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This was our longest drive the whole time we were on vacation--about 6
hours. We left Marvao around 10am, and drove over the border between Spain
and Portugal. We tried to get someone to stamp our passports, but
unfortunately the booth was not staffed, and so I never got that Spain
stamp. Once we got into Spain, we passed through a town called Merida, and
stopped there to use an ATM so we would have money to pay for gas. Then on
our way out of town we saw a sign that said "Roman Ruins" and we
decided
to check it out. Are we glad we did! Merida was the site of the
capital of Lusitania, Emerita Augusta. There is a very nice archeological
museum as well as an excavation of the teatro romano, an anfiteatro and a templo
de Diana. The teatro romano is especially well preserved--better even than
any we saw in Rome and Pompeii.
After we saw the ruins we were hungry, so we went to a nearby store and
bought some great cheese, bread, fruit, cookies and of course more
Pringles. We drove the rest of the way to Cordoba without stopping.
Once we got to Cordoba, navigation was a nightmare! The main road into the
old part of town was demolished and there were no detour signs at all. We
would see a sign for our hotel (Amistad Cordoba) and follow it only to have the
trail grow cold a few blocks later. Finally we figured out where it was
because a policeman told us that the "do not enter" sign didn't apply
to us and we could go down the little alley to our hotel. But when we tried to
do that, the road was blocked by these men working on the sewer and Mark had to
back down the alley because of course it was way way too narrow for him to turn
around. We then walked to the hotel and asked them what we were supposed
to do. The woman at the reception was so unconcerned about our plight and
so unhelpful (Amistad my a*&) I seriously thought about just saying
"forget it" and getting another hotel. But we wound up parking
our car in the pay lot a couple blocks away and schlepping our luggage back to
the hotel. And this place was a four star! You think they could have
at least sent a bellhop to help (not that we had that much luggage we couldn't
do it ourselves, but we were tired and frustrated). We checked into our
room, which overlooked the square in the Juderia that houses the
bullfighting museum. The room itself was marble with orange curtains and
bedspread. A little sterile for my taste. Whatever, it's just a
room. We rested a bit, and then freshened up, and went out to
dinner.
Rick Steve's guide says there's nothing in Cordoba except the Mezquita, and
so it's best left to a day trip. I disagree. I thought the Juderia
was really nice at night, and they had some of the prettiest cats I've ever seen
there.
 The
next day we went to the Mezquita. What can I say? If you've never
seen a mosque, this is the one to see. It was built in several
stages, starting in 780 with eleven aisles. In 848 it was extended, in 961
the mihrab (the area where the imam would pray) was built, and in 987 eight more
aisles were added. I n
the 13th Century the Christians captured Cordoba, and they turned the center of
the mosque into a church, leaving the rest of it standing. They got into a
lot of trouble for doing this--when they sent word of their splendid
accomplishment to Emperor Charles V he said "You have destroyed something
unique to build something commonplace."
After we saw the Mezquita (Mark wanted to stay for a lot longer looking at
the arches and wondering at it all, but after a couple of hours  I
had a handle on the mezquita and was ready to see something else) we went to the
palace grounds outside but they weren't
anything special. We then walked across the old roman bridge and looked at
the old Arab windmills and water wheels. We had lunch at a  nice
restaurant and then we went to the bullfighting museum and the archeological
museum.  The
archeological museum was nice (good statues a model of a typical roman villa,
etc.) but we'd seen all that stuff before so we were more interested in the
architecture of the building that had been a house at one time. This was a lot
of sights and museums for one day, so we returned to the hotel so Mark could
take his nap.
That night we went out for tapas and met a nice couple from Morocco who
originally thought we were from England. That was the first time that has
ever happened! And the next morning we left for Granada.
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