My 145 Day Journey: Cordoba

Last weekend, (or should I say 2 weekends ago now), I had the pleasure of going to Cordoba, Spain with my program. At first I wasn't positive if I wanted to go because I was sick, had 5 upcoming exams, and I had already seen the big sights in Cordoba! However, I'm only going to live in Spain once, and there isn't a better way to spend your time than with friends in an interesting place! (My parents would argue that in this case, the best place would be for me to be studying, but oh well!)

So, the students from my program that signed up for the trip to Cordoba met in front of the main University building, as we always do, and hopped on a couple of coach buses for our 2 hour ride to Cordoba. Since the weather was overcast, and had off and on rain, I got to see the Spanish country side in a different light. Let me just tell you, it is still breathtaking!

We arrived at Cordoba around 11am and immediately crossed the river into the historic center of the town to tour the Mezquita. Again, I had seen this site, but this time I was back older, and more prepared to learn more about it and appreciate it better. The Mezquita was originally a mosque for the arabs that lived in Cordoba and the surrounding areas in the 8th century. Eventually, in the 13th century, the christians came (like they have done to many), and decided that the building was too beautiful to tear down, so they stuck a cathedral right in the middle of it. I find the history very interesting, and both sad and funny. The process of conquering the area by the christians is very sad, but the idea to just stick a cathedral in the middle of a mosque I think is a bit humorous. But together, this makes for a beautiful, majestic, and culturally diverse site to see.

After the Mezquita, we toured (in our respective tour groups) the Synagogue of Cordoba and the Jewish Quarter, as well as the Alcázar de los Reyes Cristianos, which housed the kings and the seat of the Inquisition. One thing is for sure, there were many sites to see in Cordoba! Once we had finished with our tours, we were left to our own devices for a few hours, which included eating lunch, avoiding the gypsies and their rosemary, and strolling the streets with friends.

Walking around the town of Cordoba reminded me of when I came with my family, and I kept having flashes of Deja Vu. I remembered sitting with my brothers in one part of the Mezquita, waiting for my Dad to get his fill of history, then I remembered John ordering "Bacon Pizza" at a family lunch. It brought back really great memories. But this time around, I got to make my own memories with my own friends!

Around 4pm we all headed back to the buses for our ride back. The day seemed to fly by, and in no time, we were back home in Sevilla. At this point it was time to turn my full attention to studying for the upcoming midterms. Mother nature must have known that I needed to study too, so she rained all weekend long, to not tempt me from going elsewhere and procrastinate! So thanks, Mother Nature!

It seems that the weekend of rain helped Andalusia be "all rained out", at least for this past week, because the weather has been perfection. I hope it was the same for you all at home!