Cordoba and my fantastic teaching teams from Zuoz, past and present April 2024

Friends, fun, flowers, festivals and food ( lots of all of them) , not to mention the phenomenal UNESCO World Heritage treasures , such as the breathtakingly beautiful and massive world famous Mezquita

With its magnificent, colourful arches which have withstood centuries of earthquakes.

strange little face staring down at us

And in the midst of all those beautiful mosque arches, a  huge cathedral.

Exiting the Mezquita, you come across the most incredible tortilla cafe with simply humungous tortillas, which are soooo cheap and tasty. I was starving as it was already 13.30. Spanish mealtimes are so different, usually 2 hours or more later than ours.

The Alcazar has the most gorgeous gardens, with lush vegetation, fabulous formal gardens, and plenty of water features which are currently working after some exceptional rainfall a few weeks ago. 

A peaceful and relaxing place to spend an afternoon.

Temperature was perfect at about 20+ degrees. I loved this tree which looked so lovely with the clear blue sky and white walls behind it. Such pretty shadows. 

My days were filled with a mix of fascinating sightseeing and meetings with friends. I haven't added photos of them for privacy reasons, although I am sure they wouldn't object.

However, I had to add a photo of an incredible gadget at Claudia and Sarah's. Apparently it's quite common in Cordoba, where cured ham is a speciality

Our morning tea and cakes in the garden patio was so wonderful. The Spanish certainly go for large pastries! 

Cruces festival was about to start so the city was abuzz with people decorating the streets. It was fabulous.

The Patios festival is also starting very soon, so I felt very lucky to be treated to so many floral displays..

Palacio di Viana had a series of gorgeous pateos, all totally different

Magnificent palms and the more classic

 geranium pots casting their lovely shadows on the white walls.

We spent many hours watching a large  group of mostly screaming women and the occasional poor man decorating a very  elaborate cross with hundreds of flowers. .too much advice it seemed, but the next day the end result was fantastic.

i love Cordoba with its many parks, streets lined with orange trees, and the colourful lanes with pretty little cafes. It all seemed so clean and fortunately, it wasn't crowded. 

i was lucky enough to be taken up to the rooftop of a hotel in the centre of the old city. The view over the colourful rooves was spectacular 

More absolutely stunning gardens. I thought the Swiss were the experts with geraniums but the Spanish rival them for sure

every corner you turn there is something beautiful to admire 

Next week these patios will be packed with visitors. We were there almost alone.

in one, a lady showed us the unique watering system using a can on the end of a long pole. A laborious but satisfying job! 

What an attractive laundry area! And below the kitchen.  The little home had had seven families living there.

A final walk with Deryn and Claire over the Roman Bridge offering expansive views over this splendid city.

A last evening with friends and then a walk home near midnight with what seemed to be most of the 400,000 population of Cordoba. The city was alive with music and flamenco, children and adults in bright costumes. A great farewell.

Thanks to everyone who made this an unforgettable experience.