Cordovan love
In this romantic and polyhedral city, full of corners and alleys where to share complicit glances, affection, courtships, erotic rituals and various lusts , we recommend places for lunch, dinner, breakfast, charming squares where you can listen to the murmur of the water and the trill of the birds, terraces where you can watch the sunset, whims to give as gifts and small nest-hotels where you can end the day in a love story key.
1. ROMANTIC LOVE
-Don't you believe in marriage? "Yes, I think so, that's why I haven't gotten married," answered a handsome man. Humphrey Bogart to the character of Sabrina, played by Audrey Hepburn . That classic-but-cosmopolitan couple, and the one that (let's not fool ourselves) has been a reference at some point in our lives, they would take photos until they were bored in the Alcazar Gardens . Nor would they miss the nightly spectacle of water, light and sound of the Cordoba of the Three Cultures that takes place every night in the gardens, to see him embraced whispering things in his ear. He would give her a wonderful design ring from ** Espaliú jewelry ** to give her when they took refuge in her penthouse from the Hotel Las Casas de la Juderia .
Rooms with views over the Caliphal baths or the Mudejar patio
The next morning, already formally engaged, they would walk the streets of the old Jewish area visiting the Synagogue getting lost in its labyrinthine streets, getting inspired in front of the statue of Maimonides, and toasting in restaurant taverns like the one in Salinas House Tavern or ** Casa Pepe de la Judería ** with glasses of Montilla-Moriles wine (from which you would know how to distinguish between an 'oloroso' glass and an 'amontillado' or 'fino' glass). For dinner they would have booked in the next Almudaina restaurant (next to the hotel) to taste a classic, but delicious, sirloin with foie.
On another of their journeys, they would have approached the Viana Palace House . Around its twelve marvelous patios they would have strolled hand in hand, feeling strongly the imminent arrival of spring in Córdoba.
Viana Palace House
two. UNDERGROUND LOVE
Can you imagine the 'unconventional' couple of Patti Smith and Robert Mapplethorpe walking around Córdoba? Yes. They would walk through old suburban alleys at nightfall, from the "old gypsy neighborhood", which connect Calle Amparo to Plaza de la Alhóndiga: Cardenal González street, Amparo square, Pozo Cueto square, Cara street and back to Alhóndiga . “A route of just 200 meters from square to square in which the sound of water from the fountains” speaks of love, of silence, of melancholy, of the soul of things… It is that “ Cordoba silent Azorín ", how would Francisco Marquez in Corners of Córdoba with charm, and to which I would add, the most Lorca-like Córdoba.
Shoulder strap
Corners and squares of fountains and orange trees perfect for stealing a kiss or whatever comes along. In the Plaza de la Alhóndiga, “in a small cubbyhole lived the gypsy who inspired Julio Romero de Torres”. Amalia waited for the painter almost every day: "tall, fine, copper-colored, with a wide-brimmed hat and a cape". “He looked like a gypsy”, “a handsome man” she said. The unconventional couple would take advantage of the sunny hours to have tapas in the modern gastrobars of La Ribera, the most fashionable area of the capital : you would drink one (or a few) craft beers from La Bandolera on its terraces; a Clockwork Orange cocktail and tempura cod with ranchera eggs, in the van , and they would finish at sunset having drinks on the terrace of Amapola , also in La Ribera, listening to good dance-inciting music . They would finish off at Limbo Córdoba, where those who know about “chulaca music” make a pilgrimage: a kind of social club where interesting things happen. And maybe, just maybe, they would go to sleep Hotel Wind 10 .
Hotel Wind 10
3. LOVE (GO) RATIONAL?
Heart in mind and mind in heart, my yoga teacher used to say. Yes, you have to love and live the experience to the last drop but in the style of Meryl Streep in The Bridges of Madison County: intensely, but... without completely losing yourself. That you have to let go of that travel photographer (a spectacular Clint Eastwood who assures you that “ in the universe of ambiguity, this kind of certainty comes only once ”) ? Well, you have to let it go. At the height of this intense relationship, the couple would spend a morning in the gastronomic stalls of the Victoria market trying some seafood delicacies paired with a good champagne.
Hotel Palacio del Bailío
With the bubbling dot they would have left the market to continue drinking beers (and sunshine) on one of the terraces in Plaza de la Corredera. On the way they would have passed through the centenary Russian headgear , a charming shop where you can wear a good hat (Cordovan or not) and even see how it is made. They would have taped and coped here and there for the San Andres neighborhood , and the magical surroundings of Plaza de Capuchinos and Cuesta de Bailío to, finally, take a good nap in the deluxe suite of the Hotel Palacio del Bailío . Without rushing or intending to leave the hotel, in the afternoon they would indulge in a good treatment at the hotel spa (a Ritual of the East, for example) and reserve a table to later attend one of their Flamenco guitar dinners in the Roman courtyard of the hotel, with a tasting menu by chef Javier Moreno.
