A beer in Cordoba.
Around two we left Ubeda and went westwards towards Cordoba, where we arrived at the Occidental Hotel at four o'clock. Not unlike previous hotels this was a stylish place that unfortunately was once again located at the outskirts of town. In Cordoba this meant that it took a 15 muinute drive to get back to the city center. Now, that wouldn't have been such a disater if there would have been sufficient parking space, but when I suggested to take the car to the city it took us ages to find a parking spot. Even outside the city center it was hard to find one because of a soccer match that was taking place. Eventually I got so pissed that I spotted a stretch of muddy land where some other cars were parked and abandoned the car there.
We wandered through the less tourist eastern part of the center passing many more churches. By now I was quite fed up with churches I was glad to grab a big cerveza and check out the remains of an old Roman temple and the more atmospheric Plaza Corredera (a favourite gathering spot of the city) later on. Mom suggested we had dinner at the hotel tonight and although this did not seem like the most adventurous idea I agreed. Four hours of driving had tired me out. After dinner, which was spiced up by a funny waiter that was obviously a 'poco loco', Mark and I consumed our last stock of Licor 43 and I worked on the blog a bit before calling it a night.
Three or four stars ?
Another 4 star hotel, although the big sign on top of the hotel claims it's 3 stars. The interior is stylish with Andalucian influenced architecture, patios and fountains. There's a small pool outside and a tennis court. Breakfast buffet was rather mediocre. Two disadvantages of this hotel are the location (it takes 15 minutes by car to get to the city center) and the target group it serves; mainly big busses of elderly European and Japanese groups. As such there was not much of a lively atmosphere here. There's wifi Internet (11 Euro per day) and two Internet computers (7 Euro per hour!), neither of which were working. All in all, although this certainly isn't a dump, there must be much better places to stay in Cordoba. At least take one of the numerous hotels in the city center, allowing you a bit more freedom.
Occidental Hotel, Cordoba.
Occidental Hotel, Cordoba.
Occidental Hotel, Cordoba.
Occidental Hotel, Cordoba.
