Hello Everyone,
Our flight to Spain was mostly uneventful. We had seats in the front row, right near the big exit door (the one containing the floating slide folded up in it), with infinite leg room. The leg room is great until people start to line up for the restroom. Then it’s “watch out for your toes.” Also, for some reason, it is colder and noisier near that big door, than elsewhere in the cabin. We were freezing most of the flight. Note to self “never get these seats again.” They were the only pair of seats left when we booked our tickets, so we had no choice. Good for a shorter flight, maybe, but not overnight. We did enjoy the “Hindu” meal we special ordered. Dinner was ginger noodles with tofu and veggies, compared to pasta or chicken in the cabin. For breakfast we got a hot veggie sandwich on a whole wheat roll, while everyone else got a cold bagel and cream cheese. You might want to try ordering something special on your next overseas flight. Food on Delta flights has gotten really bad of late, while they are charging a premium for the fares. I guess that’s partly why the airlines are making record profits these days.
Spain has a fabulous transportation system. We left the airport on a commuter train and transferred to the high speed AVE train to Cordoba. It travels at up to 175 MPH. I actually clocked it at 171.5 MPH with my iPhone GPS. In Spain they let elders, like us, into most of their museums for free. We weren’t sure why at first, but when we went to buy tickets, they just gave them to us and said “free entry.” Who were we to argue? We quickly discovered our favorite new food and drink here. The food is called “Berenjenas Fretas con Mortoro.” It’s long fingers of eggplant, breaded and fried in olive oil, then sprinkled with dark honey and toasted sesame seeds. It looks like French Fires, but tastes way better. We’re already talking about making it at home as soon as we get back. Our favorite drink is a Spanish version of Horchada, made with Tiger nuts instead of rice like they use in Mexico. The tiger nuts are supposed to be good for whatever ails ya’.
May is festival time in Cordoba. We didn’t realize why we were having difficulty pre-booking hotels until we got here. The residents say instead of celebrating in May, they just barely survive. This week is “Fiestos de los Patios”, where around 50 houses compete to see who can decorate their courtyard patios the best. The courtyards are mostly tiny, but the flowers they cram in there are amazing! The tradition is to have dozens of blue pots mounted to the walls, very high up, growing all kinds of flowering plants. But they don’t stop there. There are all kinds of other flowering trees and plants and decorations as well. They were a bit difficult to photograph because they were so small, but I managed to include a few samples in the photo gallery.
On our first day here we took a three hour walking tour. Between that and traipsing around to all the patios, we managed to book almost 10 miles on our fitness trackers that first day. My new travel shoes are taking a beating, but we’re taking advantage of the excellent weather here. The locals told us that there is a “Cordoba process” for visiting the patios: you start by visiting some patios and then stop for some drinks, then visit some more patios and stop for more drinks, etc. Pretty soon you can’t remember what you were doing so you just stay at the bar for the rest of the day.
Cervantes, the author of Man of La Mancha, lived here as a boy. Don Quixote’s images are all over the city. However, the most popular man of this city is, by far, Saint Raphael. His statues are everywhere. He is credited with having stopped the Black Death from entering Cordoba, thereby saving the residents from certain death. The most popular name for new born babies here is either Raphael or Raphaela.
The most significant building here is the Cathedral-Mosque, Mezquita de Cordoba. The Mosque part is one of the most significant accomplishments of Moorish architecture. Built in the late 8th century, it covers the area of three football fields, has no dome (typical of other large Mosques), and its ceiling is held up by almost 700 marble pillars. There are beautiful artworks all around inside. Hundreds of years later the Christians recaptured the city from the Muslims and had to make this Mosque their own. So, they built a huge Cathedral right in the middle of the Mosque and built a Bell Tower around and over the Minaret. It’s quite a sight to behold. I posted a few pix in the photo gallery if you would care to take a look.
Carol has also been loading up Facebook with pix and comments if you haven’t yet seen her page.
Next stop is Saville. More from there next time.
Later…… your favorite travelers, Tom and Carol
Cordoba Photos
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