Enjoy at the table of the Hotel Palacio del Bailío
Four. AESTHETIC LOVE
The artist Marina Abramović Y Frank Uwe Laysiepen fell madly in love in Amsterdam. The problems and the routine came eight years later. They decided to go on a trip on their own and stayed at the Great Wall of China to say goodbye and forgive each other. Thirty years later, in a performance at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, in which Abramovic shared a minute of silence with anonymous people, a familiar look sat in front of her thirty years later yes It was a magical, powerful and eternal minute. I see this mythical couple from the seventies in another hypothetical reunion in the city. housed in the Innkeeper's Courtyard , laughing at everyone and everything while enjoying the rocking bed of the quelo room , which pays homage to dance, would have some strawberries with an organic Verdejo wine from the land.
Quelo Room in the Courtyard of the Innkeeper
The next day, a homemade breakfast and a smoothie in the hotel's lounge area would be perfect to start your pilgrimage through the city. First, in the direction of Potro Square , to visit, inside the posada del Potro, the Centro Flamenco Fosforito, where they would practice the percussion of the different flamenco palos on the interactive tables and have a laugh. They would reserve a table at the La Boca restaurant to try their fake risotto and their tuna tartar, and they would fill up on wines from the menu (all interesting). In the afternoon, they would visit the permanent exhibition of the Antonio Gala Foundation, located in a mansion that today is their home and residence for young artists. They would walk through charming alleys such as the Calleja del Pañuelo, they would see the sun set in the Jerónimo Páez square, that of the Archaeological Museum, where in Roman times the second theater of the entire empire was located, and they would take a short walk to the next Pepe Art Center Espaliú to meet the author of the famous performance Carrying, assembled cages and the different variations of sculptures made with crutches , which closed the creative cycle of this artist of the eighties, resident in New York and sick with AIDS.
Antonio Gala Foundation
5. SECRET LOVE
The Andalusian poet Princess Wallada, daughter of Caliph Muhammad al Mustakfi, was a cultured woman, ahead of her time, with a slender body, fair complexion and blue eyes. She did not have tattoos but her predecessors did: in the embroideries of her dresses it could be read: "By Allah I deserve any greatness and I follow my path proudly". A path that ended up crossing the path of the poet Ibn Zaydun . Her love affairs (which were kept secret in the caliphate) and their fights were expressed through poetry: “ Wait for my visit when darkness strikes... I have something with you that if it coincided with the sun it would not shine; and if with the moon, it would not rise and if with the stars, they would not walk”. In today's Córdoba, I imagine them getting together every night in the 'dovecote' of the hotel Madinat (a romantic, warm room with a built-in bathtub) where two of its rooms also pay tribute to these characters.
They would go for a walk late at night. They would escape from the walls of the Medina in the direction of the temple of the kitchen of Al Andalus, Noor , of the chef Paco Morales , but with the “pre-Noor” experience well imprinted on their retinas: that of the night visit to the Mosque (and daytime, in the atmosphere of Medina Azahara, seven km from the city, with a private guide included,) . On their night walks away from all eyes, and at the main gate of the wall, the Almodóvar gate, they would give each other kisses in front of the statue of Averroës (Cordovan jurist, philosopher and doctor), who, sitting in this street on which the Jewish quarter cemetery was located, seems to remind us of the twinning of Córdoba with Cairuán, the Tunisian city that has a mosque similar to that of Córdoba, and to which lives up to the name of the street. They would have a snack on the romantic roof of blonde house , under the light of the stars and if one day they ventured to see themselves in the light of the sun, they would do it in the Andalusian House , listening to the sound of water in the courtyards of this 12th-century Hispano-Muslim-style house.
Arrope of dates, alyaqtin and Andalusian touches
6. LOVE FLOWERPOWER
The Ballad of John and Yoko is just one of the songs that the Beatle dedicated to his love and companion, a kind of road movie in search of peace and love: “We drove from Paris to the Hilton in Amsterdam / We talked in bed for a week / The newspapers They said 'Hey, what are you doing in bed?' / I said, ' We just want some peace '”. They could perfectly have set out for Córdoba. From his Ruzbahan room, with a terrace, in the hotel balcony de cordoba They could have practiced sun salutations outdoors with a heart-stopping view of the Mosque, every morning. They would have natural juices and homemade bread for breakfast The bike and they would walk to the calleja and the Plaza de las Flores to stretch their legs and learn about the craftsmanship of Cordoba, in the meryan workshop .
Yoko would have bought a leather bag from the Nazarí collection and a leather notebook to take notes on the trip. And in the little store across the street, Spanish Skin, John would have fallen in love with some handmade ankle boots. They would have headed for the Roman bridge to cross it towards the Calahorra Tower . in its surroundings, the second Saturday of each month , the Ecomarket brings the best of local products and the region respectful of the environment. On the way back to the Ribera del rio, they would have stopped to eat at Amalthea , in a bright place that is the dean of vegetarian cuisine in the city.
Hotel Balcony of Cordoba