Salamanca and Cordoba
Cordoba
We´ve been wandering around Cordoba for a day or so after checking into the awesome hostel maestre - which will be our base for the next two days. We had, at Brad´s insistence, some excellent ¨Real Spanish Food¨ at a tex mex restaurant. To make up for the gringoness of the meal we had a large jug of sangria afterwards.
Today we toured the Mezquita which we both found very sad. A bit odd, eh? It was a beautiful Islamic Mosque which existed from 785 ad to 1500 ad. It had 1500 columns supporting red and white striped double arches, and was open on all sides to the surrounding gardens. In a spectacularly grotesque display of bad taste, the 16th century Christian Church took it over and bulldozed out a majority of the columns in a very large area in the middle of the mosque to build a fairly gaudy cathedral. Then, the entrance arches to the gardens were walled up and other areas ´converted´ and decorated with gold crosses and bejewelled (and be-diamonded?!) chalices/etc...
Still, there were areas of the mosque which remained relatively intact like in the pictures above. Breathtaking for sure.
We have another couple days here and then off to Ronda, which is a small provincial town in Southern Spain. We are hoping for some cooler weather, as it was 46 degrees during the day here, and 37(!!!) at night. You know when even the spanish weatherman are making broad and enthusiastic gestures about the heat, it´s hot.
Salamanca
Our short stay in Salamanca, Spain was quite a different animal coming from small town Portugal. We arrived after midnight and were shocked to find every single restaurant and cafe was literally jammed with people. The Plaza Mayor, which our somewhat decrepid hotel room faced, was full of people acting like they weren´t tired at all.
As I mentioned, the hotel was probably the worst so far, but the view and location more than made up for it. We spent the next day exploring the city´s esteemed university and found the legendary frog hidden in it´s elaborate entry facade - which is supposed to be good luck. The ´Catedral Nueva´ we toured afterwards had recently been restored by a local stone masons group with a wicked sense of humour. See picture below.
There is a disproportionate amount of Tintin memorabilia, restaurants and cafes here for some reason - Brad loves it though, and snapped this picture of a life size Captain Haddock!
We made our way to Cordoba on a very late night train, since we had a few hours to kill at the station, saw the new ´Batman Begins´ movie dubbed very well (somewhat to our dissapointment) into spanish. The new batmobile is muy muy excelente.
We´ve been wandering around Cordoba for a day or so after checking into the awesome hostel maestre - which will be our base for the next two days. We had, at Brad´s insistence, some excellent ¨Real Spanish Food¨ at a tex mex restaurant. To make up for the gringoness of the meal we had a large jug of sangria afterwards.
Today we toured the Mezquita which we both found very sad. A bit odd, eh? It was a beautiful Islamic Mosque which existed from 785 ad to 1500 ad. It had 1500 columns supporting red and white striped double arches, and was open on all sides to the surrounding gardens. In a spectacularly grotesque display of bad taste, the 16th century Christian Church took it over and bulldozed out a majority of the columns in a very large area in the middle of the mosque to build a fairly gaudy cathedral. Then, the entrance arches to the gardens were walled up and other areas ´converted´ and decorated with gold crosses and bejewelled (and be-diamonded?!) chalices/etc...
Still, there were areas of the mosque which remained relatively intact like in the pictures above. Breathtaking for sure.
We have another couple days here and then off to Ronda, which is a small provincial town in Southern Spain. We are hoping for some cooler weather, as it was 46 degrees during the day here, and 37(!!!) at night. You know when even the spanish weatherman are making broad and enthusiastic gestures about the heat, it´s hot.
Salamanca
Our short stay in Salamanca, Spain was quite a different animal coming from small town Portugal. We arrived after midnight and were shocked to find every single restaurant and cafe was literally jammed with people. The Plaza Mayor, which our somewhat decrepid hotel room faced, was full of people acting like they weren´t tired at all.
As I mentioned, the hotel was probably the worst so far, but the view and location more than made up for it. We spent the next day exploring the city´s esteemed university and found the legendary frog hidden in it´s elaborate entry facade - which is supposed to be good luck. The ´Catedral Nueva´ we toured afterwards had recently been restored by a local stone masons group with a wicked sense of humour. See picture below.
There is a disproportionate amount of Tintin memorabilia, restaurants and cafes here for some reason - Brad loves it though, and snapped this picture of a life size Captain Haddock!
