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January 2nd 2010
Published: September 21st 2017
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Ensaimada - a typical Spanish pastry made with lard and coated with powdered sugar. It's really nothing special in general, and today's version was probably below average, as it had a slight burnt flavour and left a greasy feel in your mouth. I've never been a big fan, but it had been years since sampling one, so I thought I'd give it a go today.
Geo: 37.8864, -4.77683

Off to the bus station, a little over a 30 minute walk from the hostel - this could have either been done by local bus, or via a 15 minute walk followed by a 7 minute tram ride, but it's always good to walk before or after a bus ride to keep your legs feeling good. The walk also gave us the chance to pick up some breakfast before departing, and was also one last chance to see Sevilla's beautiful architecture.

At the station - we saw Michael board the bus, which I wasn't sure was going to happen because when I purchased tickets online last night, there were only a few seats left. I wonder if it's the time of year; I've rarely had trouble walking up and getting tickets for the next bus, but it seems that most of the buses we're taking this trip in Spain are almost fully booked a few days before departure.

We arrived in Cordoba, about a two-hour ride from Sevilla. The opportunity existed to take the high-speed train there which only takes 45 minutes, but is super expensive, something like 30 Euros, whereas our bus was only 10. Our time isn't that valuable,
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Mary spilled water all over her lap and didn't even realize it until several minutes later. She told me that the psychological torture of traveling with me has left her devoid of all feeling.
so the train wasn't even considered. Once there we boarded a local bus for the city centre, and got a bit lost on the way to the Terrace Backpackers Hostel - it's got a fairly cool vibe, a bit artsy, and seems like a cozy place to rest for the night.

Off to sightsee - the first stop was a tiny synagogue, the only remaining synagogue in Andalucia, I believe. The nearby Casa de Sefarada housed exhibits on Sephardic (Spanish Jewish) life in Cordoba, which we skipped. The residents of Cordoba are very proud of their patios, usually leaving an outer door open so that passersby can come in and see them through a metal gate. There is even an annual competition for the best one in the city, and a number of past winners are clustered a few blocks away from synagogue; unfortunately for us, none of them seemed to be on display today.

Up next was La Mezquita, Cordoba's famous hybrid cathedral/mosque - some consider it the only reason to visit Coroba, and I would say it's definitely reason enough to come to this city. I have never, ever seen anything like it in my life - it
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Cordoba's synagogue.
has a tumultuous history, having changed hands between Muslims and Christians, with each group putting their own stamp on La Mezquita.

The interior of La Mezquita was much cooler than it was outside, so we all had buttoned up our jackets, and whoever had them put on their toques and gloves. After, needing to warm up, we popped over to Plaza Tendillas for coffee and tea. Then it was back to the hostel for some relaxation before heading out for tapas, but I decided to go for a walk and to pick up a few things.

Aside from some tourists in the old city centre, Cordoba seemed a bit quiet today, but I headed north past Plaza Tendillas and over to Plaza Colon, and across one of the main boulevards in town. It was completely packed with people, bringing back claustrophobic memories of Moroccan medinas.

It took me forever to get into the local branch of El Corte Ingles, Spain's biggest department store chain. While there, I tried confirming the truth about something Spaniards say about Cordoba - that it's home to the most beautiful women in all of Spain, no small statement to make. Ever since first hearing this "truth"
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Cute little plaza in the Jewish Quarter.
about Cordoba a few years ago, I've wanted to see Cordoba for myself, but haven't managed to make it here. I was super excited about coming here, but truth be told, this excitement was tempered by some trepidation ... given how incredibly beautiful I find Spanish women, how would I react? The typical beautiful Spanish senorita makes my heart palpitate, my palms get sweaty, and my pulse quicken, and reduces me to a blubbering fool (even more so than normal). What would happen if I found even more beautiful Spanish senoritas in Cordoba, would my head explode, splattering grey matter all over La Mezquita?

