Hotter than the sun in the south in Spain: Numero Tres

Ok this is the final installment in my Southern Adventures series. I hope you have enjoyed the ride as much as I have and that it is not too pathetic that I probably got back from the south about three weeks ago (we’ll blame the one midterm I just finished today). So now you get to hear all about Cordoba and the wonders in that particular place.

But before we delve into Cordoba we must first talk about Italica, a city of Roman ruins that we went to on our way from Sevilla. After the Battle of Ilipa Publius Cornelius Scipio Aficanus founded Italica in 206 B.C. Trajan and Hadrian were both born here (famous Roman emperors). When we were exploring first off it was raining and muddy but still cool, and also there was this archeologist lady that was following us around wherever we went I guess afraid that we would do something dumb or detrimental to the site. Yes because eleven giggling girls with umbrellas can be quite dangerous. Anyway the first, and probably the coolest, thing we saw was this massive amphitheater that is apparently the second largest coliseum in the world, behind the one in Rome. It was really awesome because due to decay you could even see down to where they kept the animals that they would fight (not that we could actually go down there because that would just bring too much joy to my soul and we can’t have that). It was still really amazing to wander around that place, but kind of disturbing to think about the types of things that they took pleasure in watching there. The rest of our visit to the city mainly consisted of the ruins of Roman houses that had these remarkable really well-preserved mosaic tile floors and random statues of naked people, very Roman.










So after our brief foray into the Roman world we were back on our way to our final destination. Once we got the Cordoba we heard some really just fantastic news: the bus is not allowed in the old part of the city (where our hotel was) and thus with our luggage we would be walking. It actually turned out to be pretty funny because man did we look like a motley crew! Picture 17 people all with suitcases trudging across a bridge and throughout a city in the pouring rain in the early evening, feet covered in mud, half-awake from sleeping on the bus and basically soaked. Anywho when we finally made it to our hotel we got all settled in and before we took off again we had enough time to watch a Spanish gameshow called Password, kind of like our $10,000 Pyramid. My favorite part was when the word was “Chino” and after the one clue “Arroz” (rice) they got it, classic.


So our first adventure for the day was to this synagogue. It is one of Spain’s three remaining pre-Inquisition synagogues, built in 1315 in the Jewish quarter of the city. There was this great stucco work and Hebrew inscriptions on the walls of Old Testament scriptures. It was really interesting because I’m so used to these huge religious buildings here, but this one was actually just one main room and patio that we could see and then one room upstairs. I didn’t realize they actually built them that small back then! Thus our time spent there was not too long so we had ourselves a bit of free time.










One of the girls in our group had read about this house that also functions as a museum for different works of art so we set off to find that place. Sadly after twisting and winding our way there (I think we have a few in our group finally getting a hang of this whole map dealio) the museum was closed. But it was still cool to see different parts of the city and randomly stop in to little shops along the way, especially since the city was basically deserted due to the rain and the fact that it was siesta time.






By that time we needed to meet up with Landes and family for dinner so we headed back. It was the birthday of one of the girls in our group so we had to celebrate that with a delicious Spanish meal and then pastries after. Sadly by the time we got done with dinner it was close to ten and many shops were closed, including ones for delicious sweets (even the one this nice young guy with long flowing locks and about 3 inches shorter than me took us to). So we returned to the hotel defeated, and sin pastries.


The next day was our last in Andalucia so we had to make the most of it. We started our day at this little mercadilla (outdoor market basically and very similar to Pike’s Place). When we got there it was still kind of early so not too many booths were open (always our luck) but we did get to see this awesome fish market with all sorts of interesting creatures (Pike’s minus the throwing). We were all fascinated by the live clams that were still moving around and sticking out some weird body part from their shells. Funny part was that in the back of the fish market there was this little pastry booth that had the most delicious, and cheap, sweets. How could I pass up such delicious creations? Answer: I couldn’t. So I finally got me some postres! We didn’t stay too long here because we had bigger and better things to see and do.


Our next stop was the Mezquita-Catedral de Cordoba. This building is from the 8th century and was the crowning Muslim architectural achievement in the West. The most famous part of it is probably the red and white arches (made from brick and stone in the front and just painted on in the later addition to the back). What is unique and cool about this place is that it represents 4 different time periods of architecture. Also if you were wondering why it has two names (mosque and cathedral) it is because it has a cathedral built right in the middle of the building. This cathedral was built in the 16th century by Catholics that tore out the middle part of the mosque and built their church inside-good thing they didn’t tear down the whole thing. So from what I’ve mentioned in past posts and such I bet you can guess what my favorite part was. I loved the look of the Moorish architecture here and the red and white arches seemed endless and had a really powerful effect. And then you go to the middle and see this amazingly detailed cathedral area, with these grand carved pillars of white and gold and a full choir area with dark wood carvings. It was really pretty and not overdone like the others we’ve seen, but totally out of place. It was quite confusing to me why the Catholics would even want to do this and keep the mosque in the first place, but still quite intriguing. Wandering through there was quite an adventure because even though it is off-season there were a ton of people and tour groups (and field trips) there. They did also have a Patio de Naranjas that was so pretty with all the trees and fountain. There were orange trees everywhere and I guess in the spring you will never forget the smell of that place and how fantastic it is (maybe I’ll come back then and see how true that is).




















So after seeing this great building we decided it was time to head to the Alcazar de los Reyes Cristianos. This was commissioned in 1328 by Alfonso XI. Ferdinand and Isabella governed Castile from this fortress on the river as they prepared to conquer Granada and this was also the place where Columbus talked with Isabella about his plans for sailing. It basically looks like a simple castle from the outside but the inside was more detailed and pretty, as always. I greatly enjoyed exploring there. We walked up two of the towers; to get to the top of one was impossible because they like to ruin all my fun with locks. The other one you could go pretty far up and get a good view of the gardens, but I wanted to go all the way up. Good thing they just used a low gate and chains in this case. I think I have a strange liking for doing illegal things here-they’re just so exciting and easy. It’s not like the view was much better at the top, but the feeling was much cooler being up there. Anyway then we snuck back down and started exploring the downstairs.




















Here they had these old Arab baths. It was kind of creepy down there; they were in these dark tunnel/cave things with only the help of small light bulbs to light the way. They weren’t too exciting, just a little dusty, but it was fun exploring down there. So then we made our way outside to the gardens. I love that a lot of the gardens here have amazing water things everywhere and that everything is very symmetrical and well-tended. Everything is a little less natural, but still incredibly gorgeous. We walked around the gardens for a bit and then got hungry so we set off for our free time, which basically just included finding places to eat food and get ice cream. Then sadly, it was time for us to head back to the hotel and gather our things and make the trek back to the bus to head home.










I slept most of the way back because I was not feeling well that day and we got back in to Alcala at about 8:30. Let me tell you it was absolutely fantastic to come home and eat Blanca food! Oh how I missed that lady and her crazy comments and delicious food always waiting for us. Blanca I cannot tell you how much I adore your ham and peas! And that was my week spent in the south of Spain. Can I just say I’m glad we went when we did because officially the south is under about 3 feet of water in a lot of places right now and the rains keep on a-pouring. I hope the damage to the people’s houses and buildings there is minimal.


Well folks I hope you’ve enjoyed the ride as much as I have and that these long posts have not deterred you too much from continuing reading this blog. Soon you will get to hear about my time spent in blizzard country: Segovia. Stay tuned.