Our recent excursion trip lead us to Sevilla and Córdoba. Both cities are quite beautiful! In Sevilla we first saw the Real Alcázar. It is a beautiful Moorish Palace that you may recognize if you're a Game of Thrones fan! I've personally never watched it, but the people there who have were very excited, to say the least. Next we saw the Cathedral and the Giralda bell tower. The cathedral, like all that were built around this time, is very grand. An interesting addition is the tomb of Christopher Colombus. However, only a small part of his body is there because it was moved several times and much had been lost during the transitions. The best view of Sevilla can be seen from the top of the Giralda tower, and I was able to climb it! And if you are thinking, “Wow, that would probably be really tiring to go all the way to the top!” you are correct. There were 33 floors, but the view was worth it! When we got to our hotel, we saw the FC Girona (professional soccer team from Girona, Spain) bus right outside! They ended up being on the same floor as us. I didn't know who they were beforehand since I've never really watched soccer, but it was kind of cool since that doesn't happen every day. Some other girls and I tried a Mexican restaurant since I had been missing it. It was pretty good, but it's not remotely comparable to what I have back home.
The next day we headed to Córdoba. When we first arrived, we saw a lot of people dressed in costumes since they were celebrating Carnaval. Once we left the bus, we walked past the Roman Bridge. I would have gone out on it, but there were so many people and we didn't have much time so I decided to admire it from afar. We did a walking tour of the Jewish Quarters and passed through the famous Calle de los Flores. The main part of the tour was seeing the Mosque–Cathedral. A long time ago, the Moors built a huge, open mosque. Most of the original marble pillars are still there, but the design was changed a little during the Reconquista. The catholics turned it into a cathedral and added walls. It was much too dark after the addition, so they added a tall dome in the center to bring in more light. A cool fact about the pillars is that when they were finished, the man who made it added his signature to it. They have a wall with copies of the signatures they have found, but you can still find them around if you look hard enough! It is still an active church and has mass along with concerts around Christmas. After, we were able to relax in the sun for a little bit, which was nice because the Mosque–Cathedral was very cold inside. We unfortunately encountered some ladies trying to “gift” us rosmary for luck. If you are ever in Spain, just ignore the “gifts” even if you come across as rude. They will typically offer to read your palm and then quickly demand you pay them for their service. Don't let them swindle you, and worse comes to worse, just mention the word police and they will more than likely go away. It's nothing to worry about, just say “No gracias” and move one. Córdoba was still amazing despite them!
While Sevilla was very pretty, I really enjoyed the few hours I had in Córdoba! It was absolutely gorgeous and possibly my favorite city in Spain that I have visited so far. My favorite part was the mosque aspect of the Mosque-Cathedral. The Moors were truly so amazing at what they did and I wish I could see what it looked like before the cathedral was added! Spain is filled with so many of these cool places and it is mind blowing to think about how much history you get to explore and experience. Plus, the landscape in Andalusia is STUNNING. I am so thankful for it all!
