Susanna is up and out to find breakfast in Cordoba before me so we agree to meet at the Palacia Alcázar de los Reyes Cristianos, where we sauntered through the palace walls and beautiful gardens. I must add that it is a joy to travel with my daughter. We are finding our rhythms together and I am grateful for her patience as I stop every few feet to snap another photo, or fix my blistered feet and she lets me take silly photos of her…

We dine alfresco in the sunshine, while the sour orange trees, full of fruit, hang above our heads and a street violinist entertains. Side note: the sour oranges are aptly named in that they are very bitter and considered ornamental in Spain. They are left hanging temptingly on the trees and the locals enjoy watching tourists take a bite, watching their faces pucker with disgust. We heard they taste like tide pods, we did not test this out.

Today we visit Mezquita-Catedral de Cordoba. I had seen dreamy pictures of this place and could not wait to be inside, the anticipation was well worth the wait. 

The beautiful red brick and light stone Moorish architecture captivate as we enter. Created as a mosque in 785, it was remodeled in 1236 when the Catholics took it over, but the combination of all the elements of Moorish, Renaissance, Baroque and Gothic styles made it our favorite cathedral next to the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona. 

In a bit of a daze we leave the cathedral-mosque and walk through the magical streets, watch the sunset from the rooftop and have pizza and gin and tonics at the hotel bar. Cordoba is a place I would love to spend more time, so much beauty in the people, in the architecture and in the landscape.

“To behold beauty dignifies your life; it heals you and calls you out beyond the smallness of your own self-limitation to experience new horizons.” –John O’Donohue