Make do and mend

Apologies, it's going to be a relatively short post today (stop cheering, dear reader!). The heat here in Cordoba has to be felt to be believed and the terrace I'm sitting on has no air conditioning, so even though it's open to the sky and in the shade, the chimney effect of the buildings surrounding it means that every so often I get a down draft of hot (not warm, but hot!) air.

Getting up early today was a real bonus. Not only did it mean I got in free to the Mezquita Cathedral, it also meant that at least some of my wanderings were in the heat (as opposed to the searing heat). By 11 am it was already 35 degrees, and it's been getting steadily hotter ever since. I can actually feel myself shrivelling up as I'm walking around even though I'm walking in the shade. The visit to the Alcazar gardens was an adventure in slow sprinting (I defy anyone to move quickly in this heat) from one piece of shade to the next. Entry to the Alcazar was free too, but cunningly they stop anyone staying too long by closing the toilets - very crafty.

So, the title for this post I hear you ask (above the snoring of my more regular readers that is)? Well, the Mezquita was a 14th Century mosque, the most beautiful in the whole Islamic world at the time beating even Damascus hands down apparently. And it was built on top of the previous Christian church. How's that for domination? Not to be outdone, the Christian Kings (Los Reyes Cristianos of Alcazar fame presumably) when it was there turn, ripped the centre out of the Mosque and built their own cathedral instead. So now you have a strange mixture of styles that all, unbelievably, meld into one stunning building - as you can see from the number of pictures I took. There were more, these are only the ones I thought I'd put on Flickr.

Other than the Alcazar, the rest of the day was spent seeking shade and dipping back to the hotel for a blast of air conditioning every now and again. I even managed to get some crochet done before my hands stuck to the crochet hook.

Seville tomorrow - where apparently it's just as hot, if not hotter (?!). It's also where I'm hoping to see some Flamenco if I can get the nerve up for a sortie out after dark. I happened across a Flamenco exhibition today - inside the most beautifully air conditioned building - come to think of it, I don't know why I didn't just stay there for the rest of the day!!

and for those who like to know these things, this is my current blogging spot

Gastronomie Espanol

I arrived in Cordoba at lunchtime today, and was immediately hit by a wall of heat. The girl sitting next to me on the train informed me that I'd probably chosen the two hottest places in Spain to visit in Seville and Cordoba. But not to worry, it was much hotter a couple of weeks back - then it was still over 40 degrees at 1am. Oh boy!

So, I've not actually done much today. I've wandered around Cordoba, along the beautiful little windy streets that remind me of York but with sunshine and heat, lots of heat. I've taken lots of photographs (as ever).

And I've eaten. Well, it seemed rude not to. Cordoba, apparently, has a very good reputation for food so I thought I'd better test it out. I'm not sure that I've found it yet, but I've had fun trying. Although in this heat, my appetite is a bit muted.

For this blog post, thought, I thought I'd share with you some of the things I've been eating so far this holiday. I feel it's my duty to experience Spain as fully as possible, and so I've suffered to bring you the following list of culinary delights:

• Tortilla, including a fabulous plateful from the bar next to the hotel this lunchtime
• morcilla 
• chorizo
• patatas bravas
• pimientos con atun
• jamon de la bodega
• jamon con brevas
• some kind of meatball in tomato sauce (tasted nice!)
• gazpacho, with and without jamon
• sopa do ajo
• lots of vino tinto
• heuvos revuelta (and they were sadly)
• arroz con leche
• cafe con leche y solo y cortado
• quesa de cabra

and tonight *drum roll* Flan!! oh boy, was it good!

I've avoided callos so far - and will continue to do so, I refuse to suffer that much. Also cochido (too hot) and paella (just not fancied it). Rabo de torre seems popular here. Apparently it's bull's tail (oxtail?) but to begin with I thought it was bull's something else until I remembered that was cojones!

There are plenty days left and I'll continue to suffer for the culinary arts. It's a hard life, but someone has to do it!

(Early morning visit to the Mezquita called for tomorrow. Hopefully I'll manage to avoid taking any more photographs of the minaret/bell tower but I can't promise it. Sorry!)