Won’t You Step Into My Patio?

Thursday, November 20, 2025

We ended up taking a bus to Córdoba this morning. I wanted to go by train, but the schedules didn’t work. The bus turned out to be relaxing and efficient. The bus we took was operated by ALSA. I bought the tickets in advance so we could all sit together. This mode of transportation was slower than a high-speed direct train would have been, but at a more convenient time and way cheaper than the train. Insanely cheaper.

We passed through hilly country with endless rows of olive trees. 

We reached Córdoba in just under three hours. It sits on the Guadalquivir River, where many cultures have thrived. The remains of a Neanderthal individual, more than 35,000 years old, have been discovered here. Since the 8th century BCE, people who knew how to work silver and copper lived here. Eventually, a Carthaginian settlement arose, followed by conquest by the Romans in 206 BCE. During roman rule, Córdoba grew to become a center of intellectual life for this region of Roman Spain. The Byzantines arrived next. The Visigoths swept in during the late 6th century CE. 

In 711 or 712 CE Moorish forces took Córdoba by storm. During the 9th century, estimates put Córdoba’s population at between 75,000 and 160,000. Córdoba’s economy was based on locally manufactured leather goods, metal work, glazed tiles, and textiles. In addition, a wide array of agricultural products including spices, cotton, flax, and silk were produced in and around Córdoba.

By the 10th century, Córdoba had become one of the most advanced cities in the world in terms of culture, politics, and finance. The city was home to dozens of libraries and institutions of learning. The fields of mathematics, astronomy, medicine, and botany were more advanced than anywhere else in Europe at that time. Historians estimate the population at 100,000-400,000, and even higher.

Due to political instability, the city began to decline starting in 1009 CE. Centuries of unrest and invasions ensued. In the 20th century, the city started to emerge from this decline when the railroad arrived and tourism became a major economic driver.

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Hotel Viento 10 was an old house that had been modernized and turned into a boutique hotel. On the outside it is a nondescript door in a an alley about a 10-15 minute walk from the center of the Old Town. On the inside it has the typical Spanish courtyard with two floors of rooms. You can see some old columns, stones, bricks, etc., incorporated into the remodel, which gives it a nice traditional feel that reminds you where you are. There is a lot of glass around the perimeter of the courtyard, which is open to the elements, and the glass gives it a very contemporary feel that reminds you when you are. There is a shared living room and a small swimming pool, not very inviting in the chilly weather we have been experiencing. The bedroom furnishings are very minimal. We neglected to take photos, but I found some on the hotel’s listing on TripAdvisor:

The entrance - you must walk about a block through an alley from the nearest vehicle access.

The courtyard

This was our room. The bathroom is beyond the glass partition.
It doesn’t offer a lot of privacy, but it shows off an interesting brick arch.
You are looking at all of the furniture other than a small night table on the near side of the bed.

Spoiler alert: I will have more to say about this hotel tomorrow. (Not good.)

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We had a wonderful lunch at a place by the river that we picked out semi-randomly after heading in the general direction suggested by the hotel owner. This was our experience over and over in Spain - just pick a place and you will enjoy it. There seem to be no bad meals, no bad restaurants. The food is not cheap, but the wine is. There is often an extra charge for bread or water. Still, you can have a very nice meal in Spain for somewhat less than you would pay in the US. And there is no tipping! But don’t forget to mentally add 20% to factor in the unfavorable (to us) exchange rate.

In the late afternoon, we walked back to the Old Town to participate in the Patio Tour. This was one of the absolute highlights of the trip for all of us. Since all homes in the older parts of town seem to have courtyards (i.e., patios), or at least a shared patio, a tradition of patio gardening has developed into a competitive sport. Every year there is a festival and awards are awarded. These are not participation trophies - they are highly coveted Important Awards.

A number of houses open these private spaces to tourists during certain hours each day. You can see them on a guided tour, or you can take a self-guided tour. Some houses are free, some require tickets. Some only keep the door open behind a locked gate, welcoming lookers, but not visitors. But many invite you in to explore the nooks and crannies. Often antiques are arranged in charming little vignettes among the flowers or in an unused niche. Each patio is hosted by someone from the adjacent house, usually the matriarch of the family. They clearly take great pleasure in this duty.

We bought our tickets from “Route of the Patios,” €6 for 5 patios. They gave us a map showing the location of five patios plus two free patios. The patios were open from 5:00 to 7:00 pm. It was fun walking through the ancient neighborhood with other small groups of tourists and finding hidden gems that you would not have otherwise suspected, waiting to be discovered inside the bland white walls of the homes’ exteriors.

The Yellow House

The Roman House

The owner showed off her lemon tree and told us lemons don’t grow anywhere else in Spain,

Pieces of rubble from a Roman patio?

Clever use of columns and capitals

On the way to the next patio:

The Green House (The Patio of the Seamstress)

Another lemon tree!

The owner told us this house was once owned by Christians, and then by Jews.
She showed us a mezuzah on the door frame.

The beautiful glazed tiles are the awards received by this house.
There is also a plaque showing the name of the patio

The Jungle House

On the way to the next patio:

There are lots of orange trees growing by the roadsides here, but the oranges are inedible.

The Blue House

A very friendly man hosted this house. He couldn’t speak any English, but that didn’t stop him from talking to us. He told us his sister lived next door.

The Sister’s House

The Last House

Today’s fabric is Bekah - Magenta by Kaffe Fassett Collective for FreeSpirit Fabrics. Kaffe (rhymes with “safe”) Fassett is one of my favorite fabric designers.