On the move again today. After a quick breakfast we dragged our luggage out to Calle Puerta de Triana (outside the construction zone!) and found a spot to wait near a loading bay then Bernie ordered an Uber. It was a very flash ride this morning with our lady driver arriving in a Lexus dressed in black pants, white blouse and heels with long, red fingernails. After a smooth ride through the suburbs of Sevilla she dropped us at the Estación de Santa Justa about an hour before our train was due to depart. As always, it’s better to be at the place the train (bus, plane) leaves from than be stuck in traffic trying to get there on time.
The train arrived about 20 minutes before departure. The service commenced in Sevilla, so we didn’t have the manic two minutes to find our carriage, load our bags and ourselves before the train pulled out. Phew, that was lovely being able to proceed to the platform, find our carriage and board without a panic. Even better … nobody was sitting in our seats. In fact, when we boarded there was no one else in the carriage which meant that we were able to stow our suitcases with ease. That was a relief too. It’s usually quite stressful catching intercity trains in Europe, but this morning it was a breeze.
By the time departure time rolled around our carriage had filled with a large group of elderly Americans. It was a bit strange being the odd ones out in the carriage surrounded by the banter of a group that have obviously been touring together for a while. It seemed the group had a book exchange going on with members asking if anyone had a book to pass on and sharing opinions on books that have been read. They had already been in Córdoba and recommended it highly. They were on their way now to Madrid. Now all we had to worry about was being awake when the train pulled into Córdoba, or we would be in Madrid too … two days earlier than planned!
I confess that I did doze a bit. Nothing like the sound of train wheels on the track to lull me to sleep! However, when I was awake it appeared that we were passing through more agricultural land similar to that between Granada and Sevilla. More olives, sunflowers and on this trip, oranges, I think? Definitely citrus though with much darker green leaves than the olive trees. As luck would have it, I WAS awake when we passed by a castle perched on a hill beside the train line.
About five minutes before we were due to arrive in Córdoba we headed to the end of the carriage where the luggage rack was. We extracted our cases and went to stand by the door. The train ride is the easy part, it’s the embarking and disembarking that can be tricky. There weren’t many passengers leaving the train at Córdoba, so we were able to alight with ease. Yay, our first train trip successfully negotiated. On Saturday we will be catching this same train to complete the journey from Córdoba to Madrid. We pulled our cases up to the concourse and tracked down the taxi rank. So many taxis … and no one else competing with us to catch a cab. We walked to the head of the queue and secured a taxi for the trip to the ApartaSuites Alberca.
As well turned out as our Uber driver was earlier this morning, our taxi driver was the opposite. A bit on the cuddly side and wearing low-slung jeans and a polo shirt it’s going to take a while for me to un-see the builder’s crack that he revealed to me as he was leaning into the boot to pull out my suitcase! Actually, the visual trauma was quickly forgotten as we were welcomed into the ApartaSuite’s delightful courtyard filled with lovely potted plants. We completed the paperwork for our check-in, and we were shown to our apartment straight away even though it had not yet gone noon. The apartment is beautiful. It must be said that Bernie has done a sterling job of booking us into some lovely apartments so far.
First things first, off to the Carrefour Express for some supplies. While we were out, we tried to find an ice-cream shop for later. This is our first stop in Spain where there hasn’t been an ice-cream shop on our doorstep. Oh, no! Since it was only lunchtime, we decided to park that problem until this afternoon and buy lunch. Bernie was hungry and purchased a big ham and cheese baguette AND an empanada. I opted for some pizza rolls from another shop across the road.
After eating our lunch, we walked to the Palacio de Viana. I swear Syri led us around in a big circle to get there but then maybe I was just hot and cranky?! We did eventually arrive at the palace that was erected in the 16th century by Don Gome de Figueroa y Córdoba, the first Lord of Villaseca and his son, Don Luis Gómez on the site of some 14th century houses owned by Miguel Ruiz. The house was extended over the years and by the early 18th century was owned by the Marquis of Villaseca. In the 19th century the palace passed to the Saavedra family, the Marquises of Viana, before becoming a museum in 1980.
More a country mansion than a true palace the house is arranged around 12 beautiful courtyards and a garden. On a hot day the courtyards were very pleasant to stroll through. Each had a different theme, but all contained a water feature and a beautiful selection of potted and bedded plants. Some rooms of the home were open for the public to explore, these containing many treasures collected by the wealthy family that lived here.
From the ‘palace’ we walked around the corner past the Real Iglesia de Santa Marina de Aguas Santas with its picturesque bell tower before setting off for the Calleja de las Flores (Street of Flowers) that had been marked on our map while we were checking in. Ahem, not at all what I was expecting and such a big disappointment! I thought it was going to be like a flower market or at the very least a street filled with flower sellers/florists. It was this pissy little lane with a few hanging baskets. What? That’s worth putting on a map? We had actually seen lots of other beautiful window boxes along the way and this was … nothing special. Or maybe I was still hot and cranky?
Then our search for ice-cream began in earnest. We were now closer to the historic, more touristy area of the city so expected there to be ice-cream sellers thick on the ground as they had been in Granada and Sevilla. Every third shop in both those cities was a heladería with dozens of flavours of ice-cream on offer. First shop, no coffee flavoured ice-cream. Second shop, no coffee flavoured ice-cream. It was starting to feel like we were back in Ireland. We had passed an Irish Pub and … there was no coffee flavoured ice-cream. Finally, perseverance paid off and the third shop had limón for Bernie and coffee for me. Not as good as what we were buying in Sevilla but definitely superior to resorting to an ice-cream on a stick… or another flavour!
We wandered back to the apartment and decided to have a dip in the pool. Or more of a paddle when we discovered just how cool the water was. It was very refreshing, and we enjoyed some time relaxing in deck chairs beside the pool with our books. That’s what holidaying is all about. Well, in between all of the relentless sightseeing. So much to see especially when we might never be in Spain again?!
At dinner time we walked back to the end of the street to visit the restaurant recommended to us at check-in, Taberna Salinas. We were seated quickly and given the menu in English. I would have tried just about everything on their very traditional menu, but Bernie was fussier. Too much eggplant and asparagus for him! I have been feeling a bit desperate for some vegetables to I chose the Pisto Tunidores which was ratatouille with a fried egg and chips. Bernie chose Huevos Con Lomo Y Choriz. His meal was pork loin with chorizo, fried egg and chips. Big on the fried eggs here.
After dinner we walked down the hill to take a turn around the Plaza de la Corredera. Whaaaaaat?! This afternoon Bernie swore that Syri was telling him there IS an ice-cream shop just down the street from the Carrefour Express, but we certainly couldn’t find it earlier today and we looked twice. This evening the roller shutters at Helados La Esparteria were up and there was café blanco flavoured ice-cream … and limón in their freezer. Tomorrow! Even we CANNOT eat ice-cream twice in one day.
Steps: 12,611 (7.76kms)