Friday, May 22, 2020

Virtual Tour of Spain: Days Twelve to Fifteen: Ronda (May 19-22, 2020)

Welcome to our "Virtual Tour of Spain" May 8 to 22, 2020!
FINAL POST of our Virtual Tour!
Days Twelve to Fifteen: 
Tuesday, May 19 to Thursday, May 21, 2020
Train to Ronda, Walking the Town
Friday, May 22, 2020: Return Flight to US!
Gorgeous drone flyover of the hilltop town of Ronda, from the nearly three-minute YouTube video, below, or visit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I6415ZBirbk

Hello everyone!  A bit of change in plans on our final segment of our Virtual Tour of Spain: On our original Spain travel itinerary, we had planned to travel from Ronda today (May 22) back to Malaga for an evening RyanAir flight to Marrakech, Morocco, for a four-day visit there.  But we are wrapping up our Virtual Tour to return to the US TODAY,  Friday, May 22, sooooo .... we took the direct train from Ronda's station last night (Thursday, May 21) at 4:31pm and arrived into Madrid Atocha station at 8:35pm.  Our Thursday overnight stay in Madrid was at the charming Hostal Patria (NOT a "hostel" but a boutique hotel).  Then today (Friday May 22) we leave Madrid on Iberia at 3:50pm and arrive back into Washington Dulles, non-stop, at 6:40pm.

Our last post in our fifteen-day "Virtual Tour of Spain" will concentrate on Ronda.  This will be my first visit; Cecilia visited here 34 years ago, so second-time visit for her.  On Tuesday (May 19) we left Malaga at 9:39am, and arrived into Ronda at 12:36pm. By car, the route from Malaga to Ronda is only 65 miles, but our train route goes a more circuitous route spanning three hours! The train route is gorgeous, hugging the coast.  See the train route in the Google Maps view, below:

Train from Malaga to Ronda


Ronda is a fitting capstone to our Virtual Tour of Spain.  It is set high on a mountain over the deep gorge "El Tajo."  Ronda's history spans from its prehistoric roots (cave paintings from the Neolithic period) to its settlement by early Celts in the sixth century BC, its Roman occupation in 218BC, becoming a city at the time of Julius Caesar, and its Moorish roots in the 800's on one side of the gorge to its more "modern" middle-ages-to-present town on the other side of the gorge.  You can best appreciate this amazing location by way of a drone flight over Ronda which is where we'll start our final Virtual Tour post, today.

Drone Flyover of Ronda


Next is a 12-minute tour of Ronda, narrated in Spanish, from Canal Andalucia Turismo: (You can turn on closed-captioning by hovering over the video and clicking on the "CC" at the bottom.  To convert to an English auto-translation, click on the "settings" wheel, select closed caption and auto-translate and pick English).


Next is Rick Steve's tour through Ronda:


Finally, I'm happy to welcome back Ruben who first took us on his great YouTube visit through el Rastro in Madrid, now here for a trek through Ronda: (You can turn on closed-captioning by hovering over the video and clicking on the "CC" at the bottom.  To convert to an English auto-translation, click on the "settings" wheel, select closed caption and auto-translate and pick English).



Google Walking Orientation Map of Ronda:
Here's our orientation map of the center of Ronda, with the Google Maps satellite view showing the amazing layout of this mountaintop town. We begin our walk from the Bullring, then go onward to the Puente Viejo spanning the gorge that separates the town, then to the "Arab baths" archaeological site, and conclude our walk at the Fuente de los Ocho Caños:



Virtual Walk: Along Calle Virgen de los Remedios to Puente Viejo
From our Ronda "headquarters" -- the Apartamentos Rondacentro -- we head towards Calle Virgen de los Remedios and head southeast toward Calle Escolleras, then turn right onto Calle Escolleras, slight left to stay on Calle Escolleras and then we arrive at the ancient Puente Viejo. Walking time is a mere 7 minutes!


Tech notes about navigating in Google Street Views: When viewing the "Virtual Tour of Spain" daily entries on a phone, you may find that you can get "stuck" within a Google Street View while you are swiping up or down on the page. That's because the Google Street View image is live and responds to your finger swiping. Just swipe up or down on the LEFT or RIGHT MARGINS (outside of the Street View image), and your navigation up or down the page continues normally.

