Cordoba, Spain

Since before we even moved to Germany, the kids have been asking when we are going to Spain.  Much like our previous trip to Ireland last spring break, we talk often about our honeymoon to Madrid, Granada and Seville, as well as our fifth anniversary trip to Barcelona.  We only have a year left here so we knew we HAD to tackle Spain before we depart... only, you don't really want to do Spain in the summer (unless you just plan on going to the beach) because it's SO. SO. HOT.  So the only logical choice was Spain for spring break!

We have been pretty fortunate that not TOO many crazy, Griswold-esque things have happened to us... but this trip kind of put us to the test.  The goal of the trip was a couple of nights in Cordoba, a couple of nights in Granada, a night in Gibraltar (the British Overseas Territory) and a couple of nights in Tarifa with a guided day trip to Tangiers, Morocco before we flew home. Stay tuned for details of how THAT all went!

But our first stop was the LOVELY city of Cordoba!  We arrived kind of late, but just in time for dinner, Spanish style (you know... after 9 pm.)  We wound up staying in the same neighborhood as the famous Patios of Cordoba (more on that in a bit!)

After dinner, we pretty much crashed.  But we woke up to a beautiful day, and decided to walk to La Mezquita after breakfast.  The streets are lined with orange trees that are beginning to blossom and smell AMAZING.  Just like Florida!

La Mezquita was closing at 11:30 (it was Sunday), but reopening in the afternoon so we decided to just walk around the gardens and come back in the afternoon to visit.  The Bell Tower was previously used as a minaret back between when La Mezquita was built (around 784) and when it was converted to a Catholic church in 1236.

It's one of the only Catholic churches of it's kind, with a mix of Moorish-Islamic and traditional Catholic architecture.  In the Islamic faith, the architecture does not feature animals or people, as those things are sacred, made by God.  So you will usually only find geometric pattern designs and many words in the flowy Arabic script.

You can see it wasn't super crowded on a Sunday in late March, but the weather was really nice.

This picture is crooked and I don't even care because I love these kids so much and they're in Spain.  They kept telling us how much they loved us and how they weren't even going to fight on this trip because they were SO happy that they were in WARM Spain. (Huh!)

As we left La Mezquita, we walked around the eastern side of the the structure.  I will never not be mesmerized by the detail in any mosque or other Moorish structure.

Since we postponed La Mezquita, we decided to head over to the famous Roman Bridge that spans across the Guadalquivir River.  You know I needed to snap one of the manhole covers of Cordoba!

The Roman Bridge was originally constructed in the 1st century BC, but the current bridge is from sometime in the 8th century.  Just when you think you live in a land with "really old things," you travel to a land that really DOES have really old things!  I've been thinking a lot lately about how I grew up in a little town that was (officially) established in 1955.  I later moved to one of the oldest communities in all of the United States, which was settled in 1652 (although the Native Americans had lived there longer.)  Next I moved to a city that was founded in 1319 (although our Benedictine Monastery was founded in 1119.)  But this!  This is even older!

Me and the babes, ready to cross the Roman Bridge.  Yes. I know they will be taller than me soon.

On one end of the bridge, you have one of the gates to the city, the Puerta del Puente.  The other end of the bridge features the Calahorra Tower (not feature here) which was originally from the 12th century.

Daddy pointing out to the kids that there is an old water wheel (and former mill) along the river.

Looking back to the north, you can see La Mezquita from the bridge.

Naturally, when I'm around water I'm going to point out poor floodplain management techniques.  Probably we shouldn't just drop a structure right in the middle of the river.

Water flowing underneath the Roman Bridge.

On the other end of the Roman Bridge, you can clearly see La Mezquita overlooking the Guadalquivir River.

Although this bridge was originally built in 1 BC, none of the original structure still remains.  The oldest parts of the bridge (some of the arches you see) date back to the 1300s and 1400s.  The reason the bridge looks SO good is because it was recently renovated in 2006.

