the Jewish quarter we explored. It is Spain after all. But these were laneways with a bit of a difference. The city has a reputation for its flower pots which add a wonderful splash of colour to the walls. A even in winter we found lots of glazed blue pots with azalea and geranium blooms tumbling prolifically over the edges. Walking beyond the old quarter we found an area that reminded us of the Dubai canals. The water had the same icy green and formed a visual oasis between the buildings. There was also a grand planted thoroughfare that led to the market. We hope to explore this further tomorrow.
We could have stopped for lunch at almost any place but the one that took our eye was a little place in Calle Romero, called number 10 that looked full of family groups. We had tapas of anchovies on toasts and then some enormous slabs of goats cheese on a tomato and carrot jam with a palm sugar sauce. It really needed the beer to wash it down. We should have ordered the wine as did so may of the other patrons as it was decanted from barrels set into the wall. The waiter just reached up, and turned on the tap and the wine or sherry gushed out.
We just followed our noses through this area though I do have to say that Johnny insisted on trying to track us on the map. At one stage church bells started peeling to call believers to worship so we just raced after the sound and caught the sight of the bells tumbling for all they were worth on top of a whitewashed building.
We scouted out a few places that looked like they might be good for dinner and then headed back to the hotel. As we turned into the street heading down to the roman bridge we could see the whole bridge packed with people. This is what people do. They get everyone rugged up and families and friends go out for a pre dinner walk. Seeing the streets full of people changed the atmosphere completely.
I know it sounds decadent but with the winter sun setting, we ambled back to the hotel, put on ABC jazz, drew the curtains and went to bed for a snooze. If we can't do this when were on holiday, then when can we?
The Calle Romero looked like it had a lot of well rated restaurants so we decided to walk up and down till one took our fancy. We ended up in Cafe Pepe de la Juderia. We opted for the tapas menu and started off with fried eggplant with a sugarcane honey. We liked it so much that we asked the Romainian waitress about it and to our surprise she raced off and came back with the recipe. Then we had cuttlefish ithe garlic, oil and parsley. Then it was suckling pig with roast potatoes. There was just enough room for chocolate cake with sesame ice cream, custard foam with ice cream and a lovely rich, cafe con leche. Perfect! It turned out that it was another Michelin rated eatery.