Return to US: Friday afternoon, May 22, 2020
By Thursday night, we took our train from Ronda to Madrid's Atocha station -- about four hours. We take advantage of our last night in Madrid with a tapas walk, again, along Cava Baja. TODAY, Friday, May 22, we take Iberia's 3:50pm flight to Washington, arriving at Dulles Airport at 6:40pm.
That's our DAYS TWELVE to FIFTEEN, with our many memories over these past fifteen days!

Thank you, thank you for joining us on our "Virtual Tour of Spain" ... one we will be using ourselves as a guide and roadmap for our "Live Tour of Spain" hopefully in 2021.

Stay safe, everyone, and looking forward to seeing you soon in our "Virtual Reunion" today (May 22) at 5pm Eastern Time via Zoom. You'll receive personal invitations with the Zoom meeting link.

Abrazos
--Don

LINKS to TODAY's AND ALL PRIOR DAYS's
"VIRTUAL TOUR OF SPAIN" POSTS
Links to today's post and prior days of our Virtual Tour of Spain:

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Thursday, May 21, 2020

Virtual Tour of Spain: Days Ten to Twelve: Malaga (May 17-19, 2020)

Welcome to our "Virtual Tour of Spain" May 8 to 22, 2020!
Days Ten to Twelve: 
Sunday, May 17, to Tuesday, May 19, 2020
Train to Malaga, Walking the Town
Wandering Malaga, a scene from a fascinating 13-minute non-narrated nighttime walking tour of Malaga, from YouTube. See full video below or visit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4W3NHmhcKJI

Hello everyone!  On our original Spain travel itinerary, many were closing their trip with Granada on Sunday and then flying back home from Madrid. But you and we are Virtual Travelers, so we'll continue our originally scheduled "extension" on from Granada to Malaga and Ronda.

On Sunday, May 17, we left Granada by train at 3:45pm (aboard AVE 99596) bound for Malaga, arriving at 5:21pm.  Our accommodations through Tuesday are the Apartamentos Debambu, in the heart of Malaga.  On our arrival, we're amazed by the change in weather ... it's been chilly over the previous days in Granada ... with a bit of rain and temps in the mid-60's, but it's 79 degrees and blue skies upon our arrival and more of the same through the next two days leading up to our Tuesday departure for Ronda.

Train from Granada to Malaga
Our first treat is our virtual walk through the streets of Malaga.  But first let's recap our train trip from Granada to Malaga to get our general orientation:


Google Walking Orientation Map of Malaga:
Picasso Museum, Carmen Thyssen Museum,
Mercado Central de Atarazanas
Here's our orientation map of the center of Malaga, with the major highlights marked: Picasso Museum, Carmen Tyssen Museum, and the Mercado Central de Atarazanas.



Virtual Walk: Apartamentos Bambu to Picasso Museum
From our Malaga "headquarters" -- the Apartamentos Bambu -- we head straight ahead (east) on Calle Duende then turn left on Calle Nueva, right onto Calle Especería, continue onto Plaza de la Constitución, turn left to stay on Plaza de la Constitución, turn right onto Calle Sta. María, turn left onto Calle San Agustín, and our destination Picasso Museum is on the right. (Picasso Museum, Calle San Agustín, 8).  Walking time is a mere 8 minutes!


Tech notes about navigating in Google Street Views: When viewing the "Virtual Tour of Spain" daily entries on a phone, you may find that you can get "stuck" within a Google Street View while you are swiping up or down on the page. That's because the Google Street View image is live and responds to your finger swiping. Just swipe up or down on the LEFT or RIGHT MARGINS (outside of the Street View image), and your navigation up or down the page continues normally.

YouTube Touring in Malaga
Three great YouTube videos will allow us to virtually -- and visually -- experience Malaga.  Up first is a four minute visual whirlwind tour through Malaga. No narration, just background music ;)


Next is a five and a half-minute narrated tour of the top 12 things to see in Malaga:


Next is a locals' view of top things to do and see in Malaga:


We wrap up our time in Malaga with a non-narrated and really great filmed walk through Malaga at night.  It's the closest you can get to actually walking the evening streets. 13 minutes of walking ... Enjoy!


That's our DAYS TEN to TWELVE, with our memories of Malaga!  Tuesday morning we're off to the Malaga rail station for our train to Ronda. Coming up in next daily post: Our adventures in Ronda, our final destination, for our DAYS TWELVE to FIFTEEN of our Virtual Tour of Spain!