The reason WE look SO good is because sunshine looks good on everyone.

The kiddos give the bridge, the sunshine and Cordoba in general two thumbs up.

Natalie: "Grant!  Let's do Rose and Jack here on the Roman Bridge in Cordoba!"  Grant:  "No."  Natalie:  "Please, Grant?"  Mom and Dad: "Grant, DO IT."  Grant: *Imma pretend that I'm not paying attention and really don't want to be here*

I was really sick the first part of our trip, including our time in Cordoba.  Normally Todd would say something cute like, "Hold my hand on a Roman Bridge in Cordoba."  But he didn't want to hold my sick hand (I don't blame him.)  So our shadows held hands instead.  (Also, I swear I'm not that large... my sweater was blowing in the wind! HA!)

Some of the best views of the Roman bridge come from the city-side, looking back toward the Torre de la Calahorra.  (Once you come back toward the city, head left.)

In more modern times, the Roman Bridge is probably best known for it's role in Game of Thrones as the Long Bridge of Volantis.  Of course, it's been CGI'd to death, so it hardly looks the same in the show.

We wanted to check out the remains of an old mill called Molino de la Albolafia.  This water wheel was used originally to transport water to the palace (the Alcazar), but eventually was used to assist the flour mill that once stood here.  It was originally built in the mid 800s by Abd al-Rahman II, but later during Isabella and Ferdinand's reign, Isabella had it taken down because the wheel was too squeaky!  Obviously it's been rebuilt several times after that.  

I am not apologetic that you are going to see tons of pictures of flowers in these Spanish posts.

It's not a "Manhole Cover of Cordoba" picture, but it is a cute little lizard on the cover to a cable hole!

We decided to hit up the Alcazar before lunch, and flowers were certainly blooming just outside of the entrance.

One day, he will be as tall as a palm tree!

There was a pretty long line outside of the Alcazar, but it only took us about 20 minutes or so to get in.  The kids took a seat on one of the benches under palm trees and orange trees and I spied on them.  The official name of the Alcazar is the Alcazar de los Reyes Cristianos, or "Palace of the Christian Monarchs."  The tower you see (one of the most famous) called the Tower of the Inquisition was built in the mid 1400s

While I waited in line, I saw this!  Oh this is MUCH better!

Construction started on this palace in 1328 under the direction of Alfonso XI of Castile.  Some of the Alcazar still functions as a museum.

We didn't go up the Tower of the Lions because the line was really long and not moving.  The stairs leading to the top are narrow and basically can only fit one person at a time, leading to traffic jams.  You can see the Alcazar was a popular place as the line was long and stretching around the courtyard.

You can get nice views of the Bell Tower of La Mezquita from the top of the Alcazar.

As we attempted to enter the Torre del Homenaje, we had to be VERY quiet since they were filming a movie in there.  We noticed the woman in white come out of the tower with a very modern looking young man and someone was taking pictures of them.  So we thought, "Oh cool, they're taking wedding photos!"  But the guy behind her was wearing like, a hoodie and jeans.  So we were very confused!  But then one of the knight actors came out and took a picture with the kids.  Not sure what the kids were looking at but it was the only picture we got with the female character in it!  (And her modern day boyfriend behind her!)

Man, people were short around the time of the Spanish Inquisition!

The Hall of Mosaics functions as a conference room, a theater, or as a place for Cordobans to get married.  In this room in the late 1950s, it was discovered that there were geometric mosaics on the walls dating back to the 2nd and 3rd century AD.

The Courtyard of the Moriscos is an inner garden area within the palace walls with many orange trees and small pools.

We definitely can't be serious for even one minute in this family.

From the other end, you can see the Tower of the Lions from the Courtyard of the Moriscos.

I think one of the real draws of the Alcazar is the gardens. When you first walk in, you're treated to the fragrant smells of the orange blossoms. And maybe a couple of cute kids trying to take a picture at a fountain.  The Tower of the Inquisition is behind them (also known as the Tower of the Gardens since... well... it overlooks the gardens.)

