I go to Cordoba

 I know these a lot of pictures but the magnificent patios of Cordoba are protected UNESCO cultural heritage designated and worth seeing. The homes are family owned. lived in by many of the extended family members. They share communal kitchens (cooking for the whole house on a rotation schedule.) The pots must be of a single color for the entire patio and they cannot use drip irrigation but must be watered by hand. They do this with long bamboo poles to which a tin can is attached at an angle so they can tip the can to water. It is laborious job that takes hours. There is a contest each May where hundreds of patios are judged and placed. In order to participate the patio must be family owned and inhabited. (sadly they have lost some in recent years to AirBnB - over tourism is a scourge in Spain right now. In 2026 Spain expects more than 100 million tourists of whom 71 million have already come and gone by the end of August. That is more than twice the population of Spain.)

Leaving Santa Justa- the train ran nearly 25 mninutes late so I could only grab a quick bite before the tour left.

from the train window - 

The meeting point at the Royal Stables and equestrian show

The taverna across the street actually had an excellent Salmorejo

Then on to the patios tour - 

So my train home was slightly delayted getting to Cordoba but arrived on time and Phil and I went around the corner for a quick dinner as it was late and I had a long day of walking in the heat - 

more salmorejo (the cordoba one was better) for me and some cola de toro croquetas and Phil had the berejenas and a paella with seafood...

And now we are finalizing the elements of our Istria trip coming up this week!  Stay tuned.