Bridge of Volantis

Our day started with an early high speed Renfe train to Cordoba. Our first time with no issues, we even had time to enjoy some McDonalds ADB. We get on the train and its packed, every seat is full of UTEP students and a bunch of snoring old men. It was a 45 minute trip so no biggie.

We get to our apartment and we instantly fall in love with it. It is the nicest apartment we have stayed in yet and really has an old Spanish vibe to it. Open air courtyard in the middle with a small pool, loads of natural light and only a few apartments in the two floor building. Our host was awesome and showed us a bunch of places to go, things to eat and must see attractions. We drop our things off and head to run some errands quickly, not without stopping for some typical Cordoban food. Salmorejo and Berenjenas a la Cordobesa.

Salmorejo is like Gazpacho but more creamy and way less delicious. We gave it a shot though. The eggplant with honey was great. After a siesta we stopped by another tapas place and tried some Vermouth and the Rabo de Toro (Bull Tail) that fell off the bone (very good). We got lost a few times in the Jewish Quarter which we think might actually be a ghost town. I don’t think we saw more than 1 person in a 45 minute time frame. Cool but a bit creepy at the same time, might be because it was 36 + degrees out and most people were taking their siesta but not sure. We ended the day by walking by the Roman Bridge (which is over 2000 years old) and also the bridge of Volantis in Game of Thrones.

Roman Bridge

The next morning we made breakfast and decided to make this a chill day. The heat here is pretty crazy after 1 and with a late start to the day we wanted to relax. The boys went for stroll through the orange filled trees in the Paseo de la Victoria. To the market for some jamon and helado and back home to dunk in the pool with ladies. We did find out that from about 3 – 6 the city kind of shuts down. So we didn’t do much until the evening time today.

At around 7:30 we headed out by the Guadalquivir river (used to flow all of the way from Seville but it seems the river has dried up some over the years and no longer makes it to Cordoba) and found, what turned out to be, a great tapas place. We sat on the patio so our son could roam free and enjoy his new found love of climbing and descending steps (the larger the better). Both kids were on their best behaviour this meal which was refreshing. We ordered what we thought was too much but was so good we had no problems finishing it. Our son and daughter were happy to help. We had some Bacalao, squid, Rabo de Toro, home made croquettas and a chef salad along with a jarra of Sangria of course.

We took a walk over the bridge and listened to some musicians play while we watched the water head down stream. Our children loved hearing the Spanish singer and our son even put the money in his case. This city like most Spanish cities really comes alive at night but it was really noticeable here. The Roman Bridge had a lot of people passing over, many stopped to read a book or listen to the live music. It was a great walk and very peaceful. The views of the river heading into the hilly countryside were gorgeous.