Fountains and pools comprise a good amount of the 55,000 square meters of the Gardens of the Alcazar.

So we just strolled around and checked it all out!

This statue is crumbling and creepy.  I think she was originally holding a pillar of sorts, but now it just looks like she's holding a mug of beer. 

"Mommy, take a picture of us jumping off of this stair!"

Me taking a picture of Todd taking a picture of Natalie.

Todd taking a picture of Natalie and me taking a picture of them.

The Alcazar of Cordoba is where Christopher Columbus met with King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella to secure financing for his crossing to the Americas.

Interestingly, Queen Isabella initially turned Columbus down.  As he left the city, Ferdinand convinced Isabella to change her mind and she summoned him back to let him know the good news.  And as we know, he made four round trip journeys to the west and "discovered" (has it really been discovered if people already live there?) the Bahamas and other parts of the Americas.

Thankfully some of the flowers were blooming!  Flowers and pretty colors make me VERY happy.

As you leave the gardens, you walk up to the upper terrace where there are fish in the ponds.

The larger ponds of the Alcazar were actually added in the 1800s.  If you go up to the upper terrace (on your way out), you will get a really nice view of the lower terrace and the ponds.

After our Alcazarian adventure, we sped off to go get some lunch, but we got stopped by a woman selling tickets to the Patios, which you can view the famous flower pots of five houses any time of the year. They were only going to be open for another hour, so we decided to put lunch on hold and see the Patios. Along with the old town area of Cordoba (and La Mezquita), the Patios of Cordoba are a UNESCO world heritage site.

The first house you visit was literally about 4 buildings down the street from the apartment we were staying at.  It was the only one to feature "how life used to be here in Cordoba."  Several families lived in this building, and used a community kitchen.

If you were to visit Cordoba in May, you would not only get to see the five houses but many others who have an abundance of flower pots in their shaded and cooled inner courtyards.  May is the month of the Festival of the Patios, which is a contest where upwards of 50 homes participate in hopes of being named the top patio of the year.  But if you visit and it's not in the first two weeks of May, you can still visit five homes, and they are so pretty!

Except for this guy.  He's not pretty. He's just kind of scary. 

This famous piece is just outside of the second patio (if you follow the given map). Here, a man gives his young son a plant to hang on the wall.  And a little girl stands next to them.

Patios.  This way.

The second patio was an award winning patio, but it was closed, despite the fact that it was supposed to be open for another half hour.  So this was taken as I shoved my phone through the gate covered with cloth.  Damn them if they think I'm not gonna get at least one picture!

Walking through town, heading toward the third patio. 

The third patio.

A little frog friend among yellow flowers at the third patio.

Many of the patio flowers are red and pink, so it's nice when they add a splash of color to the mix.

What the heck is this thing?  It looks like a bunch of green tortellini on a plant!  I want this!  And what about the other one to the left?  Like peas hanging on a vine!

The fourth patio featured a bottle of wine feeding (?) a pig leg that is sticking out of the dirt.  Ummmm, ok!

Every one of these patios also had at least one little bird in a cage.  These guys were doing a little smooching while we were at the fourth patio.

The white walls, the red flowers, and the blue pots are a really pretty contrast.  I think I liked this patio the best.

I really love this color of blue.  I always wanted a house with a red door.  But maybe I could be convinced to have a blue door, if it looked like this.

Eeek!  Both Todd and I went crazy over these.  He said, "I've never seen any flower that looks like that!" How pretty are these!?!

On the way to the last patio, there are potted plants and painted flowers on the wall to enjoy before you get there.

The very last patio was a TON of flowers going all the way up the walls.

Thank goodness for the wide zoom lens in a small space. Phew.

Ok. I could probably go for a sea foam green door.

Because we had dragged the kids on an unplanned excursion to see the patios, we had to treat them to a nice lunch in the sun.  Or maybe we were just treating ourselves.