Abrazos
--Don

UP NEXT TOMORROW:  Ronda
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Sunday, May 17, 2020

Virtual Tour of Spain: Day Nine, Day Ten: Granada (May 16-17, 2020)

Welcome to our "Virtual Tour of Spain" May 8 to 22, 2020!
Days Nine & Ten: Saturday, May 16, Sunday, May 17, 2020
Granada: Alhambra By Day, Walking the Town
Wandering Granada, a scene from a beautiful 14-minute YouTube video about Granada from Canal Andalucia Turismo, narrated in Spanish. See full video below or visit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mud8VqCAH70

Good morning everyone!  It's Sunday morning as we recap this weekend's stay in Granada.  A bit of heavy rain yesterday afternoon just for about an hour, and today is sunny and beautiful ... a bit of rain expected for about an hour at 6 tonight. Friday night we were captivated by our hour and a half walk through Nasrid Palace by night.  Saturday and today, Sunday, we've been wandering the streets of Granada, enjoying amazing food, and going back to a very leisurely daytime visit to the Alhambra, Nasrid Palace by day, Generalife Palace and gardens, and simply taking in the beauty and history of this city with roots in the Moslem, Judaic, and Christian heritage of Andalucia.

Our first treat is our virtual walk through the small cobblestone streets of Granada.  First, let's look at an orientation map of where we will be starting, the Plaza Virgen del Carmen:

Orientation Map for Walk from Virgen del Carmen
to Cuarto Real de Santo Domingo

... then our virtual walk through Google Street View:

Now for our virtual walk using our Google Street View, above, we start from Calle Virgen del Carmen. Go straight ahead until you enter the Plaza Virgen del Carmen. Go past the dog by the fountain in the center and continue diagonally across the Plaza to Calle Almez. Continue straight until we start to go up the Callejon Algibe de Trillo, passing the Plaza Algibe de Trillo (not so much a Plaza but steps up the cobblestone street). The street narrows to an alley with steps as we pass a parked motorcycle. We continue onward as the street turns 90 degrees to the right, more steps. Say hello to the woman we pass by ... gorgeous purple flowers overflowing from the top of the whitewashed wall as we continue on Aljibe del Trillo ... when we come to a "Y" in our walk, take the left side, continuing up the steps at Placeta Comino. Another "Y" on our walk, take the left (Cuesta de las Tomasas). As the street continues past the car barriers, make the right to continue straight up the hill where the street changes to Callejón de las Tomasas. We jog to the left, continuing on Calle Carril de las Tomasas. We pass Placeta de Abad. And walk past the church on our left at the Plaza del Salvador ... continue on Calle Panaderos ... continue up the hill to the Mirador de San Cristobal at the Carretera de Murcia as the view across Granada opens up to the left. From this vantage point we see the whole city below, and a river in the distance. You can walk further, down the hill, using Google Maps to get to the Cuarto Real de Santo Domingo.

Tech notes about navigating in Google Street Views: When viewing the "Virtual Tour of Spain" daily entries on a phone, you may find that you can get "stuck" within a Google Street View while you are swiping up or down on the page. That's because the Google Street View image is live and responds to your finger swiping. Just swipe up or down on the LEFT or RIGHT MARGINS (outside of the Street View image), and your navigation up or down the page continues normally.

Some great YouTube videos will allow us to virtually -- and visually -- experience this weekend.  First, is the 14-minute YouTube video from Canal Andalucia Turismo, narrated in Spanish.


Next is a very well done YouTube video from CNN:

Up next we spend three minutes with Rick Steves:


We wrap up our weekend in Granada with a 12-minute YouTube video of "the top ten things to do!"


That's our DAYS NINE and TEN!  We just have a few minutes before we are packed and off to the Granada rail station for our Sunday, 3:45pm AVE 99596 train to Malaga arriving at 5:21pm. Coming up in next daily post: Our adventures in Malaga for our DAYS TEN to TWELVE of our Virtual Tour of Spain!

