Cordoba, Spain

Wrapping it up.

Once we reached Granada, I went to bed. I was feeling so tired and so sick. It’s hard to fight a cold while traveling because you never truly get to rest. Mike and his parents went out to explore while I took a deep restorative nap. Oh that nap. It felt like such a luxury. When I woke up I felt like I had finally turned a corner on the travel cold that would not quit. Dinner that night was at my favorite restaurant in Granada, Paprika. My mom and I had a meal there in October that I was still thinking about (apricot tofu with peanut sauce). It did not disappoint the second time around.

The next morning Mike and his parents visited Alhambra while I extending my rest time into the morning hours. I think the desk employee at our hostel was personally offended that I wasn’t visiting Alhambra as well. As much as I tried to explain, “I know! It’s amazing! I went in October and loved it! But I’m feeling really sick now…” he could not fathom why I’d sit out. (Alhambra post 1, post 2, and post 3.)

Because I had already been to Granada and wasn’t feeling well, I didn’t take any photos around the city. I was not an enthusiastic photographer on this trip. Thank you, travel cold. So let’s move on to the next stop… Cordoba.

When we arrived at our hostel, no one was home. Turns out, we were the only guests in the entire place. The manager was out and about doing whatever so it took us awhile to track him down. We stayed in the teeny tiniest room and avoided taking showers in the really stinky water. Hostels: you win some, you lose some.

Cordoba holds a special place in history having served as a former Roman capital, an Arab state capital, and a Caliphate. It was a pretty important place and still has the architecture to prove it. The biggest tourist attraction in Cordoba is the Mezquita. Originally built in 786 as a mosque, it was transformed into a church after the Christian Reconquista in 1236. It is definitely a must see for the region. Tip: There’s free entry between 8:30am – 9:20am for individual tourists but not groups.

Other than visit the Mezquita, we mainly walked the alleyways and popped into bars and cafes to avoid the rain. In a town this pretty, just taking in the buildings around you is enough.

After our brief stay in Cordoba, we headed over to Seville, our last stop. Again, because I had previously visited and wasn’t feeling well, I didn’t take any photos. (Seville post 1, post 2, and post 3). The most memorable part of this visit was experiencing the thrill of foiling a pickpocket. I suddenly had a funny feeling in my stomach and turned around to check on Mike’s mom. A woman posing as a tourist with a map out had walked up behind her. The pickpocket had folded her map over Linda’s backpack and was unzipping it under the privacy of the map. When I called out to her the pickpocket backed off and pretended to read a poster, but Linda’s backpack was completely unzipped and hanging open. Luckily, there was nothing more than a jacket inside. Lesson learned! Be alert for fake tourists using their maps to rob you!

Early the next morning Mike and I flew back to Marrakech (not so) ready to begin the spring term.

xo, jill

***Big thanks to Mike’s parents for all their generosity on this trip.