Sevilla --> Cordoba

Wow, what a 36 hours.

After my last post, I stopped to pick up juice on the way home. The Italy v. Portugal game was on so I stayed to finish it. I love the futbol atmosphere here. In any cafe, bar, or store where there is a television, there is a crowd, no matter how small. My favorite part are the comments from the groups of old men who say the most ridiculous and most profane phrases!

Anyway, the next morning (yesterday), I woke up early and headed over to El Alcazar. It opened at 9:30. They allowed me to check out of the hostel but leave my backpack there so I wouldn't have to lug it around everywhere I went. El Alcazar is an old palace and I felt antique walking around in it. Little did I know that I would feel even more in touch with my antique side in La Catedral. I spent two hours in El Alcazar and then three more in La Catedral (the mosque-style church), with half an hour in La Giralda (the tower inside the church). The church is huge! Walking in was so overwhelming. I don't think any picture can accurately convey that feeling.

One of the most innovative things I noticed while I was there was how the tour guides operated. If you opted for a tour guide, they gave you a little earpiece connected to a satellite signal. The tour guide spoke softly into a mic which was then transmitted to the satellite and then to each person who had an earpiece. This way, the silence could be maintained in the church while still giving a tour! I also ran into a little pastors-only mass which was interesting to observe. They are so intense.

After La Giralda, I decided to head out of Sevilla. Picking up my backpack, I flagged a taxi down near the city center and asked him to take me to La Estacion de Santa Justa where I could catch a train or a bus to Cordoba. He responded with, "Is there no one in line?" There is a line of taxis in the city center that I hadn't checked because I hadn't reached there. When I responded with, "I'm not sure," he responded with, "Well, they will be in line before me so technically it's their turn to take the next customer not mine. I'd love to take you but that would be wrong of me and unfair on them." How awesome is that? Taxi drivers who have each other's back. I dig it.

The bus ride was about an hour and twenty minutes but only cost me 10€ which was nice. When I arrived in Cordoba, I walked to Jacqueline's house. She lives close to the train station and the city center; very convenient! There are three other people living here, so she is hosting five of us in total. We are having a really good time. I took a shower when I got home and then we hit the city. Just a quick walking tour where we walked by La Mezquita (the old mosque-converted-into-synagogue-converted-into-church with apparently awesome architecture), La Juderia (the barrio with one of the three European synagogues saved after the prosecution in 1492), El Palacio Episcopal, etc as well as the bridges in the city and a few of the parks.

By the time we got home, it was 10 PM and we were famished so we picked up eggs, potatoes, and ingredients for salad, came home, and made a Revuelto (scrambled eggs and chopped up potatoes). Carolina calls the same dish a Revoltillo. I love these little differences in culture within a culture.

It's interesting living here. Two of the people are from France, one from Australia. Jacqueline is from Cadiz in Southern Spain, and then there is me. So, the languages are a mix of Spanish, English, French, and random hand gestures, too. It's fun. I really like Jacqueline. She makes you feel right at home. I felt that way from the second that I met her and hope that, one day, I can return the favor. We were up late chatting and didn't sleep until about 6 or 7 this morning. I think we will spend today going through all the monuments I want to see and then save La Mezquita for tomorrow morning. Word has it that the site is free to all people between 8 and 10 AM. We shall see how that goes! Tonight, we are going to try and catch the Spain v. Switzerland game after we are done meandering about the city. Insha'Allah.

Alright, it's almost prayer's time so I'm going to get that knocked out so we can head into the city. Oh, one last thing. Here, when someone thinks something else is awesome, or really cool, they say, "Que juay," pronounced "Que why!" So funny. And, in Madrid, it's "suuuperrr juaayyyy." So good. Also, "Mas mejor" is considered an absolute fail. It's grammatically awful, by Spaniard standards.