Abrazos
--Don

UP NEXT TOMORROW:  Malaga
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Saturday, May 16, 2020

Virtual Tour of Spain: Day Eight: Granada and Alhambra (May 15, 2020)

Welcome to our "Virtual Tour of Spain" May 8 to 22, 2020!
Day Eight: Friday, May 15, 2020
Train to Granada; Night Visit to Alhambra
Arriving into Granada: Scene from "Interrail Train Route From Sevilla to Granada" YouTube video (below): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qpmJhi-Bu_Y

Good morning everyone!  It's Saturday morning as we recap yesterday's train trip from Sevilla to Granada, our walk through Granada, and my fourth return to a night visit to the incredible Nasrid Palace, part of Alhambra, in Granada. We left Friday aboard the AVANT train 08335 from Sevilla Santa Justa station to Granada, departing Sevilla at 12:15pm, arriving into Granada about 2 hours, 30 minutes later, at 2:45pm. On arrival, temps were in lower 60's.  Below is a great YouTube video that highlights this trip.


Orientation Map: Granada Station to Center
On arrival into the Granada train station, it's either taxi for 20 minutes and 5 miles following the route of one-way streets, or a mile-and-a-half walk for 29 minutes. The weather's good and our roller bags are light, so we decide to walk. Below are two orientation maps for Friday. The first Google map is from the Granada rail station to our hotel, Apartamentos Real Suites Realejo in the center of Granada. With these Google Maps views, use fingers or mouse to navigate. Like we have presented over the past several days, you can navigate by zooming in with the + control on lower right, and then use two fingers to swipe left or right, or up or down to navigate position:


Orientation Map: Granada Center to Alhambra Palace
Our second Google map is the orientation map for our 16-minute walk to the Alhambra for our after-dark visit tonight to Nasrid Palace -- this is the best map for general orientation to the location of the Alhambra and the highly walkable Granada.


Our Google Street View for Friday evening takes us on the path from our hotel to the Alhambra, in time for the night tour of Nasrid Palace.  It's essential to buy tickets for Alhambra visits up to a year in advance, so we purchased tickets for Friday night at Nasrid palace and also for Saturday.  It is possible to secure tickets on a space available basis when the ticket office first opens each morning for that day's visits, but you may not succeed -- best to buy months in advance.  The night walk through the palace is stunning.  Because of its darkness, I could not find any reasonable quality YouTube videos of this experience.  There were several very dark and jittery night videos, but instead of those, I suggest that we take an exceptional YouTube tour of all of the Alhambra, including the Nasrid Palace.  We'll see that in a minute.  But first, our walk to Alhambra, with Google Street View.  We're layered up, as our night visit is a bit chilly with temps in mid 50's and light rain:

Tech notes about navigating in Google Street Views: When viewing the "Virtual Tour of Spain" daily entries on a phone, you may find that you can get "stuck" within a Google Street View while you are swiping up or down on the page. That's because the Google Street View image is live and responds to your finger swiping. Just swipe up or down on the LEFT or RIGHT MARGINS (outside of the Street View image), and your navigation up or down the page continues normally.


Eric Azares' YouTube Tour of Alhambra
Now for our exploration of Alhambra! Eric Azares' YouTube video (immediately below) provides a lot of historical background, gorgeous views of the architecture of Alhambra, and a lively tour in about ten minutes. Very well done! I hope you enjoy it!


Up next is a great 13-minute HD video of Alhamabra, with only music background, no narrative, and most unusual as nearly all of the video shows the Alhambra in great detail WITHOUT visitors in most every scene. For Alhambra aficionados, like me, this is a great 13 minutes of beautiful videography.


We wrap up our Friday in Granada with FOOD!!! Here's a foodie tour of Granada I think you'll enjoy! "He Goes She Goes" YouTube video presents their culinary exploration:


That's our DAY EIGHT!  Enjoy your Saturday, with our Friday adventures in Granada in mind! Coming up in next daily post: More of gorgeous Granada in our Day Nine (Saturday) post.

Abrazos
--Don

UP NEXT TOMORROW:  Exploring More of Granada and Alhambra
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Friday, May 15, 2020

Virtual Tour of Spain: Day Seven: Sevilla, Alcazar, Flamenco (May 14, 2020)

Welcome to our "Virtual Tour of Spain" May 8 to 22, 2020!
Day Seven: Thursday, May 14, 2020
Sevilla: Alcazar, Flamenco
Scene from Tablao Flamenco Los Gallos' YouTube video, below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vFoZevGZWBw

Good morning everyone!  It's Friday morning, and after a very late night last night of flamenco, tapas, and walking through the beautiful city of Sevilla, yesterday, Thursday, May 14, I'm just now posting our adventures from yesterday, seventh day of our Virtual Tour of Spain.  Thursday was marked by a bit of rain off and on all day and the temperatures were in the low 60's.  The night before, Wednesday, we enjoyed our visit to Casa Anselma in Triana.  Well, yesterday, Thursday, we were off to dining, tapas, visit to the Real Alcazar de Sevilla, and the great flamenco program at Tablao Flamenco Los Gallos (photo above).

