A Labyrinth in Córdoba and new friends!

Where am I??  I asked myself this question after taking off on my scouting mission this morning, map in hand.  Tomorrow is my tour of La Mezquita Cathedral (the Mosque), Alcazar de los Reyes Cristianos (Palace of the Christian Kings), La Judería (Jewish Quarter) and the gardens. I meet the tour group at 10:30 a.m. and I wanted to find the meeting point today instead of leaving the "finding" for the last minute.

Despite raindrops, I reminded myself I couldn't get lost since the clock tower rose high above it all.  It would guide me "home."  The map showed Calle Doctor Fleming on the corner of Calle Doctor Maraña.  At first, I walked in the general direction based on my street map.  But the streets didn't cooperate and I got lost immediately.  Then Plan B told me to head toward the Puente Romano Bridge where I'd spent the evening last night. I'd seen a street going in the direction of the Visión Tours Offices.


I walked toward a bustling street I hoped was Fleming and found photo points along the way...

There were rocks, antique walls, tiered watered areas...but it wasn't Fleming after all.  It was a huge street called Avenida del Corregidor.  Whipping out my map, holding my umbrella in one hand and tracing my finger along the lines of streets, I realized I'd overshot my destination by about two miles.   I could hardly believe my eyes.  I could see the clock tower all right...just barely.  It jutted into the sky smaller than my hand.  Continuing along the wide boulevard, I found Calle Doctor Maraña and Fleming!  Now, I wondered how on earth I'd find it in the morning?  Backtracking was out of the question.  NEW tracking was the best...but where?  How?

Across the street from the tour office, I spied a small plaza with a stone archway leading down into a rock-tiled area.  People were coming out, so I headed in.  To my surprise, I was in a very narrow alley...long, empty and edged inside by tall walls on both sides.  Well, I was there so I kept walking although I couldn't see anything above the walls...(not the clock tower for sure).   Twists and turns led me through six of these long, narrow alleys.  Nobody was there but me.   When I finally burst out onto a cobblestoned street, I sighed with relief.  But again, where was I?  The niches and alcoves I found along the way once on the real streets were beautiful and inviting...but I wanted to go "home".

I turned around in circles to gather my wits and decided to photograph landmarks as I walked in the general direction (really?) toward my watch-tower-hotel.  Snap, snap, snap -- I began to recognize shops! (I think)  I passed the familiar Lladro shop and nearly skipped with delight.  And then I was lost again.

I approached a woman in a doorway to ask directions.  I asked, "Hable español?"
"No," she responded.  (oh goodie...)
Thinking fast, I said, "Donde está Calle Cardenal Herrero, por favor?"  (Where is Cardenal Herrero Street please?)
She pointed around her corner!  I was close!  (big sigh).
By then, I'd walked 3 and a half miles and I needed a coffee.  My new favorite little place next to my hotel is called Queen Heladerias.  It's an ice cream, coffee, sandwich shop.  I ordered a chocolate croissant (I'd banked lots of burned calories surely...) and the oh, so creamy café con leche.

It felt so good to sit down.  When I finished, I asked for another coffee para llevar (to take away)  just about the time I received a text from my WLM friend, Sue C.  They were on their way from their house about an hour away from Córdoba and we were meeting nearby at 1:00.  I was so glad to have found my way "home" in time for our date and the next adventure that waited for me!

And they found me!  What a lovely meeting we had!  Sue and David are delightful.  She is half Spanish and he is half Brazilian.  Both are English from the northern part of the UK.  They guided me along the narrow, cobblestoned streets to their favorite restaurant, Rafaé Bodega-Taberna and it was all they promised.  Sue ordered Berenjenas (eggplant) dipped, deep fried and slathered with molasses. (her favorite) and David ordered fish and it all looked delicious.  Me?  I ordered garbanzo soup.

I wanted to compare my soup to my abuelita's.  This soup included chorizo and spinach, not like abuelita's at all, but very good!  I told them I'd eaten oxtail called Rabo Tapa last night and  Sue said that is bull's tail. (what??!)  We had a good laugh and then David paid for it all... (thank you, David and Sue!)

We had a lovely visit and then they led me to the orange tree gardens inside the mosque's walls but the recent rain had taken away the beautiful scent.  We shrugged our shoulders and I followed them toward the Alcázar because they assured me I'd want to explore inside when it opened.  Since it is included in my tour tomorrow, I will see it.

Meeting Sue and David added polish to my Córdoba interlude...and then we said goodbye.

They had errands to run and I decided to backtrack through the labyrinth to find my tour spot again just to make sure I could find my way back.  I couldn't.  The photos I'd taken to lead me back didn't help me.  I was hopelessly lost in the Jewish Quarter until I found a street that was familiar.  I knew it led to the labyrinth, but did I want to go in there again?  No.  I chose, instead, to follow the street to the end and to my surprise, I was in front of the tour office.  I was grinning by then and headed back "home" to rest.  I'd walked nearly 11,000 steps and I felt it all over the place.

What a day this was.  Since it is now afternoon, I check my phone every few minutes because now it is the time in America that I receive text messages, so wonderful  to receive across the miles.  The sounds of the tourists outside my window have died down, the rain has stopped and the sun is now sliding past my window.

The day is beautiful and I am a happy.  No nightlife for me tonight.
Tomorrow, is the tour and I think I know the way to the tour office!