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Our 6 day backpacking initiation is coming to an end. Lessons learned so far:
1 Don´t guess which way is north
2. Don´t wait to ask for directions
3. Never order ´house special´ tapas
We arrived safe and sound after a short flight from Manchester and decided to head straight down south on the super fast trainline to Seville and Cordoba.
Working out the Madrid metro was easy enough, but we came unstuck at Etocha station. We queued up in at least three wrong places and panicked when we worked out we were meant to take a number like at the deli counter of a supermarket. The board said 512 was currently being served and we were number 612. Lord knows what you do if you´re in a rush to catch a train in Spain. After about 10 minutes we realised we were in the wrong part of the station all together. And joined another queue. There was more of a sense of urgency here though and before too long we were safe and sound on a nice cold train waiting to depart for Cordoba.
In our eagerness to test our boots and stike out as independent
travellers, we decided to walk to the centre of Cordoba. Only a mile or so from the station. I snapped at Graham who seemed to be wasting time looking around and trying to get his bearings or something when I had clearly seen a sign for the city centre. Unfortunately, I got the direction slightly wrong...
We walked for a mile or so then took a random turn in the hope of finding a landmark or streetname on our guidebook map. In the end we stopped a weary looking man and grunted and pointed at our map. He responded in perfect english that we were roughly ´here´and waved his hand about six inches away from the edge of the book. We walked straight back to the station and got a cab. Five euros later we were in the old town looking for that night´s accommodation.
Cordoba was charming. The Mezquita is stunning and definitely worth the visit, but you have to use your imagination to picture how grand it would have been before all the christian ´modifications´. Mesmerising rows of columns and arches - then a swathe cut through the middle to make space for the whopping great
cathedral.
The Alcazar in Cordoba was pretty but lacking in any useful databoards or pamphlets to explain the history of the place. We wandered about in the formal gardens and admired the topiary and big fish. We mainly spent our time meandering through the winding streets and passageways of the Juderia peeking at the semi-hidden tiled patios and courtyards of the old houses that really give Cordoba its character.
For our final afternoon and the highlight of the trip so far, we treated ourselves to a visit to the restored Arab Baths. We soaked in the waters, braved the cold plunge and indulged in a massage, emerging two hours later relaxed and smelling of roses.
Seville was hot. Sweaty doesn´t quite do our drenchedness justice. Before getting to the city we had a peaceful night staying just outside. We made good use of the pool and got chatting to a young couple from Idaho who kindly offered to take us into the city the next day. We got even more intimately acquainted when we tried to cram ourselves and our packs into their already well stuffed Nissan Micra. After the disastrous taxi ride out there though (extremely
lost taxi driver had to stop and ask for directions several times and was so chuffed when he found the place he shook our hands before driving back off down the dirt track!), we were very grateful to Rachel and Jamie for their kindness.
Thanks to Jamie´s perfect Spanish and somewhat Latin driving technique, we were dropped in the city centre pretty close to our hostal. Room 313, right at the top of the cramped little building, one little window. It got even more squalid when we did our washing and strung up the line across the room. But needs must!
Despite the sweatiness, Seville did not disappoint. It was bursting with life and colour. The bullring (can´t type that without thinking of Birmingham) was really interesting and a very striking place. However disturbingly bloodthirsty, it gave a real glimpse into the culture and passion that make this city so fiery.
The cathedral is huge and the Alcazar intricate and worthy of a longer visit than we had time for. We had some incredible tapas - love that bacalao! and some dreadful cold tripe. Literally. See lesson 3 above... But tomorrow we return to Madrid for a
night before flying out to Rio.Only one job remains to be done. We´ve got to post back a large bag of stuff surplus to requirements. We though we had already been ruthless on the packing front, but it´s amazing how much heavier everything seems when you´ve been walking for miles in the wrong direction!
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jo
non-member comment
so good to see you millie!
You look beautiful, and happy, and like you're having a fabulous time. I am marking, and re-writing, and quite clearly doing neither in order to google you. love Jo