We ordered some calamari for lunch, and this one, who is strangely my more adventurous eater after years of being my pickiest eater, happily ate the tentacles when I said, "Eat them!  They're really the best part of the calamari!" She is SO cool.

As you entered or left our apartment on Calle de San Basilio, you were treated to a really nice view of the Alcazar!  We took a pit stop back at the apartment before heading out to La Mezquita.

Our last stop of the day was back to our first stop of the day.. La Mezquita.

La Mezquita is unique in that it's a former mosque with a cathedral built right in the center of it.

In the late day sun, the stained glass puts on a show of the floor of La Mezquita.

As you know, you will not find pictures or carvings of people or animals in a mosque.  But you WILL find some seriously intricate carvings on the ceiling. 

I seriously can't get over the detail on this wall and doorway.  Like, how long did this mihrab take???  Muslims pray in the direction of the mihrab, which indicates the direction of Mecca.  (Although this one actually is slightly off and faces south instead of southeast.)

Looking up at the mihrab through the columns.

But because it IS a Catholic church, there are certain locations, particularly along the outer walls of the building that are dedicated to Christian artifacts.  Here we have various Roman missals from the 18th century.

La Mezquita was initially built in the late 700s (!!!) but it was converted to a Catholic church in 1236.  In the 1500s, the cathedral nave (not pictured here, but just off screen to the left) was plopped down right in the middle of the building. 

The details of the columns and ceiling are really incredible.

It's funny when you're walking through what feels like a mosque (somewhat empty, no chairs or benches, ornate but without much color) and step into a section of the church that is certainly Christian with the colorful paintings of Bible scenes, marble, and stained glass.

But the ceiling though!  I think there's a million cherub faces up here.

Todd and I both like following the Atlas Obscura website.  Some of what they deliver on their website is typical "must see" sights of a city.  But most of the definitive sights that they insist you see are perfectly quirky and reflective.  The Cross of the Captive is one of them.  Behind the iron bars (hmmm, interesting), legend says that a young Christian man fell in love with a Moorish girl.  She agreed to convert to Christianity, and the night of her baptism, she was found, captured and murdered. Meanwhile, he was chained to one of the columns in La Mezquita for all of the Muslim city to see.  True to his religion, he carved a cross in the column and when the locals realized this could never be eliminated, they murdered him too... and threw his body in the Guadalquivir River.  I wonder if he knows his legacy hasn't been forgotten.

During the day, we purchased tickets to see the Magical Nights at the Alcazar.  I have to admit.  It started at 9 pm and I just thought it was going to be too late and too long for little kiddos (or... ummm... me) to have fun.  But it was really one of the coolest things we did on the whole trip!  Buy tickets in advance (we bought them earlier in the day when we had visited in the morning but you can get them on the website.)

I'm still skeptical.  Will it be three hours long?  It's already 9 pm and past my bedtime!

But no... alas, it only took an hour and was AMAZING!  It tells the history of Cordoba through music, lights and water - a story written in water.

An hour almost wasn't long enough!

It was so beautiful - the fountains and gardens put on a spectacular performance.

The colorful fountains danced to music and told the story of Cordoba.

Rainbow fountains singing to the tune of the music.

At a few stations, there were video projections giving you more history of Cordoba.

The last set of fountains were like the grand finale of the history of Cordoba.  At one point, you can hear the music change to reflect the change in rule from the Moors to the Christians, with some flamenco music thrown in for good measure.

Such a stunning sight with the Alcazar and Tower of the Lions in the background.

All the rainbow colors!

This isn't even a feature I could possible do on my good camera.  The colored lights in the spray made for a beautiful end to the fountain show.

Follow the blue fountain lights to the end of the pool....

At the end, they projected a video on the water spray, showing how Cordoba has become the modern city it is today.

We pretty much crashed when we got back. The kids had already showered and eaten before we went to the magical light show at the Alcazar.  In the morning, it was time to head out to our favorite Spanish city... GRANADA!

Until next time, Cordoba!