I'm going to make the section of this post about teaching pretty short, because I have a feeling this might be a long post even so. On Wednesday last week, I was with the 5th and 6th graders in school. We broke them into teams and played ESL Jeopardy using a computer and a projector, which they loved. I love working with the older kids; they're so much easier than the younger ones. Thursday, the coworker I was supposed to work with wasn't in school so I didn't feel guilty about taking a sick day because my throat had been hurting.
In my after school lessons, I played Four Corners with my six-year-olds, but instead of numbering each corner, I used colors. So if I said, "Blue!" and there were students standing in the blue corner, they were out. They absolutely went crazy for this game. I had other things prepared but we played for a straight 40 minutes because they kept begging, "Otra vez! Otra vez!" (Again! Again!). With my older students, we played a spelling game that had rules similar to baseball, which they also really liked, so the after school lessons were good last week. For my high school lessons, we talked about where they saw themselves in 20 years and then we played Hot Seat, which is where a student sits with his/her back to the blackboard. There's a word written on the blackboard and the other students have to describe it. They enjoyed that, too, so it was a good week all around.
But I couldn't wait for Friday to come around because it was a travel weekend! Morgan and I were spending the weekend in Córdoba, and I was really excited. Now, of course, I'm very happy living where I am, but when I was applying for this program, I actually requested to be placed in Córdoba. I had never visited, but I knew it was a medium-sized city near the middle of Andalucía so it also wasn't too far from Madrid. Córdoba, in my opinion, has a better location than Sevilla and it's half the size, so I knew that I would probably love to live there. Now that I've visited, I know that I was right--but I'm getting ahead of myself, as always.
On Friday, Morgan and I were taking the train from the nearest station, which is in Alcázar de San Juan. It's about a half hour drive from here, and they run buses between Quintanar and Alcázar several times a day (Side note: Luis Felipe told me that they were going to put the train station in Quintanar but they changed their minds and put it in Alcázar instead. The train tracks from Quintanar were already built and everything. It would be SO much easier to travel if we had a train station. Sigh. If only they didn't change their minds.). We thought we would have to take the 10:00 bus, despite the fact that our train didn't leave until just after 4:00, but Morgan's friend very kindly offered to drive us, so we left Quintanar around 3:00. I spent the morning lounging in my bed and reading, so the weekend was already off to an excellent start.
When Morgan and I boarded the train, we realized that because we bought our tickets separately, we weren't sitting anywhere near each other. In fact, we were in different cars of the train. But the train wasn't really crowded, so we decided to risk sitting together in seats that weren't ours, and it worked out. Nobody made us move during the trip. We talked and laughed for the whole trip (which took about three and a half hours because the train was a commuter train, so it was pretty slow and it made many stops) and Morgan continuously pulled snacks out of the bag she had brought with her. It was a very pleasant trip, despite being a bit long.
We arrived in Córdoba around 7:30, and we got a cab to our hostel, so we got there around 8:00. It was already dark so I wasn't able to enjoy driving through the city, but I was sort of happy that we would save that until the next day when we could explore on foot. The hostel that we stayed in was really clean and comfortable, and the people who worked in reception were very helpful. The employee who checked us in suggested that we go to the Roman bridge, because it wasn't too far away and it was really lovely at night. So we dumped our bags and headed out.
The weather in Córdoba, because we were in the south of Spain, was lovely. Despite being nighttime, it was still in the 60s as we strolled along the Guadalquivir river to the bridge. The streets of Córdoba are lined with orange trees, and the fruit was abundant, despite being the end of November. Seriously, I'm not exaggerating when I say that the orange trees are everywhere. Morgan very bravely picked one of the oranges, but we found out later when we tried to eat it, much to her dismay, that they are bitter orange trees. The fruit isn't literally inedible, but the flavor is closer to a lemon than an orange. At least the trees are pretty to look at! (And we finally figured out why most people were ignoring the oranges instead of picking them.)
We made our way to the Roman bridge and we were not disappointed. The bridge was illuminated on both sides, and it was a really pretty sight. We meandered across the bridge and then doubled back to go find something to eat.
The Roman bridge at night
We made our way to Córdoba's version of the Plaza Mayor, which was named Plaza de la Corredera. The construction was really similar to the Plaza Mayor in Madrid (I later found out that the same architect built both of them, as well as many others throughout Spain, which explains a lot) and it was full of restaurants and people. Morgan and I chose a tapas place that was full of young people who all seemed to know each other, and we had a bit of a feast. One of the tapas that we chose was salmorejo, which is a typical food of Córdoba. Vicki had told us to try it without telling us what was in it, so we decided to make it fun and order it without asking any questions. When the salmorejo came, we were surprised to find it was cold. Looking at it, we both expected it to be a hot dish, but the consistency reminded me a little bit of hummus. We eventually found out that it was a cold tomato cream, relatively similar to gazpacho, which is a cold tomato soup. Andalucía gets incredibly hot in the summer, so I shouldn't have been surprised that they enjoy their foods cold. But it was November, so Morgan and I weren't quite as excited about it. We both agreed that we liked it, but we would have enjoyed it more if it wasn't cold.
Salmorejo is the orange dish on the right
Sampling the salmorejo was the first time that I became aware of the fact that in English, people from Córdoba can't decide what to call themselves. In Spanish, they are cordobeses, but in English, Morgan and I saw many different words, which is why I named my blog post after them. After spending a whole weekend in the city, I still don't know if they are called Cordobans, Cordovans, or Cordobesians. I like Cordobesians best, so I use that when I'm referring to Cordobesian food or Cordobesian people.
