Cordóba

I arrived in Cordóba at about 9 am. The train left Granda about 6:50 and I was pretty tired from the night before. I dozed some on the train, but I can´t really sleep on trains because I fear either getting my purse stolen or missing my stop and ending up somewhere really random.

The latter almost happened. I was trying really hard not to sleep but I managed to nod off about 45 minutes away from Cordóba and literally opened my eyes as the conductor announced the stop for Cordóba. I was still in that half awake stage as I rushed to grab my bag and managed not to fall off the train, which was a very good thing, considering it was like a meter up from the platform.

Cordóba is a small city, more like a large town, situated between Granada and Seville. It´s a very pretty town with windy little roads and it´s well known for the hidden terraces and gardens that live amongst the houses. The houses or flats are traditionally Arab and all face a central courtyard that houses a garden and usually a fountain of some sort. During the month of May the city holds a contest to see which courtyard can outshine the others. It´s taken very seriously here and I was looking forward to touring the courtyards.

I manage to find my tiny(but clean) hostel located on the street that runs by the river. Ok I didn´t really find the hostel, but my very nice taxi driver did. I checked in around 930 and was told that my room wasn´t ready. There isn´t a whole lot of things to see in Cordóba, but probably the main sight is the Mezquita, or the old Muslim mosque that the Christians converted into a cathedral. It happened to be about a 15 minute walk from the hostel so I decided to grab some breakfast along the way. The weather was slightly cold and overcast so I threw my pashmina scarf on and set off for the Mezquita.

As I´m walking along the river I stop at this small café that is ran by a husband and wife team. They have been running this café for the past 30 years and as I have my croissant and café con leche I´m amused by their interactions with each other. I talk to the man for a little bit and we chit chat about life in Cordóba. I finish my coffee and notice they have freshly squeezed orange jouice(my absolute favorite) so I treat myself to the juice....it´s the little things that make me happy. I continue onwards towards the Mezquita and quickly find it. It´s the old, half ruined building surrounded by tourists. Not hard to miss.

I take a quick tour around the courtyard outside and take some shots of the tower. The outside of the Mezquita isn´t really that impressive so I get my ticket and head inside. Now, I had seen pictures of the inside, but I was completely and utterly blown away as soon I stepped inside. The Mezquita is the old Muslim mosque when the Moors controlled Andalusia(here´s the mini history lesson of the day) and when the Christians took control of the region in the mid 1400´s they decided to build the cathedral on top of the mosque. So essentially the outer area of the mosque is the old Muslim part and the very middle is the Cathedral part. Apparently, before the Moors were kicked out of Spain completely both Muslim and Christians shared the mosque/church by using a partition between the sections. Inside the old part is slowly being restored and it´s absolutely amazing. But as you are walking around and admiring the different color arches and large doors, you see the chapels of Saints all along the wall, so it´s a bit of a contrast. And as you are rounding towards the middle of the building all of a sudden you come upon this HUGE altar. The Catholics certainly wanted to make a statement. Overally the place is spectacular, but the church weaved it´s way into the mosque and architectully it´s not very aesthetic. I spent a good amount of time inside the Mezquita. Mass was starting so I stayed for mass and it was nice to get to experience mass in such a historic place.

Afterwards I head to the Alcazab which is the old palace and tour the crumbled down palace and gardens. I, honestly, wasn´t too impressed with the place. But I had just seen the palaces in Seville and Granada, so maybe I was expecting too much. I didn´t spend much time inside, but did spend a considerable time out in the gardens. It was early morning back home so I spent some time making a few calls back home to family.

Afterwards I decided to go to the Archeological Museum as I had heard it was one of the best in the country. As usual I get lost trying to find the thing but accidently stumble upon it. Literally, I tripped on an ancient rock and as I was getting up the museum was in front of me. One of the best things about the museum is that it´s FREE...hardly anything here is free so this made me very happy. Photography was not allowed inside so I was made to leave my bag at the front, boo. I grab my museum guide and take off, not really knowing what to expect. I´m quickly surprised at the amount of detail and artifacts the museum houses. The English pamphlet I have is nice, but the wall descriptions are all in Spanish so I spend a considerable amount reading those. I definately learned alot about the history of Spain. I spent the better part of two hours inside the museum. It was incredible, the only downside is that all the wonderful detail is in Spanish, so the English speaking people miss most of the wonderfulness of the museum.

I´m pretty tired at this point as it´s mid afternoon and it´s already been a long day. I grab a snack and decide to go out for dinner later. I head back to the hostel and get to my almost empty room and take a nap. I´m sharing a room with three other women and by the time I wake up it´s dinner time. Me and another girl from Canada decide to head out for dinner. We end up at this restaurant on the plaza and end up eating a very nice meal. I had fabulous paella and wine. The paella here is a bit different from the paella my mom makes. She makes the paella Valenciana which has seafood and chicken with vegetables. In the south of Spain you find Paella Andalusia which is filled with all types of seafood. It´s also delicious. Especially paired with a great bottle of wine. :)