My adult son offered to take a week off work to travel with me to Spain. We flew in and out of Madrid and went to Cordoba and Granada by train. I speak Spanish, he doesn't. He wasn't sure why, other than seeing the Mezquita, I wanted to go to Cordoba. I booked the Hotel Maestre based on traveler reviews. He was pleasantly surprised. The front desk was very efficient but friendly and welcoming. The room was on the second floor. We were directed to the elevator but found our way back down by the stairs and used those for the rest of the brief stay. The room was clean, the beds were comfortable, the bath was immaculate, and room temperature was pleasant. We never used the TV. There was too much else to do. We had taken a cab from the train station. My son was surprised at how narrow the streets were. Yes, the old part of Cordoba has its original streets and those bricks have had a lot of wear. The cabdriver unloaded our suitcases on a larger street at the intersection of Calle Romero Barros because that street was too narrow to park. No problem. The Hotel/Hostal is at the intersection and it was just a short walk to the main entrance. Because of its layout and the signs that alternate calling it a hotel or a hostal, I suspect it was previously two buildings. There were lots of guests, but once inside, it was very quiet. Nobody used the pretty courtyard in its picture. There is no food service, although there used to be. If you wanted to get coffee elsewhere and take it to the courtyard, you probably could. Despite the narrow street, our room was absolutely quiet both day and night. No traffic noise, no one partying in the street. There is a flamenco museum at the other end of the block. No noise from that, either. I guess I'm emphasizing the quiet because we both were severely jet-lagged. The Mezquita is less than a 10-minute walk from the Maestre. You won't have to walk even that short distance to see some Cordoba history At the other end of C. Romero Barros is the Plaza del Potro, the Plaza of the Colt. Back in Cervantes's day, it was a horse market. There is an inn at the foot of Calle Romero Barros that claims it was there when Cervantes visited. There's another inn that absolutely was there 400+ years ago. It no longer takes visitors -- it's now the flamenco museum -- but its courtyard has been maintained so visitors can see what Cervantes saw when he stayed there. At the opposite end of the street you can see less ancient buildings that are currently lived in. The Maestre has no cooking facilities in guest rooms, but it's conveniently close to several restaurants. There's even a Carrefours Express at the end of the block if you want to pick up food to go. The longest hike we took was to Victoria Market on a street that marks the edge of the old town. It was long because we kept getting distracted by all the interesting buildings and the flowers spilling over balconies everywhere people live. We arrived the last week in April and had to le
