Normal day for getting up, then down for breakfast. We were
spoilt a bit at breakfast at the Hotel in Granada - we had the
table laid and the attendant waiter poured our coffee. Here it
was all do it yourself - get your own knife and fork, and get
your own coffee from the machine (giving no control over the
milk/coffee ratio so vital with hotel coffee).
Breakfast done we head out for a tour of the Mezquita - Cordoba's
Great Mosque, built in the 12th Century with a 16th Century
Cathedral in the middle. Inside more than 850 columns of granite,
jasper and marble support the roof with "coloured"
arches. Some other ornamented arches are scattered about the
interior of this suprisingly large (floor area) building.
After lunch we have a casual stroll around the streets of
Cordoba, looking into the patio areas of many of the houses,
hotels and restaurants - many being a typical Andalucian patio of
tiled floors, part tiled walls, pillared arches and a central
fountain. All of this enhanced with hanging baskets and flowering
tubs and pots.
A quick look at the post cards in the various shops reveals a
wide variety in prices - the "norm" seems to be 25
pesetas, though some were as cheap as 15 and others 50 or 60 for
the same card.
We walk down to and over the Roman bridge to the "Torre de
la Calahorra", a tower built for the town defences in the
14th Century. In the heat of the day we decide to take a break,
find a bar/cafe and have a refreshing drink before walking back
to the hotel for a siesta in the hot room!!! - If the air
conditioning has been fixed, as we're told - then it is highly
inefficient.
After a short break we're out again and walk up to the Plaza de
la Corredera in search of somewhere to eat. The plaza is big, and
we were expecting a bit more activity there, but it was pretty
deserted. We took some pictures and returned to a restaurant we
had had a leaflet thrust into our hand about. Pity it wasn't open
yet. We returned when it was and ate in the delightful patio
area, with the fountain trickling in the background.
In the evening we took a taxi out to a Flamenco club or tablao.
The advert in the hotel said 1500Pts with first drink free, when
we got there it was a bar-type place, we were given the drinks
menu which said that the first drink costs 1500Pts - the menu had
some drinks priced at 1500Pts (bottles of wine) but most people
seemed to be drinking beer or coke. I think I prefer 1500
entrance with free drink, than going to a bar and having to pay
1500 for a drink. It boils down to the same thing but somehow the
latter seems more of a rip-off!
Anyway, the show consisted of a couple of guitar solos, a man
wailing in Spanish (probably) and clapping rhythmically (he was
later joined by some chums who joined in the clapping) - this
must be flamenco singing, and two dances (which had guitar bits,
man wailing/singing, and bongo drums and a lot of clapping and
stamping). It was all jolly nice, but not enough dancing and not
a castanet in sight.
Our guide book has this to say about the component parts of a
Tablao:
Couldn't find a taxi to take us back so we ended up walking - got
back about midnight. The room is 27C and it is cooler outside -
the idea of opening the window isn't appealing, there were lots
of lizard things running up and down the wall (outside), this
morning.
Go to Day 6
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Author: val_and_andrew@hotmail.com
Copyright © 1998 Andrew J White