When Victoria Hollingsworth started her dream job as a presenter on Channel 4’s A Place in the Sun she had no idea that one of her first assignments would lead to broken bones, new friendships, and a love affair with Cordoba.

My relationship with Cordoba began three years ago, when I was filming there for an episode of A Place in the Sun for Channel 4. I had only recently landed the job as presenter and I knew it was going to change my life, but I couldn’t possibly of imagined to what extent.

No sooner had we arrived in Cordoba when I was involved in a very serious car accident. I was cut out of the wreckage and airlifted to Cordoba’s Reina Sophia Hospital where an x-ray showed that I had shattered my spine in three places, punctured my lung and broken five ribs. The prognosis wasn’t good, and the doctors informed my distraught parents that there was a good chance I would never walk again. However, after a successful nine-hour operation titanium rods replaced my broken vertebrae and I began the long road to recovery.

I stayed in that hospital in Cordoba for two months but never saw anything beyond the view from my window on to the car park. Inspired by tales from my family’s trips to explore the city, and their descriptions of the Mesquita and all the white washed houses with blood red geraniums framing the windows, I began to form a picture in my head of this magical, curious city and vowed to return one day to discover it for myself.

Three years later, back on my feet and having returned to filming, it was time to go back. I was nervous and excited as I drove in to the city. Even seeing road signs for Cordoba was making me feel jumpy. I had booked in to a charming sounding hostales or B&B in the Juderia (Jewish Quarter) which took me forever to find as it’s virtually impossible to navigate Cordoba’s labyrinthine back streets by car.

Emerging from the cool shaded warren of the Juderia to be faced with the bright hot Andualcian sun and the majesty of the Mesquita was utterly breathtaking. The Mesquita is Corboba’s shining glory and the first port of call for the majority of tourists. It was well worth dragging myself out of bed so early as I was practically the first one through the doors. There was nothing to disturb the chirping of fellow early birds, the murmur of fountains in the courtyard and the intoxicating heavy aroma of orange blossom.

The Mesquita has a complicated past – originally built as a mosque in 786 on the site of a former cathedral, various rulers left their mark over the centuries with successive expansions and additions to its Moorish architecture. The most surprising addition however is the renaissance cathedral rising out of the heart of the building. Simple Islamic arches sit alongside ornate golden images of saints and the Virgin Mary, complimenting yet contradicting each other and reminding us of the centuries of bloody battles fought between the two faiths. This sublime building far exceeded the images conjured up from my hospital bed.

While the food in hospital was better than you get in the UK I was hopeful for better from the restaurants, and mercifully I was right. Cordoba is a foody’s haven! Having resisted the trend towards contemporary tapas the food here is cheap, traditional and unique to Andalucia. And it is all so romantic! I felt spoilt for choice discovering an endless string of hidden courtyards and patios. I gorged myself on salmorejo (thick and creamy Gazpacho) washed down with (often complimentary) glasses of Montilla – a local sherry that easily rivals those produced in nearby Jerez.

Analucia, being the frying pan of Spain, can get unbearably hot in the mid afternoon sun, although a respite from this hot, dry heat can be found in the form of a soak in the Arabian baths. The smell of exotic oils burning in this historic hamman transports you to a bygone age. Spending an hour immersing myself in a series of tepid, hot and then freezing cold baths, is more exhausting than it might sound! Yet by the time I emerged to enjoy a much needed mint tea I felt remarkably revitalised.

There are plenty of historical sites and places of interest to visit, like the fascinating ruins of The Lost City, Medina Azahara, or for something slightly more contemporary the Museum celebrating the works of one of Andalucia’s most important painters, Julio Romero Torres. But I found that the best way to capture the true spirit of Cordoba was simply to wander and become immersed in this ancient city, which thankfully bears few scars from modern tourism.

Every cobbled street corner I turned revealed something more stunning than the last. There is so much beauty to discover that a guidebook or map seems superfluous. The shops also seem to be frozen in time: I spent hours perusing a family run leather goods shop called Meryan. Here you can watch the skilled craftsman work using techniques and tools that have barely evolved since they were first introduced by the Arabs in the 13th century.

Apart from wanting to replace my previous hospital-bound memories of Cordoba, there was another reason why I wanted to return - to track down Maria, my translator from hospital. She had held my hand through the most traumatic and gory times of my recovery but we had not seen each other since then. Meeting up again was exceedingly emotional for both of us. I was no longer the thin, pale, gown-wearing patient she had nursed. It was a reminder of how far I had come since we had last met three years ago.
We had a lot to celebrate and a lot of catching up to do. She had arranged for us to eat at Bodegos Campos, one of the best restaurants in town and a favourite with ‘Toni’ Blair as is pointed out with a photo in the reception. If ever you fancied sampling some of the more ‘unusual’ time honoured Spanish delicacies then this is the place to do it: between us we ate pig’s trotter (melt in your mouth), oxtail (exquisite) and tongue (sublime). Be warned though, being the best restaurant in Cordoba means it isn’t the cheapest but for a special occasion like ours it was well worth it.
It meant so much to me to be able to thank Maria in person for her kindness. Even though I hadn’t seen her in so long, our time together in hospital had created a tight bond between us and I have no doubt that we will always be firm friends.

Before this trip Cordoba represented a very difficult time in my life. Returning was incredibly cathartic, previous memories have now been replaced by blissfully happy ones and I can’t wait to go back.