Spain by Train

Day 3 - Sun 12 Dec 2004

I was going to get up early, but it was so dark I just stayed in bed until 9am - had breakfast at the hotel, I ate as much as I could, and then took a wander down the bullring, and then back to the hotel to checkout.

A walk up to the railway station, and I changed my 14:00 ticket to at 12:00, so I should be in Cordoba by 12:45, that should give me enough time to see the Alcazar, which is shut on Mondays.

The tourist class carriage on the trains is no worse than upper class, it's a 2x2 rather than 2x1 with no free food or booze, but you still get the TV and free headphones.

All railway stations have xray scanners, and I assume that this is after the 11th of March attacks. It's a shame that our paranoia is killing the easy things in life. In days gone by the rich travelled by train, then they swapped to the air. Now everyone travels by air, and the rich are back on the trains!

The Spanish really do travel with a lot of luggage.

Walked down from the railway station, and found my hotel, then it was a quick walk over to the Alcazar - it has a very different feel to the one in Seville, it's not quite so Islamic, but it's still very interesting. The gardens are very pleasant.

Mezquita, Cordoba

After that I made my way to the Mezquita, when I stepped in I must admit I was rather disappointed. It's very dark, and you can hardly see the double arches, but as I moved into the building and my eyes became adjusted, I began to see more and more. Also in some places there are roof lights. There is no doubt that the building was ruined by it's conversion into a church. The Islamic parts of the building are more interesting than the christian add-ons. Then back to the hotel for a siesta (well, I am in Spain). Out in the evening for a quick wander around, and made it across the bridge to get some photos of the city.

My hotel room is good, large, with views over the walls of the Mezquita. I'm going to try to catch an early train tomorrow, since I've done what I came to see.