Orientation Map: Sevilla
Here's Thursday's orientation map, with the Real Alcazar and Tablao Flamenco Los Gallos prominently near the map's center.  With this Google Maps view, use fingers or mouse to navigate. Like we have presented over the past several days, you can navigate by zooming in with the + control on lower right, and then use two fingers to swipe left or right, or up or down to navigate position:


Our Google Street View for Thursday puts us right on the path to Alcazar.

Tech notes about navigating in Google Street Views: When viewing the "Virtual Tour of Spain" daily entries on a phone, you may find that you can get "stuck" within a Google Street View while you are swiping up or down on the page. That's because the Google Street View image is live and responds to your finger swiping. Just swipe up or down on the LEFT or RIGHT MARGINS (outside of the Street View image), and your navigation up or down the page continues normally.



There are some gorgeous YouTube videos of Sevilla. We start with a fabulous artistic overview, and follow with walks through town:




Here's a 360 degree view within the Cathedral at the Plaza del Triunfo, which is just north of Alcazar:

And now, let's eat! Here are great foodie YouTube videos of Tapas and Dining in Sevilla:






OK! Now time to walk off all the cuisine of Sevilla! Let's first wander around the gardens outside Real Alcazar de Sevilla. Use fingers or mouse to navigate forward, drag left or right to change your point of view:

Tour of Alcazar


Tablao Flamenco Los Gallos
As our Thursday comes to a close, we pull out the tickets we bought Wednesday for our flamenco performance at Tablao Flamenco Los Gallos, right off of the Plaza Santa Cruz. Here are three excellent YouTube videos of the performances at Los Gallos:




And now we wrap up our evening at Los Gallos:


That's our DAY SEVEN!  Enjoy your evening! Friday (today! as we post!) we are off to our weekend in Granada and the gorgeous Alhambra!

Abrazos
--Don

UP NEXT TOMORROW:  Exploring Granada and Alhambra
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Wednesday, May 13, 2020

Virtual Tour of Spain: Day Six: Sevilla, Casa Anselma (May 13, 2020)

Welcome to our "Virtual Tour of Spain" May 8 to 22, 2020!
Day Six: Wednesday, May 13, 2020
Train from Cordoba to Sevilla
Sevilla and Casa Anselma

 Sevilla's legendary Anselma, founder of Casa Anselma in the Triana district.  Cover photo from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=svK_i6n0wGM

Good evening everyone!  On our sixth day of our Virtual Tour of Spain, we departed this morning from Cordoba on the 10:20am train (AVANT 08694), arriving Sevilla Santa Justa station at 11:05am.  Sunny on our arrival, but there's a forecast for thunderstorms this afternoon, and then clearing for the magic evening in the Triana district at Casa Anselma.

We check in to the Hotel Patio de las Cruces, about a mile walk (20 minutes) from the train station.  The hotel is in the center of the Jewish section of Sevilla and very close to Alcazar with many places to eat lunch, dinner, and tapas, and to wander the cobblestone streets.  It's only about 20 minutes walk, too, to Casa Anselma, to the west over the Triana bridge.  Here's our orientation map for today:

Orientation Map: Sevilla
Note the starting point at Hotel Patio de las Cruces, the location of Alcazar, and then our destination for tonight, Casa Anselma, across the river and over Triana bridge. With this Google Maps view, use fingers or mouse to navigate. Like we have presented over the past several days, you can navigate by zooming in with the + control on lower right, and then use two fingers to swipe left or right, or up or down to navigate position:


We'll do some navigating from the hotel to Alcazar via Google Street View.

Tech notes about navigating in Google Street Views: When viewing the "Virtual Tour of Spain" daily entries on a phone, you may find that you can get "stuck" within a Google Street View while you are swiping up or down on the page. That's because the Google Street View image is live and responds to your finger swiping. Just swipe up or down on the LEFT or RIGHT MARGINS (outside of the Street View image), and your navigation up or down the page continues normally.