When we finished eating, we wandered around the winding streets of the city. It was really, really easy to get lost in Córdoba, but Morgan and I always managed to find our way back. Somehow, we often traveled in a circle or a square to find ourselves back where we started. I blame the winding streets. We shopped a little, largely because Morgan was looking for fans for her aunt. Fans are a really popular souvenir in Andalucía because flamenco dancers use them. Cheap fans are everywhere but some shops had really lovely handpainted fans. I didn't buy one, but maybe I will get one in another Andalucian city.
On Saturday, we decided to do Córdoba's free walking tour. It started in Plaza de las Tendillas, and thankfully we got there a little early, because there was a Christmas market. They had food, gifts, and several stalls that sold pieces for nativity scenes. Nativity scenes, known as belenes, are a big deal in Spain. In fact, the bigger and more opulent, the better. Of course, what else would you expect from a Catholic country? The market in the plaza had a lovely belén set up, but it was encased in glass so I couldn't get a good picture of it.
Belén at the market
Christmas market
The first stop on the tour was at a reconstruction of a Roman temple. Córdoba has a really, really long history (much too long to include in what will already be a rambling blog post), but Romans started lived there in the third century B.C. Most of the Roman temple is a reconstruction, but parts of it are real. Those Romans really knew what they were doing when it came to construction.
Roman temple (and one of the orange trees on the right!)
We learned a lot more about Cordobesian history. After the Romans, the Visigoths lived in Córdoba, followed by, of course, the Arabs. There's almost nothing left from the Visigoths but the most famous monument of Córdoba is from the Arabs--La Mezquita, or the mosque--and it is the best example of Islamic architecture in the West.
The tour of Cordoba was great. The tour guide was really informative and effective in sharing as much of Córdoba's lengthy history as she could. I really enjoyed seeing such a beautiful city.
Plaza de la Corredera
Plaza del Potro
Windy, narrow streets
Wall around the old section of the city
After Morgan and I finished the tour, we stopped to have lunch. I decided to be brave and try another Cordobesian delicacy: ox tail. In case you're wondering, the name is literal. The flavor reminded me of my dad's pot roast, but it was fattier and hard to cut off the bone. I enjoyed eating it and I'm glad I tried it, but it's probably not something I would order again.
The ox tail was served with french fries!
After we finished lunch, Morgan and I went to the alcazar, or the fortified castle. Queen Isabella spent some time there, which was pretty cool, but the best part were the gardens, which were incredible.
The gardens of the alcazar
After the alcazar, we went to La Mezquita, the crowning jewel of Córdoba. And boy, was it worth the wait. In the middle of the ancient mosque is the Cathedral of Córdoba, because whenever Christians saw something beautiful way back when, they were compelled to make it their own. So the mosque is no longer a mosque; it's a Catholic church, despite being the best example of Islamic architecture in the West. The arches were important to the construction because the mosque had the capacity for 40,000 people in a time without microphones. The very specific architecture ensured that everyone could hear the prayers. Muslims can't pray there any more, but Catholics have weddings and masses there. However, it's still known as La Mezquita.
La Mezquita
The cathedral inside the mosque
The ceiling inside the mosque
The mosque's mihrab
After we left the mosque, we did some shopping and had a brief rest. When we went out again, we crossed the Roman bridge again and went to the top of a pretty hotel that had a lovely view of the city. Then, for dinner, I had more Cordobesian food. I tried berenjenas con miel, which is fried eggplant with honey, and flamenquin, which is like a huge mozzarella stick that also had turkey and ham in it. That was my favorite meal of Cordobesian food. And I even had a Cordobesian drink! It's common in Córdoba to mix two local wines in one glass: one dry and one sweet. The outcome was admittedly not my favorite, but it was definitely different! On Sunday, Morgan and I woke and checked out of our room, but we left our bags at the hostel while we did some more exploring. First we had breakfast, where I had my final Cordobesian delicacy: Cordobesian tart. Even now, I'm not exactly sure what was in it, but I do know it was sugary and delicious and similar to pie. Of all the Cordobesian foods I tried, my favorites were the eggplant and the tart. I highly recommend both. When we finished breakfast, we made our way over to the Palacio del Viana, which was a gorgeous stately home once owned by Cordobesian nobility. But the best part were the courtyards, or patios. Córdoba is famous for the courtyards (they even have a competition for the most beautiful courtyards in the spring), and the palacio had 12 of them. Even in the off season, they were filled with blooms. I can only imagine what they look like in May.
This reminded me so much of The Secret Garden
We also took a tour of the palacio itself, but they didn't allow photos. Take it from me that the inside is equally impressive. They had the biggest piece of East India Company porcelain that I've ever seen, an urn that must have weighed more than 50 pounds. We wandered a little more after we left the palacio, managing to find two more churches, before we grabbed our stuff from the hostel and taxied to the train station. There was a half marathon happening in Córdoba, so our ride back to the train station was like navigating a maze, but we made it with plenty of time to spare. The trip home, despite not being direct, was an hour shorter. We took a high speed train from Córdoba to Ciudad Real and then a commuter train from there to Alcázar de San Juan. We got home around 7:00, and I spent the rest of my evening lost in a good book. It was the perfect end to the perfect weekend. For next week, my blog will be late. I won't be able to post on Tuesday because we don't have school on Monday or Tuesday so I will still be traveling in a mystery location. But take it from me that the next blog post will definitely be worth reading!
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