We made our way to Cordoba on a very late night train, since we had a few hours to kill at the station, saw the new ´Batman Begins´ movie dubbed very well (somewhat to our dissapointment) into spanish. The new batmobile is muy muy excelente.
posted by Brad and Anette at 4:41 AM
6 Comments:
Hi Brad and Anette,
Please send some of the hot weather here.....we're not getting tanned - just rusty!
Love Mom
Hi Guys. We're dying of heat here too - even Cooper's complaining and he spends most of his day in the pool. The Humidex today is in the 100's and NOAA (that's the US Weather Service) has issued a warning that we have no ozone over us (OK, a bit of an exaggeration, but basically a plea to stay indoors and not drive.) So we're staying indoors and not driving, until Cooper's two hour baseball game at 6:00. Should be down to 95 by then. I'm anticipating a real treat.
Your pictures are fantastic! It is truly amazing how beautiful some of the oldest structures in the world are. It's also unfortunate what a sad result historical actions (and present ones for that matter) can have on future generations. Works of art and architechture have been destroyed and altered since time began - you would think we'd learn. The Mexquite is beautiful as it stands...imagine what it must have been like 500 years ago.
The dinner hour is very late in Spain, but it's usually just a light meal, so it doesn't mess too much with your digestion. You have to remember - they've also siesta'd all afternoon. If you napped from two until seven, you'd be ready to roll at midnight too!
Funny about Tin Tin. Cooper has a couple of his comic books. He loves reading them (no...he loves ME reading them to him) but I've put them away for a year or two. Some of the subject matter just seemed more appropriate for an older reader.
When I first read your entry about the frog, I was staring at the photo below, wondering if the frog was perhaps French. Then I realized I was looking at an unrelated picture. (Skipping ahead never pays.)
TEXMEX??!!! You're supposed to be eating Gazpacho and Morcilla.
Have you seen any Picasso yet and how is Anette's Flamenco coming?
Love CKC and Oreo
Hei Anette
Tenk at dere er i Spania og opplever alt dette! Det er fantastisk artig å kunne følge med på hva dere gjør. Selvsagt forteller dere ikke alt! Vi er nå veldig spent på dansinga, og så lurer vi på om dere skal på tyrefekting; noe mer spansk enn tyrefekting og flamenko finnes vel neppe. Vi skulle gjerne ha lånt sola noen timer, for her har det regna i heile dag. I morgen er det sankthansaften, så da blir det kjeks, brus, bål og grilling av pølser uansett vær. Vi venter spent på om tante Lena skal få babyen, og imens følger vi dere på den flotte Europa-turneen. Ha det fortsatt fint, og hils Brad fra oss. Klem fra tante Torill.
Dear son and a nut. We got the laptop sort of running then the cord broke while I was in Idaho so Heather has been trying to get it fixed or order a new one in a frustrating process with Dell. Any way nobody could fix it but I Mcgivered it with the pearing knife and some duct tape and got my typing finger warmed up. Hey happy birthday and we hope you both are enjoying the history and the people you meet. Sounds like it has been hot - do you have air conditioning for your siestas? I think those two girls are doing yoga on the beach. I got most of the footings, sewer and floor put in on the "club house" in RTS in the 8 days I was there and need another couple to finish. We are trying to be in Idaho for the 2 long weekends and 3 weeks in August so we hope to have the water warmed up for you. I got the boat in and the dock turned and ready. Fireworks are July 3 in Priest River this year so we will shoot sone off for you. Now that I even know what a blog is I will try it again.
T.O.M.
Hello Anette and Brad,
Just thought I'd write a quick note to say hello. And I also knew Anette couldn't possibly stand not hearing from me on her trip, so I thought I'd better do the nice thing and write! :)
Anyways, it's been nice reading about your trip. Sounds like you're having an amazing time! I'll be sure to keep reading what you're up to. Have fun (but I don't really need to tell you that)!
- Lisa the best, or la mejor persona siempre (Yes, even in Europe you can't get away from my conceitedness - I'm the best in any language!)
Dear Brad and Anette,
Great hearing from you yesterday and so happy you are having a wonderful time.
A bit of advice from your ol' mother.... When you go to the bullfight in Barcelona - splurge on the 'expensive' seats that are in the shade - blood and gore is much easier to take when the sun isn't beating down on you and making you sorry you had sangria before going to the arena....
Also - don't get seats too close to the action - you sure don't want the ear from a dead bull land on your lap ---- even if it IS supposed to be good luck!!!
That's all the words of wisdom I have for today! Have fun, and keep up the great travel log.
Love Mom (wife of T.O.M.)
Post a Comment
<< Home