Los Dos

Where did 2024 go? The final week, part I

Hell, I know exactly where 2024 went. Half of me says good riddance! And the other half is happy to start a new year in Spain. So much to do!

We’ve been working a bit every day on getting a car and an apartment. It’s not nearly as easy as it might sound. In my last run-in at a used car lot I was told I would be unable to buy a used car since I am not a resident of Spain. At least I think that’s what the guy said in muy rapido Español. I’m also pretty sure it’s BS. That, in fact, I am legally able to buy a car here. I’ll just need to try some other dealers and see. In general, here in España for los dos, it’s been dos steps forward and uno back.

In the meantime we’ve been exploring in Córdoba and nearby. We’ve connected with a nice little taberno near the AirBnB that we can walk to for an afternoon libation (or bebida as the Spanish say). We make brief awkward small talk with our camarero, Rafa, a young man who speaks no English at all and seems flustered by my frequent brutality toward Español.

Ella’s been joining us on all the outings, whether at the local bar, as here, or to the more far flung places by car. Who knew what a trooper she’d turn out to be motoring around Spain with los dos? And sitting content while we have an afternoon bebida?

Anyway, here’s some pix and things from the adventures of los dos this past week…

We went to Baeza, a UNESCO world heritage town about 90 minutes away. The town goes back to the late Muslim era of Al Andalus (12th c.) but is famous for its beautiful central city built during the Renaissance. We were there in the afternoon of Christmas Eve, so it was pretty quiet in the old area.

Hey, there’s Donna!
Pretty sure Donna’a photographing this old fountain across the way.
The internet informs me that this is “the Former Civil Courthouse and Public Scribes building, also known as the Casa del Pópulo (or House of the Populo), a magnificent two-story building with a 16th-century plateresque façade.”
Palacio de Jabalquinto, late 15th c.
The outdoor wine and beer mall of Baeza, aka the gallery of restaurants along the Plaza de la Consitutión at city center, was pretty quiet this Christmas Eve. Most of the places were closed, but we did manage to find a place for a few minutes of cultural refection and wine/beer tasting, before heading back to Córdoba.

Meanwhile back at Rancho AirBnB, we’d made arrangements for a mostly traditional turkey dinner for 5. OK, we got a pretty freaking big chicken which was to serve 2, plus handouts for the live nativity scene of our three mascotas. We made mashed potatoes, carmelized carrots, and even concocted a quite delish Americanesque stuffing featuring leftover loaves of barra and some pork sausage. Plus gravy. Yum! We were pleased to have pulled off a bit of our Christmas dinner tradition far far from home.

Kinda hard to get all three pets to sit still for a portrait.

But wait!

I forgot that on Christmas afternoon we drove down to the oldest part of Córdoba, the Judería, to walk around for a couple of hours. We crossed over the Guadalquivir river and happened upon a free parking lot (talk about Christmas miracles). Then we strode across the old Roman bridge, built in the 1st century BC, to the really old part of Córdaba.

At the far side of the Guadliquivir, 14th century Córdobeses built a defensive tower to guard the Roman bridge.
The Roman bridge, seen from the bank on the other side of the Guadalquivir. In the distance is…
… the cathedral part of the Mezquita. More about that in another post.
Statue along the Roman bridge.
On the city side of the bridge.
We wandered for a while and stopped in the small Plaza de Albades near this church-like building from the early 18th century. Tis a hotel these days.
Dunno where this was or anything about the cool doors here.
The fun thing about wandering without an agenda is finding yourself someplace you’ve been before but by a completely different route. We didn’t know these stairs dropped into the plaza in front of the Archeological Museum, where we’d stopped for refreshment more than once in our 2023 visit to Córdoba.

We’d drifted aimlessly out of the Judería. It was relatively deserted this Christmas afternoon. Which left us a tad parched. So we wound our way back in and found an outdoor cafe that was completely empty. They were happy to bring us a cerveza and a rioja. The cafe was empty, it turned out, because they’d just opened. Within an hour, foot traffic had kicked up and the cafe was full. We met a couple of women from Jordan with a darling four year old child. They spoke passable English, in addition to Spanish and Arabic. The child was growing up tri-lingual. Wow, if only. The Jordanians said they came to Cordoba 3 or 4 times a year. But advised against being there in summer when temps are above 110. They labeled this element of Cordoba “terrible”.

We did go home, at last, and cooked up that very satisfying Christmas dinner. That was Wednesday. We had other places to visit during Christmas week, but more about that later, in the second and concluding part of this multimedia missive.

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Gary Rees

5 responses to “Where did 2024 go? The final week, part I”

  1. The architecture in that area is amazing. It defines old in a much better way than we do. Sounds like you’re. Looking forward to the next chapter

    Reply

    • I really need to get a better grip on Cordoba’s history. The architecture seems to have a few themes. Roman era isn’t really one of them. There seems to be a bit left of the Muslim days, after the late 700s and up to 1300ish. And then it seems to shift to neoclassical, then an explosion in the 19th century. Lovely buildings. I guess I ought to get a book or I’ll just be doing a lot of speculating.

      Reply

    • Yes, we’re doing good. Working through the things that aren’t that easy but taking our time to explore and enjoy as well. Let’s plan something in a week or two. Donna and I will get a place to stay in Granada for the night where we can lodge with Ella. We’re super close by car, I’m learning! ¡Feliz años!

      Reply

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