We were up early as we had one of the longest drives we have ever taken in Europe in front of us. We need to be in Granada by May 12 as Kit and Stephen have a tour of the Alhambra scheduled for May 13. It is nearly 800 kilometers from Lisbon to Granada and we need to cover it in two days. Looking at our options Cordoba was the best mid-point but it was not mid-way but 500 kilometers from Lisbon.
If you are going to do a too long drive in Europe the best day is Sunday as the semi’s are more or less banned from driving. This means we are the slowest thing on the road in most cases so you can set the cruise control and settle in the right lane and let the other cars zoom past. The drive took over 6 hours and with the additional hour we gained we didn’t park up at Cordoba until after 4 pm.
We settled in quickly as we are in the municipal aire in Cordoba which is a new experience for Kit and Stephen. No power, no water, no toilets, just the facilities you carry in your van. We decided that food was in order so we headed into Cordoba to find some. On Sundays a lot of the bars and cafes that serve informal food close down in the evening. We settled on a pizza place across from the famous Cathedral/Mosque which is why we are here and will visit tomorrow.
After we finished our meal we strolled down to the Roman bridge over the Guadalquivir River. It is another impressive piece of engineering though Stephen and I suspect it has been rebuilt a few times since the Romans.
After the bridge Stephen and I were feeling the effects of our drive, so we headed back to the aire for a well deserved rest.