Al Andaluz, March 25, Córdoba

We spent the morning walking around the city in the rain. I discovered that the coat I picked out to take the place of my rain jacket was water resistant, not waterproof. Unfortunately, my Alaskan rain hat was not waterproof either. We had left the umbrellas in the hotel. David’s English jacket is very waterproof, but it does not cover his legs. So, we just endured and laughed about walking in the rain in Spain. We walked to see the pillars of the Roman temple that is being restored next to the Ayuntamiento de Córdoba, Córdoba City Hall.

They are rebuilding the ruins with what they dug up. It will be a tourist draw.

Another view so you can see that some of what they have found is not in very good shape. Some of the columns will be replaced or replicated.

Just across the street from the Ayuntamiento was a remarkable church. The street side is of Baroque design with carved stone and twisted columns. But past the gate, you come upon an older, more Gothic structure. Inside, the Romanesque arches and wooden ceiling showed that the building was even older. San Paulo is a beautiful lesson in the various architectural styles you can see in Córdoba.

Street view from Google maps.

Inside the gate from Google maps.

Inside the church, notice the Gothic arches and the wooden ceiling. Behind me is their procession float ready to be carried in the Semana Santa Procession.

We stopped for a café con leche in a small street café near the church. The rain made it seem colder than it really was. You can see the café with the white tents. The street facade of the church is on the right.

Lunch was at a nice restaurant on the Plaza de las Tendillas. It is common in Spain to take the name of the plaza or street in the name of your establishment. For example, the restaurant is called Tendillas 5, its address. (Our hotel in Madrid was Victoria 5, its address, number 5 on Calle Victoria.) The food was excellent. They had a sidewalk area, but no one was sitting in it.

A bit chilly and windy for sidewalk dining!

After a warmup break at the hotel, we met Joaquín and Pacote at the north end of the Roman bridge near the Torre Calahorra. This enormous building dates to Roman times but has been reinforced and repaired over the years. It has an excellent museum, but we were meeting friends and had to skip most of it.

Our friends live on the north side of the Guadalquivir River and took us around a different part of Córdoba, less tourist oriented. We walked through an old neighborhood to a church that Pacote attended as a child. The processional float is spectacular as it is the joyous one for Easter morning. It has a live-sized statue of the joyful Virgin Mary resplendent in a crown and elaborately decorated cape and gown. The wax candles and flowers on the float must have taken months to create. The amount of silver on the float must require a large number of very strong young men to carry it. The church is an old one with a wooden ceiling and Romanesque arches.

The weight of this float must require a many strong young men to carry it.

All the candles are bees wax as are the carved flowers.

The silver and gold extend to the covering of the float.

We were joined by Issac at their favorite café MesonelWolf (webnode.es). It is a neighborhood bar type place with families watching a fútbol game on the TV while eating supper. Supper is always late in Spain. Surprisingly, the questions from our Spanish friends turned to American politics. Spaniards are concerned about the American election. It make you stop and realize how important to our world our country has become.

On the way back to the hotel, David took this shot of the Mezquita-Catedral de Córdoba lit up for Semanta Santa — a beautiful ending to a whirlwind trip.

The lights are reflected in the river. Excellent shot, David.