Earlier today, I had seen quite a few beautiful Spanish women out and about in the old town, but most appeared to be tourists from other parts of the country. At El Corte Ingles, it was mostly locals, and the number of beautiful women was quite a pleasant thing to watch. Now I can't definitively say that the women of Cordoba are the most beautiful in all of Spain, but I definitely can say that there are very beautiful women here, and that perhaps Cordoba has more of them than some other Spanish cities. I think
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A picnic in the park always makes for a nice lunch.
an in-depth study into this is warranted; perhaps some university in Spain will fund my research? I don't need much funding - just room, board, and enough money to buy coffee and sit around all day long at outdoor cafes watching the women walk by.

Back to the hostel to meet Mary and Michael for tapas - we had agreed to meet at 8 PM, but I was definitely going to late, as I hadn't accounted for the incredible pedestrian traffic that was clogging up Cordoba's main arteries. There was a bit of a Christmas market, complete with an ice skating rink, set up on Avenida de Gran Capitan. I finally made it through the new town and back to the Jewish Quarter in the old town, where I got a bit disoriented in its narrow little streets, and ended up taking the long way back to the hostel as a result.

Mary and Michael had picked up an extra person for this evening, Jose David (JD) from Colombia. We all headed off to the new town for the buzzing paseo taking place at the moment, and made our way back to the Jewish Quarter for the tapas bars.

The old
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Just before the grocery store closed for siesta, we picked up some Serrano ham, cheddar cheese, and bread, and took it to a nearby green space. The Serrano was thickly sliced, making it quite tough and detracted from the taste, but provided just enough sustenance for a light lunch.
town is quite touristy, and it seemed to be mostly tourists in the tapas bars, but unfortunately, there weren't any tapas bars to be found in the new town. After our first stop, we continued along in the Jewish Quarter until we found a place with a drool-inducing menu, deciding on what we wanted before we even set inside. Sadly, the place was closing up, so we weren't able to eat there - what kind of self-respecting Spanish tapas bar closes up at 10 PM, anyway???

A true tapas crawl would involve at least three or four bars, but we finished off after only two, the second of which being the best of the evening. It wasn't the typical bustling night of tapas as most of the bars were dead quiet, and our second stop of the night was on a tranquil corner of a terrace. The evening was still very enjoyable, nonetheless.



Additional photos below
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On the way to La Mezquita.
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Inside the Patio de los Naranjos, La Mezquita's beautiful courtyard.
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La Mezquita's bell tower.
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Inside, the mix of architectural styles is incredible, with liberal use of columns and unique double arches overhead, giving it a very claustrophobic and dark feel. The double arches were installed for structural reasons, but this solution ended up being quite aesthetically pleasing.
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Stepping into the centre of La Mezquita, it feels like you've stepped into a whole new world - light, airy, and open. This is where the cathedral is located, and it seems almost as if it sprang from the Earth like a tree.
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What's even more incredible is how such contrasting styles are so seamlessly blended together, working in perfect harmony. This is the mihrab, which functions like a church's high altar.
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Mosque, cathedral ... what is it???
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Visigothic mosaic from the original church built at this site - significant because it proves that a church was originally on this site. There are those that want to see La Mezquita converted back to a mosque, because they feel the cathedral built in the centre violated the original mosque. This is supposedly proof that La Mezquita was originally a church.
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The monstrance - a whole lotta bling!
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Crucifix, carved from Ivory.
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Roman bridge.
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Calle de los Flores - one of Cordoba's most famous streets, because of its beautiful flowers. Many postcards for sale are of this street, with La Mezquita's bell tower in the distance. Definitely nicer in the postcards than in my version!
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One tapas bar looked particularly busy, so we grabbed some food there. Bar Santos, named after Ben!
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Eating it outside on the steps outside of La Mezquita. The food here was decent, but the setting spectacular. Patatas bravas, atun con pimiento (tuna and bell peppers), a couple of tortillas, and tinto de verano, a popular local drink of red wine mixed with lemon soda. Some decent tapas.
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The second tapas stop of the night. Meatballs with peas and fries - it tasted like a tajine! Boiled and cooled shrimp - very sweet, but a bit mushy. Fried eggplant with cane syrup - not as good as those at Inopia in Barcelona, but still pretty tasty. Some pretty average chorizo. We tried some sherry here - pretty bad at first, but it improved as we drank more. At first it tasted like it was made in a toilet. Later on, it tasted like it was made in a bathtub.


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