Another day in Cordoba

Our last day of relaxing - big drive to Madrid tomorrow and flying out the next day. Just wandered around Cordoba some more today, visited 2 museums - 1 a building restored to how it would have been in medieval times (a merchant's house), another (in the Jewish quarter) a memorial to Jews persecuted by the inquisition - same sort of layout around a courtyard.

At the merchant's house...

 In the Jewish museum some information about important men who were persecuted - but also about the women too

Lunch spot...

Just wandering...city walls...

quiet squares...

narrow streets...

courtyards...

so that's where we are!...

street scenes and peeks into peoples courtyards...

flowers everywhere, even in sculptures...

enticing entries to streets...

and Cordoba at night from the Roman bridge.

Through the mountains to Cordoba

Yesterday we drove through the Pargue Natural de la Sierra de Andujar, home to a lot of wildlife such as wolves and lynxes.  We saw different kinds of deer and an eagle...

...most people were in the southern area of the park but we decided to continue north, which led into some high mountains with little traffic.  Then the gps decided to take us to a main road by the shortest route - 25km of gravel forestry road.  At one point we saw what looked like a white wolf, we really don't know if it was some kind of dog.  Anyway, that was an adventure.  In Cordoba our airbnb apartment looks out on the cloisters of a church...

Today we visited the Mosque-Cathedral...

...walked around the streets...

...visited some Moorish baths...

...saw lots of churches and the town square.  Now it's wine o'clock.

More mountains

Today we drove around the mountains visiting little villages...

View of Torres where we braved a bead curtain into a bar where a fat un-shaved guy was cutting the heads off sardines but he kindly made us coffee and set up a table and chairs outside away from the fishy smell

Typical views from the road...

Then we got to Albanchez de Magina...

...where we climbed up a mountain to a castle...

Then we had a huge baguette (castle in background)

...which we finished off with wine at our airbnb.

Mountains

For a change of pace, a day in the mountains today.  First we drove to the highest point of the Sierra Nevada Mountains at 2,700 metres.  We had coffee and churros in our shorts and sandals while everyone else was kitted out for alpine temperatures.  Then we drove north to a small village called Pegalajar where we are staying in a local’s house.  He recommended a 2-2½ hour loop walk around a hilltop ridge, leaving from his house.  So that’s what we did this afternoon and really enjoyed the quiet and views.  

Sierras

Our car at the village we're staying at - Pegalajar

On our walk, the hills covered by millions of olive trees

Always love squirrels :-)

View of the village when our walk wound back into it.