First stop of an adventure: CORDOBA

Hello all!

Just last weekend, I went on a roadtrip to Cordoba and Sevilla with my faithful crew. We took a bus on friday morning (9am!) and five hours later we were in Cordoba. Cordoba is an important city in the south of Spain, it is known for it's mixture of Arabic and Spanish culture. Here is a map so that you have a better idea of its location:

Upon on arrival, we went directly to see the hostal that I had reserved. The hostal was actually very pretty so we dropped off our bags (we traveled light, Indian style^^) and we were off to explore! Turns out out hostal was right smack in the middle of the historical center of Cordoba. We were minutes away from the most famous mosque:

 

It was a beautiful sunny day so we could see details in the architecture very well. Just in this first stop the Arabic influence was very obvious. We kept walking around and just enjoyed gazing at the beautiful architecture and greenery.

 As we were walking around, we noticed a very large bridge with a tour at the end of it. Of course we had to see what it was, so we crossed the bridge and ended up at the tour. It was a bit random, as it was a historical tour with nothing particularly interesting around it. All the castles, mosques, and cathedrals were on the other side of the bridge. Well we entered the tour and it had been transformed into a museum about the Arabic influence in Andalucia. It was very interesting and we soon discovered why it was so strategically located. At the very top of the tour we had the most gorgeous view of all Cordoba. We could see the bridge, the river, castles, palm trees, etc. It was phenominal.

Here's the tour:

And the view from top of it:

Our last landmark of the day was the Alcazar de Cordoba which looked like a mix between a palace and a castle. In the inside the building was all in white and very spacious making it very luminous. Personally, I absolutely loved the gardens. There were jasmine trees and other fragrant flowers which added a new experience. I really felt like this palace belonged in the movie Aladdin!

 

 After a long day of visiting and walking, we had dinner and went back to the hostal for a good night's sleep. The next morning we prepared all things to leave and had breakfast on a cute little terrasse. After a few troubles trying to find a taxi, we managed to arrive at the bus station just on time. Our next destination? Sevilla!

... Soon to come!