I am experiencing an odd phenomenon. Anywhere from 2-6 times a day I am seeing someone on the street who looks just like someone I know back home.
And it runs the gamut from good friends to vaguely remembered acquaintances.
It’s very disconcerting. I’m not sure if there really is a resemblance or if it’s a result of being away from familiar faces for so long.
Today we day-tripped to Córdoba to see the Mezquita which was, at one time, the second-largest mosque in the world. Construction of the mosque started in 784 A.D. and was reconsecrated a Christian church in 1236.
It’s a magnificent sight to see and well worth the 45 minutes it takes to ride the AVE train from Seville.
After wandering around outside for a bit we purchased our tickets for admission and went inside. You should see this place with the marble floors and the amazing arches…
It’s amazing that the Christian’s preserved so much of the original mosque. Of course they had to change it up a bit and put a Christian altar smack dab in the middle of it along with various other ornamentation, but they kept the original Mihrab which once contained an original copy of the Koran and relics of the prophet Mohammad (an arm bone)
It was indeed a wonderful place to visit. Sadly, there’s not much else to see in Córdoba. It’s kind of a one-trick-pony kind of town, but if you’re in the neighborhood (Seville) there’s really no excuse for not making the effort to get over there and see the Mezquita.
When I say there’s not much else to see in Córdoba, that’s mostly correct. However, if you are fascinated by ongoing traditions and want a little more sense of history I recommend seeking out the statue of Moses Maimonides, the medieval Jewish philosopher sometimes called the “Jewish St. Thomas Aquinas“.
This statue sits next to the synagogue that was built in Córdoba in 1350.
They say that if you visit the statue and rub Moses Maimonides’ foot it will bring you good luck.
The foot of the statue is very shiny compared to the rest which is quite tarnished from age so it’s getting rubbed alot.
William The Sheep was not ashamed to rub the foot for luck!
There’s this tree in Seville we pass each day as we stroll through the park.
I have come to call it the Giger Tree or the Cthulhu Tree
It appears at times to be the face of Cthulhu and, at other times, I see a person or two being sucked up into it…
Today is the extra day we picked up in Seville due to cancelling the Granada leg of the tour. This meant we had to check out of the one hotel and into the backup hotel for one day.
We’re going to miss the La Musica Hotel with it’s classical music theme. Violins and cellos adorn the walls as does old sheet music and paintings of musicians. There’s even a soundproof room with a piano in it if you are so inclined.
The bed was the most comfortable we have experienced in all of our travel. The towels were big and fluffy and the staff was friendly and attentive.
The best feature was the rooftop terrace where we enjoyed our continental breakfast each morning, overlooking the rooftops of this amazing little city.
The woman who processed our checkout of La Musica was very nice and complimented Cynthia on her Spanish several times. They chatted for awhile and before we left she presented Cynthia with a little souvenir, a small hand fan for which Seville is famous for. It’s hand painted and has the name of the hotel on it and it’s very nice.
Fortunately the backup hotel is only a block away so we got checked in in short order. Having re-arranged our schedule we had no solid plans for the day so we just strolled around the city. It’s a little warmer today. It got up in the mid 80’s and the sun just blazes in the clear blue sky.
We found our way to The Plaza de España and took some pictures…
Tomorrow it’s a 3 1/2 hour train ride to Granada. This is the part of the vacation where we wind down for a few days and take it easy before jumping into the hustle and bustle of Barcelona.
We caught the train from Seville to Granada yesterday. About 4 hours all told to get here. It was a wonderful ride, but not on the AVE high speed so we made a few stops on the way.
Granada is a much higher altitude so the temperature is a bit cooler. Around 75 in the day and down in the upper 40´s at night.
When we got to the train station in Granada and hailed a taxi we told the driver where we were going and he just looked at us with a blank expression on his face. We knew the hotel was small and out of the way, but were hopeful the address would be all we needed.
Fortunately the hotel told us where a nearby, well known restaurant was located so we told the cab driver about that and he knew where to go.
We drove to the restaurant which was closed and he figured out where the hotel was and he and opinted down a steep hill and said it was a two minute walk…
We looked at each other and with full packs started to walk down the hill. We got half way down, got uncertain and walked back up. The taxi was gone and we asked another person passing by and he had heard of the hotel and sent us back down. We felt more confident this time and in a matter of minutes we found it.
I rang the bell as there was a locked gate to the courtyard. We were buzzed in and a young woman who spoke pretty good English greeted us and we went inside.
This hotel is called The Carmen de la Alcubilla del Caracol and is a house converted into a VERY nice 7 room hotel. All the rooms have names and ours is called The Tower. We got checked in and shown to our room and oh my god it´s the nicest room of the whole trip.
Here´s a panorama of the view from our terrace
Those are the Sierra Nevada Mountains you see in the background.
We got settled in and walked down to the city center. That´s something you only want to do once. It´s steep and unpleasant. The trip back up is even worse. Thank god we got our stamina built up in Madrid and Seville. We quickly discovered the little bus system that runs around town and we use that a lot now.
The roads are quite narrow
Everything centers on the Alhambra
We tried to get tickets but they were sold out. We came back to the hotel after deciding to try again the next day.
There´s several holidays being celebrated this weekend. Spanish National Day as well as some smaller festival. We were awakened at midnight by a fireworks display practically outside our window.
The music we here coming up from the town is a mix of Spanish and Morroccan. Very strong Moorish influence here.
Sadly, no Wi Fi (wee fee) and I am using the landlords computer with a Spanish keyboard and Spanish spell checker so please forgive the typos.
More on the visit to the Alhambra as time permits. For now, I´m off to bed.
Of course the main reason to visit Granada is The Alhambra. It would seem this is one of the most visited historic sights on the planet. To get in, you have to purchase a ticket and these tickets sell out fast.
Since we had not been able to get tickets online or the day we arrived we figured we should get up early and get in line. As luck would have it, my alarm clock failed to go off and we woke up around 9:00 am rather than 6:30 as we had intended.
We went ahead and had breakfast in the hotel. The owner, who’s name is Manuel, was taking care of the the breakfast orders and is an extremely nice guy. He introduced us to something called Spanish Toast. A piece of toasted bread with a light spread of freshly ground tomato which you then sprinkled with a tiny bit of salt then finished off with just the faintest amount of olive oil. VERY TASTY!
Manuel was speaking with us (mostly Cynthia) about the Alhambra and suggested we go over to the ticket line and then look for an area that sold tickets via a machine that took credit cards.
We hiked up the hill and located the ticket area he was speaking of in a matter of minutes and in no time flat we had our tickets to The Alhambra.
When you purchase your ticket you are scheduled a 30 minute window to enter the palace which is the main attraction of the Alhambra. Once you are in, you can take as much time as you like wandering the various rooms.
Our window was from 6:30 pm to 7:00 pm. For palace visits after 2:00 pm you can go ahead and enter the compound and visit the other sights like the Generalife Gardens and The Alcazaba.
We took advantage of the the 4 hours and waled all around taking pictures and climbing the many many stpes to the top of the Alcazaba.
It’s a facinating place. The fort (Alcazaba) is from the mid-13th century and represents the last stronghold of the Moorish king Boabdil.
Aquaducts were the order of the day and this place still has water running through it in the form of small little water troughs that line the paths and feed the fountains. If your quiet and listen you can hear water trickling, gurgling and flowing all throughout the Alhambra.
We climbed and climbed and climbed….
The picture at the top of this post was taken from down there
At the top of the tower the view is amazing…
Next, The Palace!
