A mosque-cathedral, Howard and Hilda abducted

Frites cooked for us by our Belgian neighbour under his awning in the rain. A lovely treat; we said goodbye and thank you to our friends at the campsite at Penarroya-Pueblonueova including mama, who I think was extolling me to wear socks. I was ‘kiwi-style’, wearing flip flops in the rain to save getting my shoes dirty. 

We set off with no water in the truck as we didn’t want to fill our tank with the non-potable water pumped from the nearby lake. We drove off in the rain, the satnav set to Cordoba, with a via point of a Lidl supermarket.  Lidl had goodies galore, some Lidls have an array of upmarket items and I have trouble restricting myself. I popped a packet of whole candied orange slices dipped in dark chocolate into the trolley along with some truffle pasta. There was a whole aisle of pick and mix frozen seafood, I only chose the peeled raw prawns. It all seems too hard dealing with full crustaceans in the tiny kitchen now that daylight and the weather is against us. Shame. Stuart assigns himself the task of perusing the wine selection and choosing his staff of life - bread.

Inside mosque-cathedral

We parked in a free carpark and walked alongside the river to the Mosque-Cathedral of Cordoba.

It ranks with me as one of the best buildings I have visited, along with the Taj Mahal in Agra.

It was originally a Christian church built in the mid 700s, recycled as a mosque, but in 1236 consecrated as a Catholic church. Later there were alterations to create a beautiful chapel in the middle of the mosque that brings light into the interior of this enormous building. It is the only place where you can worship Mass in a mosque.

Stepping into the mosque-cathedral was awe-inspiring; double rows of striped arches - red brick alternating with white stone set on a forest of 856 pillars. Islamic style candelabras hang from carved beams, lighting an eerie but striking atmosphere. Outside the rows of pillars are replicated with rows of orange trees in the former Muslim ablutions patio.

A street so narrow, only a tiny car can fit - others scrape on the kerb

We picked our way back to the truck through the old Islamic and Judaic quarters, one road was so narrow car tyres scrape along the curb on either side. I took a photo of a tiny Kia following a disabled scooter - just the right size.  

On the way to Seville the rain stopped and we passed endless fields of olive and orange trees, the land was refreshed by the rain and the fields had lost their dusty look.

Seville

The aire we stayed at in Seville is conveniently located across the river from the centre of town but talk about ugly! 

It is also a loading area for cars on transporter trucks, the strong perimeter fence keeps out windblown rubbish, street dogs and other undesirables. The wifi is hopeless and the showers cold.

Seville

Sevilles inner shopping area had lots of shoe shops, that don’t have that big close down period, only re-opening when I am too tired to be bothered. I found the shoes I wanted, then had to cart them all around the Real Alcazar (royal castle). The Alcazar is very Islamic in style with lots of intricate details, gardens and orange trees. We got lost a couple of times and had to ask for help to exit, battling through thickets of selfie sticks.

The Alcazar is next to the largest cathedral in the world, in the plaza horses and buggies wait patiently to give (sell) rides to tourists. After seeing the castle, the cathedral is all too much, tomorrow would be another day. 

As Christmas is only a month away, sellers of nativity scene paraphernalia had filled temporary shops in the main plaza near the cathedral with their wares. The scale of nativity merchandise on sale made Stuart shake his head. It is a new concept for him. There were items like tiny hams, baskets of lentils, herds of sheep, shepherds, all like those model railway dioramas. The item I liked best was a scooter carrying Mary, Joseph and baby Jesus - a donkey and cow are in the sidecar.

Real Alcazar, Seville - photo credit Stuart

The following day was not so good, after having a bad sleep with an insomniac truckie waterblasting his truck at 2.00am we cycled into Seville. Intending to see the worlds largest cathedral we locked Howard and Hilda together while we stopped for a coffee. 

Returning to the railing all that remained was our cable lock cut cleanly. About 20 metres away was a police car, we tapped on the window and the good-looking young man carefully marked the place in the book he was reading, and shook his head. We are to report the theft to the National Police but there is no hope of rescuing Howard and Hilda.

We didn’t feel like visiting the worlds biggest cathedral then and set off for the long walk back to collect Chausson and head for the coast. The aire had been recommended by someone we met at Honfleur in France, right by the beach and close to tapas bars. It was more like a campsite catering soley to motorhomes with electric hook up, ablutions and good wifi. Alfonso greeted us as he greets all prospective campers, showing us a large sunny grassy plot and giving us the run-down on the local amenities. We think he must have ESP or a little camera in his office as he is quick off the mark making sure potential customers don’t slip away. (we don’t have a lot to do at the moment!)

Inside Real Alcazar

Without Howard and Hilda we can’t cycle the nearby rail-trail to the next town, I don’t suppose Howard and Hildas' new life as ‘street-bikes’ will be as cloistered as their life with us.

We are truckin on southward with the intention of going to Gilbraltar,  we had thought of parking the truck and visiting Morocco but I don't know about that, I have seen a little of India in Spain already ... 

Adios until next time

Modern nativity twist

Hilda, as I remember her