Vacation!!

So in the spring, my friend Wendy started talking about going to Spain this fall on vacation. She'd spent two years in Morocco with the Peace Corps, and had visited Spain three times. But, there were places she wanted to visit again, places she hadn't seen yet owing to timing and construction, etc. Me being me, I thought it a great idea, and naturally agreed that I'd love to go. Next thing I knew, she was making plans, and it's a good thing I have an understanding and supportive hubby! So Wendy planned the trip. I helped pick the dates, so that I could be back in Washington in time for my cousin Jake's Bar Mitzvah, and I was really keen on having the week in Seville for the language school, but Wendy made really all the arrangements and plans. It was, after all, her trip, and I just was tagging along.

So we flew to Madrid, but oddly, no one flies direct to Madrid anymore from Washington. We could fly direct from Philadelphia, New York, Newark, Houston, etc. Or we could fly through London, Amsterdam, or, as we did, Frankfurt. And Lufthansa had a very interesting baggage policy -- one carry-on, limited in size and weight, and one personal item. So the line to check at the gate was quite large. Also, they too only had the overhead monitors, so no personal entertainment systems, which was disappointing. But, it was a three-four-three configuration, and Wendy had called ahead to make sure we both had aisle seats. Then, the middle seat for my section was empty, and a very nice young lady headed home to India was in the window, and we both thought ourselves very lucky.

Once again, I didn't sleep, but I did rest some. Our connection in Frankfurt was good, but that's a monstrous airport! I thought Houston and Minneapolis were spread out, but Frankfurt makes them look compact. It was really good to walk for a while, but it was better that we had the time to be able to do it. We transferred to the train station in Madrid and bought our train tickets. The train ride was smooth and very scenic -- olive trees everywhere! The country looked dry, but was lovely. And, on the AVE (fast) trains, they even played movies!

Finally we got to the hotel, and my room just reeked of smoke -- I couldn't stay there. They were not happy about transferring me -- it was a smoking hotel, apparently -- but they did, and while the new room wasn't great, I didn't think it would make my physically ill, which is often what happens. So we crashed for about an hour, then headed out to explore.


This is the main square in Córdoba, Plaza de las Tendillas, and we arranged to take a walking tour that evening, leaving from here, which was right around the corner from our hotel.


Walking down the street we spied these post boxes, so I snapped them for Greg. Across the street are columns and part of a Roman site that they are excavating.



You all know how I love signs. I really do enjoy the tiles and beautiful designs of street signs in Europe. Below, a pretty church we found on our way.


As it fell dark, we gathered for our tour. The guide did the tour in both Spanish and English, there being about half a dozen English speakers in the group. It was a pretty tour through much of the old section of town, made more lovely by the fact that it was dark and everything was lit with streetlights. They were beautiful narrow streets, just winding across the city, filled with lovely doors and tiled entryways. The mosque was huge, and teenagers sat on its steps with Burger King takeout. Part of my job on this tour was to play more with the camera and learn to use more of its features. I'm pleased to report that I did, but night shooting -- especially when you're with a tour group and don't have the luxury of stopping and setting up tripods -- was not an area in which I improved much.


Just two images from the tour, one of a pretty fountain, and one of an amazing stone courtyard, the likes of which captivated me every time I saw one.


Wendy had eaten dinner earlier, but the group stopped at a little place, La Abacería, for tapas, which were included with our ticket prices. So I got to try two regional delicacies: salmorejo de remolacha con taquitos de queso (a regional gazpacho) and berenjenas con miel de caña (friend eggplant with honey). They were wonderful! I really didn't want real dinner at that point, just sleep, but vowed to start my fish eating the next day.

So we headed back to the hotel, planning to get a good night's sleep and a delayed start in the morning. We'd see more of Córdoba -- there was a museum on Wendy's list -- and then head to Seville and check-in for school. Overall, a wonderful start. I wasn't feeling confident at all about my Spanish, but everyone was super nice, and we certainly had no trouble getting wherever we were going and whatever we needed. So I took that as a positive.


Jamón (ham) of all types and bacalao (cod) are regional specialties, and shops cater to customers of all sorts.