In the Google Street View, below, let's navigate straight ahead down Calle de las Cruces to a bit left then right to Calle Mariscal, then right at the Plaza onto Calle Mezquita to Plaza de Santa Cruz to the Tablao Flamenco Los Gallos, where we'll pick up tickets for tomorrow evening's flamenco show.


After securing our tickets for tomorrow night's evening at Tablao Flamenco Los Gallos, we walked a lot through the town today before the rain in the afternoon.  We'll talk a bit more about what we saw at Alcazar, and along our walk, but let's move straight ahead to our evening adventure -- the legendary Casa Anselma.  Anselma was a well known flamenco dancer whose love of the music and flamenco led her to create Casa Anselma where locals (and tourists) could come and pay homage to dance, song,  wine, and Anselma.  Her place is open six days a week, from 11:30pm.  You'll need to arrive right at opening time in order to get in and get a seat, and then you are in for a treat for the next couple of hours as locals and tourists sing, dance, and listen to the two or three musicians playing that night.  When we were there, Anselma wandered the room taking drink orders and then collecting the tabs, and it was an unforgettable evening.

Writing this now, it's after sunrise in Sevilla on Thursday ... we arrived at Casa Anselma last night (Wednesday) at 11:30pm and left at 3am then walked across the bridge back to the hotel.  For orientation, below is the Google Maps Street View, in the Triana District at the corner of Calle Pages del Corro and Antillano Campos, with Casa Anselma right on the corner.  This is how it looks in the daytime, with all the street level windows rolled up tight.  At 11:30pm, it's open nightly (except Sunday).  If you are going to walk back to the center of town, best to try out the street view navigation, below, leaving the front door of Casa Anselma, turning left and walking along Calle Pages del Corro two blocks, left at Calle San Jacinto, and then straight ahead across the bridge, the Puente de Isabel II, and right turn off the bridge to go back into the Santa Cruz district for the hotel.  A fun stopover, at 2 in the morning or so, is the bar right before you go over Puente de Isabel II bridge.  Go up to the rooftop for a view of the river and Sevilla across the river, and to get something to eat, which I assure you, you will need after your evening at Casa Anselma!  Last night was a beautiful night, though a bit chilly, about 55 degrees. Had fried calamari! Total walking time from Casa Anselma to the Santa Cruz area of Sevilla is about 20 minutes, but easy to get totally lost if you haven't practiced it with Google Street View :)



YouTube Visits to Casa Anselma
Now for our YouTube visits to Casa Anselma! In the balance of  today's post, I invite you to grab a couple of glasses of wine and view the following YouTube videos that, collectively, give you a very good feeling of "A Night at Casa Anselma"  -- unforgettable.















The following YouTube video is distorted, but provides a great interview of Anselma (in Spanish). If you overlook the distortion ... it's a good final wrap for our visit to Casa Anselma and its matriarch.



That's our DAY SIX!  Enjoy your evening! Tomorrow we'll explore Sevilla in earnest, including its Moorish, Jewish, and Christian heritage, but the heaviest focus on flamenco, leading up to a wonderful evening of flamenco music and dance at Tablao Flamenco Los Gallos. Ole!

Abrazos
--Don

UP NEXT TOMORROW:  Exploring Sevilla and Flamenco
Links to prior days of our Virtual Tour of Spain:

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Tuesday, May 12, 2020

Virtual Tour of Spain: Day Five: Cordoba (May 12, 2020)

Welcome to our "Virtual Tour of Spain" May 8 to 22, 2020!
Day Five: Tuesday, May 12, 2020
Day Exploring Cordoba
Mezquita, Hamam, Arab, Jewish, Catholic History
Cordoba Mezquita Photo By Ajay Suresh from New York, NY, USA - Cordoba-32, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=79565051

Good evening everyone!  On our fifth day of our Virtual Tour of Spain, we've had a bit of rain this morning in Cordoba but our temperatures today and tomorrow are pleasant -- 68 is the high and 51 is the low. We are staying at the Lofts Trigo 13, cute loft apartments about half a mile east of the Mezquita-Catedral.  For a splurge, we highly recommend Las Casa de la Juderia, with its haunting sense of the Jewish heritage of Cordoba.

Cordoba's history blends three distinct influences: the Arab/Muslim culture of Islam (756AD to 1236AD), Jewish Sephardic tradition, and Christian. 

