Cordoba

On Saturday afternoon, I took a bus from Granada to Cordoba, with the objective of seeing the grand Mezquita. Upon my arrival, I was struck by two things: first, Cordoba is very compact, and second, everything in Cordoba seems to be under construction. It's like Spain is trying to create jobs or something. I didn't do much sight seeing, as it was already dark, but I did get some dinner and headed to bed early so I could get up at the crack of dawn.

In the morning, I was greeted with rain. And not just rain. A driving, Noah's ark, Tapico-style inundation.

Now, the rain wasn't all bad. Some positives:
1. I got to see some gargoyles doing their job.
2. Free food! Cordoba is absolutely filled with orange trees, and the rain was heavy enough to knock off some of the ripe ones, which I pocketed and ate with lunch. Yum.
3. My shoes got a bath.

Determined to still see the city, I went ahead and slogged over to the Alcazar of the Christian Kings, which turned out to be pretty cool. They had a large collection of Roman mosaics, as well as more Arabic baths and a small dungeon.

After that visit, I went to the Mezquita-Catedral to hear Mass, which put everything in perspective. It was the first Sunday of Advent, so the cathedral was decked out in purple, and just splendid. I could finally understand everything the priest was saying, and he gave a nice sermon about how we should let the weather remind us to stay awake and always be watching out for the ways God touches our lives. He also told us not to be concerned with the little petty problems of this world, like the rain, since they don't matter in the scheme of things. And he was right - who cares about the rain when I'm SO LUCKY to get to be here at all?

The old Mezquita part of the cathedral is amazing as well. I knew there were arches, but I didn't realize there would be so many; it is a veritable forest in there! I can't wait to get the pictures unstuck from my camera's internal memory so I can show you.

After Mass, the rain had mostly subsided, so I made a quick jaunt to some of the city's historical attractions: a Roman temple and bridge and some really old water mills, which were pretty neat. I didn't have a whole lot of time, though, before I had to get on the bus for the long ride home.

Good weekend.

Toledo

Today our Spanish Civilization class took a trip to Toledo, home of mazapan (marzipan) and Spanish steel. When we arrived, we first took in a beautiful view of the city from across the Tajo river. We crossed a Roman bridge into the city, where we began our exciting learning adventure.

Now, I really do like history, and I really do like Carlos. But our trip was an awful lot of both. We visited el Monasterio de San Juan de los Reyes, which was quite beautiful, and learned about the different crests of Spain (pre-Reyes Catolicos, post-Reyes Catolicos). Next we headed over to a converted synagogue. This was actually interesting because the Catholics did a really abysmal job of redecorating when they moved in. You can see a clear division between the original synagogue and the new Catholic altar.

From there, we visited the door of la Posada de la Hermandad. Let me show you how enthralling it was to sit and listen to Carlos talk outside the door of la Posada de la Hermandad.



At least Antonio looks happy.

We then had some free time, which my friends and I used to go see the Alcazar. It was pretty sweet, and on the way we went shopping to find mazapan (marzipan) and swords! I didn't try the marzipan, but I did have an interesting discussion about knives with the owner of one of the sword shops.

Weirdest happening of the day: after free time, Antonio was excited about a "treat" he bought for us. It turned out to be Eucharist bread. I did not eat any. I just don't think that it belongs out of church, and it's not exactly a tasty snack. However, it did seem to represent rather well the way the Spaniards feel about religion. Hardly anybody really practices anymore, but it's a strong part of the country's collective memory.

La Ruta de los Castillos

Yesterday, our Civilizacion y Cultura class went to see two Spanish castles. We left at 9:00 am on a bus and set off for Manzanares el Real, a tiny town in the mountains with a large medieval castle. The countryside reminded me of Scotland; it even had heather on the hills!


As we pulled up to the castle, a huge arco iris (rainbow) appeared in the sky and didn't go away until after we left over an hour later. It was magical!

After spending a little time wandering around the outside of the castle, we went inside, where we saw old tapestries, suits of armor, and a giant "king sized" bed. However, it was never a royal castle; only lesser nobility lived there. After a tour of the inside, we climbed up to the roof, where we had a great close-up view of the towers. It was also cool to see the slits used to shoot arrows and the holes that allowed boiling oil to be poured on intruders.

Bidding the rainbow goodbye, we climbed back on the bus and set off for Segovia. When we arrived, we saw the giant Roman Aqueduct, which was built 2000 years ago. The aqueduct was absolutely mind-blowing. This structure is immense, and it is held together entirely by the force of gravity - not an ounce of mortar was used. The stones were leveled and balanced perfectly in an amazing feat of engineering.

After the aqueduct, we split up for lunch. Mark and I went into a pastry shop to grab something to eat, but when we came out everyone else had left. That turned out to be okay, though, as we had a good time wandering around the small city's narrow streets, pretty parks, and old churches. We also saw the Cathedral, which is a bit busy but still very beautiful.

When we met up with everyone in the Plaza Mayor, it was time to head over to the Alcazar (fortified palace). This palace dates from the Reconquista and was home to Ferdinand and Isabel, los Reyes Catolicos. It also served as inspiration for the castle in Disney's Sleeping Beauty! It was cool to wander around the inside and see the thrones, weapons, armor, and tapestries from the Middle Ages. In the Sala de los Reyes, there were about 50 statues of all the Catholic Kings during the Reconquista up to Juana la Loca, the mother of Carlos V.

However, the best treat was still to come. We climbed the 156 winding steps to the top of the main tower for a fantastic view of Segovia and the surrounding countryside. Up there, we noticed graffiti from 1936, the year of the Spanish Civil War. I kept moving from one side to the other, as all the views were equally beautiful. No one really wanted to go down, but eventually we had to get back on the bus to Alcala. All in all, it was another great trip.