under another sun

Last day in Cordoba old town. We heard the owl again last night. Up and as now traditional, made our way to Salon du Té for our Andalusian Breakfast and good cups of vanilla tea. However not entirely idyllic this morning as there was persistent drilling from workmen who are expanding the place. Back and straight back to the Mezquita and to the wall with the mihrab on the qibla wall. These are new words I've learned, mihrab is the semicircular niche in the wall (the qibla wall) that faces Mecca.   I feel overawed by the this mihrab, which has exercised a strong fascination on me since I first saw it with Lorraine on Tuesday. Having drunk in this and the gorgeous arches either side of it, we wandered about again. I wanted to look more at the Cathedral part. The effect of all the light it contains is incredibly dramatic, and it goes up several stories. The contrast between the facelessness of Islam and the depictions of Jesus, God, Mary, various saints and angels is stark. To me it ...

Below Lorraine in the pool; Lorraine in the flower street; a horse in a square advertising a horses and dancing girls show; Lorraine and I in a selfie on the Roman Bridge; a glimpse into the cathedral gardens planted with orange, cypress and palm trees; other shots outside the Mesquita at night, golden doors and interesting shadows.

Lorraine and I heard the upsetting news today that Andros had died. An email from Sophie, saying that the funeral would be held next Tuesday. I shall of course be going to it, although as it is the first day back at school, as headteacher Lorraine won't be able to. Otherwise we had a lazy day today.  When we eventually crawled out of bed, we sauntered down for  breakfast in the Salon du té. It was our hottest day so far, and the super stylish manageress, who seems to have taken a liking to Lorraine, gave us a plate of baklava sweetened with honey. Delicious stuff.  We did not seek out museums or art galleries today, but decided to get our travel sorted and mooched up to the station and bought tickets (remarkably easily by simply explaining in Spanish that I didn't have Spanish) for Saturday. The timings for the journey are going to be tight however. Instead after a walk we spent lots of time basking by the pool, reading and unwinding. Then another evening walk in the ...

Mooching around the old town this morning, and popped into three galleries today. The Museo del Bellas Artes, had some strong work.Across the courtyard was a museum dedicated to the work of Julio Romero de Torres Museum. I didn't know de Torres work before now, and my two favourite pictures by him were actually in the Museo del Bellas Artes, one of them featuring a woman with a face like thunder, with a title that translated as love sick. de Torres was, we learned, obsessed with Flamenco and many of the featured famous singers, dancers and musicians of his time. Apparently the temperature here is much cooler than usual at this time of year, which makes it warm and perfect for us lily-livered brits. After these two galleries, we crossed the Guardaquivir river to the Museum of Modern Art. This was an enormous space, which isn't properly open yet. There were about three works or art in it. An olive tree with labels to tie your wishes by Yoko Ono by the entrance and another piec...

Lorraine and I decided to try the hotel breakfast this morning.  It was excellent if a bit pricey, but it was a buffet of cooked breakfasts, and all the coffee you could drink, which turns out to be quite a bit if you put your mind to it. Off today to the mind-blowing experience of the Mezquita. It is a huge mosque, which has, which, after the reconquest of Spain, had a lofty cathedral built inside it, and it became a Christian building. The Cathedral part seems full of bling, and crowded and bright. What you notice in the Cathedral is the faces, and the representations of Christ, Mary and God and so on. My two favourite things there were a painting of the annunciation and the mihrab, which was one of the most spellbinding things I have ever seen in my life. After this excitement, we headed back to the hotel to sit by the pool and chill out, and enjoy a cold beer. In the evening, during our walk I suddenly had the idea of eating pizza, and Lorraine gamely agreed on a pizza hu...

A great night's sleep. A big comfortable bed, and fabulous not to have to get up early. Spent much of the day exploring the old town. Back to the Salon du Té where we had an Andalusian breakfast, of omelette, olives, hummus drizzled with olive oil and a sprig of mint, lightly toasted bread, and a bowl of strangely delicious chopped tomatoes.  Mooched about town. Passing the Mesquita, which we are going into tomorrow. However not before Lorraine was harassed by gypsy women selling rosemary. Saw a few people buying from them. At one point we were in a square watching a sparrow (there are many sparrows here) attacking a cricket which is not something you see every day. I snapped Lorraine against a background of bougainvillea.  In the evening we walked across a bridge and back to the Roman bridge near the Mesquita. Early bats and late swallows zooming about in the sky under the full moon. All rather lovely. Below a gate into a patio, one of the entrances into the garden...

Up at three like zombies. Cats confused. Into the car, and Lorraine driving us in the dark to Gatwick. The airport very busy at that time of day. Luckily the French air controllers strike didn't affect our 5:50am flight to Seville. Sleasy Jet not quite as cramped as last time. Poor Lorraine stuck between me, looking twitchily out of the window, and a nervously talkative farmer. The flight was fine, but I felt tense and weird and fuzzy as I had taken a diazepam. Landed in Seville, which proved to be an easy to use airport. We caught an airport bus to the Santa Justa station. We managed to buy tickets to Cordoba in Spanglish, and some warm chicken and bacon baguettes in the station, which we ate hungrily with a couple of cokes. Three ticket checks before we were able to get onto the platform, and our cases had to go through airport style security scanners. The coaches were confusingly labelled. Several people including ourselves were ousted from their seats, by people taking their ...