Of course I fell asleep a bit on the way to Córdoba and along the way we passed olive grove after olive grove. I missed some of the information on all of it because I was in and out of sleep but we made a pit stop at one of them that used to have a train station that is now a store. It had all kinds of olive oil products, almonds, and figs and other goodies and was cool to check out. I snuck off and walked on the grove and looked at the olives on the trees. I wish I liked olives, but i don't. They are gross. Period. I do however like olive oil and Kiehls Olive oil shampoo and conditioner. Totally related, I know. From there, our next stop was La Mezquita, the former mosque, now cathedral in Córdoba. This place, built in 1236, was enormous. Like so big! Inside were columns and columns (and columns) with marble and stone and the arches were amazing too. It was so big! Oh wait, did I say that already. Cause it was big!! This cathedral still has services everyday and is now owned by the Catholic Archdiocese. The pulpit (I think that's what it called) was also amazing. So much detail. So many colors and gold. Truly an incredible work of art.
After the guided tour, I had an hour and half to myself. The guide gave directions to the Jewish synagogue in the Jewish quarter. Although there are zero Jews in Córdoba today, the synagogue, which is in poor shape, still stands. It is super small and not in great condition, but definitely something I wanted to see. At this point I was getting hungry so grabbed some lunch and did some shopping. For lunch I had some tapas of a traditionally Spanish omelette and garlic potato salad. It was pretty good, not great, but okay. I walked around a bit more then headed back to the bus so we could make our way to the hotel Seville which we will be staying two nights. That meant laundry time for me today and a run tomorrow morning too! Wahoo.
Once I got settled in my room, I looked in my guidebook, grabbed a map from the front desk and had three hours to wander the city myself until dinner. I was psyched to have so much time. The two major tourist sites of the city I have tours in tomorrow so I held off them but I wanted to see what else Seville had to offer. When I sat down with the map, I had zero idea how to really read it. Not surprised. So I just asked how to get to the center of town, put the map away, and hoped for the best. I basically took a straight shot with very few turns so I wouldn't get lost. Once I got to the center of town, about a 25-minute walk (I put on my headphones and just took off) I saw some fantastic architecture. The buildings were beautiful and it seemed everywhere I looked there were so many pretty things to see. I had to make a few turns in town and just tried to remember landmarks and stores so I could make my way back without getting lost. I knew I wanted to see the Cathedral and of course I saw like three churches that could have been it but when I hit the real deal, I knew it right away. It was enormous and it was gorgeous. I feel like I keep overusing the words incredible, stunning, beautiful, amazing, gorgeous, and fantastic to describe so many of the sites I am seeing, but they truly are spectacular! So I will continue to use those adjectives. Thanks.
One thing I noticed here in Seville and in Granada yesterday is because of the intense heat here, many of the streets have coverings to keep the sun and some of the heat out. It definitely helps, but takes away some of the beauty of the Spanish streets.
Dinner tonight was at my hotel and was a buffet. I made myself a nice big salad with chicken and also had some delish fried zucchini and eggplant. And bread. Duh. My plan was to go swimming after dinner because our hotel has a nice outdoor pool and I was just going to relax. However, much to my dismay, the pool closes at 8 so no dice for me. Even though it was 8:30, I was still super energetic and didn't want to sit around so I took a walk to the department store Il Corté Ingles. This department store, which I'd compare to the Spanish Macy's has been in every Spanish city I have visited and I hadn't gone in yet. Now was as good a time as any. I walked the few blocks over there and just kind of browsed around then headed back to the hotel to do my laundry and relax. I didn't feel the need to explore more tonight since I want to get up early to run tomorrow morning.
The whole day will be in Seville tomorrow to see the Plaza de España in Maria Louisa Park and Alzacar place. It should be another hot one, but I'm excited to see these things!
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