warming up to Cordoba

Hello dear readers.

wendy and I have been doing the road warrior bit. yesterday AM we left Madrid for Cordoba, and are already in Seville. But here we shall stay for 5 nights, while we soak up a little of the easter festivities and put out feet up, awaiting Joanna´s arrival.

So, Cordoba. We didn´t love it when we got there. I´ll be honest. The problem with seeing some of these old cities with the moorish influences is that after morocco, where they are still living and breathing that life and art and architecture, is that the remnants here don´t seem all that.. .well, special. so we stayed in a guesthouse called the Hostal Baghdad(!) in the old jewish quarter, but weren´t in love with the place. In the evening, we were tired and elected to stay-in and eat in. That´s a first for us. (though I must say you can get a tasty hamberguisa in cordoba for 3euro!)

However, our negativity was gone with the morning sun. We got up early to beat the crowds to this amazing mosque/cathedral called the Mezquita. It was built as a mosque but the moors, and then when they were driving out of spain, the spanish decided to plop a catherdral in the middle of it. Honestly, I fell in love with the old mosque, and the way it was destroyed to build the church broke my heart. the mosque was desinged to evoke a oasis in the desert, complete with a spring and an orange grove in the forecourt and striped arches in the inside which mirror the light through palm fronds. Beautiful. And huge- like the size of a city block.

We then went to the Alcazar, the palace of the christian kings. The palace itself wasn´t much (seen one fortification, see them all), but the palace has the most amazing formal gardens full of flowers and fuit trees and fountains all over the place. The luxury that these gardens must have been in thier time makes my mind twist. I took dozens of pictures.

then we hopped a bus, and find ourselves in Seville. Semena Santa, which is the weeklong easter celebration begins today and goes all week. I´m really looking forward to seeing the processions.