Wikipedia provides a rich history of Cordoba.  Here's a bit of background from  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juder%C3%ADa_de_C%C3%B3rdoba

"Córdoba went through a period when three peoples (Christian, Jewish and Muslim) and their respective religions lived together, albeit, the non-Muslim population living subjugated under Islamic Law with Jews having their own court system. Walking through the Jewish Quarter, along the Calle de los Judíos (Jewish Street), visitors can now find a magnificent bronze statue dedicated to Maimónides, the great Jewish philosopher and doctor from Córdoba.

 "During this period, the majority of the Jewish people lived under the rule of Islam. During the four years of Umayyad hegemony, cultural, artistic and commercial Muslim activities turned Al-Ándalus (Muslim Spain) into the most cultured country in Europe. Historians talk of Córdoba with admiration, the capital of the Umayyad Caliphate, which turned into a magnificent cultural centre with its lakes and parks, amazing palaces and mosques. The court attracted and exercised its patronage over poets and philosophers, men of literature and science.

 "During the 10th century, Córdoba was the largest economic and cultural centre of the Western world.

 "In 756 AD, the Umayyad Abd-al-Rahman I, turned Córdoba into the capital of Muslim Spain and during the following 250 years it turned into one of the largest commercial and intellectual centres in the world. In 929 AD, Abd-al-Rahman III, proclaimed the caliphate and the city reached its highest splendour, rivalling Damascus and Baghdad, centres of great economic and intellectual prosperity. From the 11th century, due to the disintegration of Muslim power in Spain, part of the cultural success of Córdoba was lost, although it remained a centre for people of literature and scholars. In the 12th century, the actions of philosophers Averroes and Maimónides stand out. In 1236, Fernando III el Santo (The Saint) took the city and integrated it into the Kingdom of Castile."

Today is a walking day through the streets and history of Cordoba.  We're off very early to the Mezquita in time for its 8:30am to 9:30am "admission-free" hour ... most special because its the best time to feel like you are not crowded in your visit.  For our virtual tour, we have three YouTube videos to enjoy. The first is an excellent walk-through the Mezquita and the most interesting parts of Cordoba.  To me the most important value of this first YouTube video is the rich visual view of the town:


Up next, a very different viewpoint from the perspective of an Islamic pilgrim to Muslim Cordoba,  Samran Ghazi:


Finally, a review of the spirit of Al-Andalus:


Orientation Map
Now, we are ready for our walking tour of Cordoba.  To set the stage, here is the Google Maps view of the town, in our starting view our map is centered on the Mezquita. Use fingers or mouse to navigate. Like we have presented over the past several days, you can navigate by zooming in with the + control on lower right, and then use two fingers to swipe left or right, or up or down to navigate position:


Several treats in store for today.  We set an appointment for the Hammam al Andalus Cordoba (located at Calle Corregidor Luis de la Cerda, 51, just three minutes walk from the Mezquita), for hot and cold baths and a rubdown on a stone slab.  Just the thing to get you into the spirit of Al-Andalus times.


Up next, we go back in time through a PBS YouTube video looking at the Jewish heritage of Cordoba:


And finally, a video without narrative, a walk through the Juderia ... the Jewish quarter of Cordoba:


Tech notes about navigating in Google Street Views: When viewing the "Virtual Tour of Spain" daily entries on a phone, you may find that you can get "stuck" within a Google Street View while you are swiping up or down on the page. That's because the Google Street View image is live and responds to your finger swiping. Just swipe up or down on the LEFT or RIGHT MARGINS (outside of the Street View image), and your navigation up or down the page continues normally.

Virtual Walk Through Cordoba
We'll conclude our day in Cordoba with YOUR OWN walks through the town, beginning in the Jewish quarter, at Las Casas de la Juderia.  Navigate virtually through the town as we have over the past four days: tap or click in the center of the Google Street View Map, below, to move ahead, and use your finger (or mouse) to drag left or right or up or down to navigate through the Street View. To navigate up or down this page without moving the Google Street View, use your finger navigate along the left and right edges of the Street View image (in the left or right margin), avoiding the Street View image itself:


We'll leave you with the Google Street View from yesterday's arrival in Cordoba ... very close to the Mezquita.



That's our DAY FIVE!  Enjoy your evening! Tomorrow we'll take an early train from Cordoba to Sevilla where we'll spend a good deal of time in the old quarter and enjoying the flamenco heritage of Spain! Ole!

Abrazos
--Don

UP NEXT TOMORROW:  Exploring Sevilla

Links to prior days of our Virtual Tour of Spain:

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