Day Twenty Two

Here I sit in the "Zona WiFi".

I am so full and tired. Let me recount to you the day.

This morning bright and early it was to the bus station to head on down to Andalucia. NOTE: Andalucia is a community of Spain, like Madrid or Castilla La Mancha. This is the equivalent of a US "state". The cities inside of Andalucia we're going to this weekend are Cordoba, Sevilla, and Granada, FYI.

The bus ride was a little lengthy, but nothing too impossible because I spent a fair amount of time sleeping, writing, etc. Is it wrong to say I kind of like bus rides? Oh, and might I add that Andalucia is so HOT right now and I love it. It's southern Spain, so that means warmness and sunburns. Not complaining one little bit.

Our first stop today was Cordoba. This city is beautiful- mostly the buildings are white, have beautiful flowers all around, and there are palm trees and warm weather in abundance. It is definitely turning into one of my top 5 favorite places of Spain.

is also known for it's Muslim influence, with the coolest Mosque/Cathedral ever. You may think that previous statement is a little ironic, but I must use both those words because first the place was a mosque, and then the Catholics came around and conquered Cordoba, changing the mosque into a cathedral and adding their own little zest (or a lot). This place was amazing. There are lots of pillars because Muslims thought worship should be done in secret, so there are more places to be alone. There are no pictures in their artwork, but that does not mean I wasn't just as impressed with their handiwork as all the ceiling murals I've seen.

highlights of the day in Cordoba:

-lots of gypsies

-lots of naked people magnets and postcards

-drinking the water worshippers use to wash themselves in before entering the cathedral... oops. Hopefully Montezuma's revenge did NOT originate here.

-loving to hate the guided tours by our travel agent who thinks he's a tour guide, Alfonso... or --Alonzo... or Alejandro. Who knows. All I know is that I am beginning to feel less and less bad when I turn up the volume on my ipod when he starts talking on the bus.

-hazelnut gelato

After a long and hot day in Cordoba, we got back on the bus and drove to our final destination for the day: Sevilla. We didn't pull into Sevilla until around 9ish tonight, so no exploring was done. We checked into our hotel, a quaint little place called, "Resitur", and then headed over to a neighboring restaurant for a little bit of Sevillan dinner. What an experience that was.

Course 1- Tuna salad with tomatoes, carrots, onions, and eggs drenched in olive oil and vinegar. (boo) More tuna with larger chunks of tomato, I'm sure backstroking through more EVOO and vinegar. Didn't really try this one.

Course 2- Berenjena Frita. Fried eggplant... or freggplant, as we donned it. Not gonna lie... this stuff was out of this world. Pick yourself up some, you will love it.

Course 3- This is where you could order scary things like swordfish or baby squid... I got scrambled eggs with artichoke. It was alright, a little wet and uncooked eggy for me, but edible.

Course 4- Dessert platter. It was just a sampler, but the tiramisu, flan, and cheesecake with lots of whipped cream were definite winners.

After eating a ton and rolling out of the restuarant, it was back to the hotel, and that is where you could find me. Great day all around, I am getting a nice farmer tan/sunburn. Not complaining one bit.

Tomorrow it's Sevilla day. Love from the front lobby of Resitur!