Cordoba, Spain!

So after the wild craziness of Sevilla, a daytrip to Cordoba was the thing to do.

Once again: PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION from Sevilla to Cordoba. Love Love Love it. This means I've seen a lot of southern Spain which is v. pretty.

Why is Cordoba cool? Well, Darija studied it like whoa back in school and here's what I learned:
It was, at one time, the largest city in Western Europe. It's its own World Heritage Site because it's freakishly important historically, culturally, politically, and economically. Basically, Cordoba was the center of Muslim life in Spain for awhile until the Reconquista by Catholics. (to the left: Arabic script now behind glass) What did this mean? The Catholics did their best to eradicate the Muslim presence all over Spain, working especially hard in Cordoba because of the Mezquita, the incredible and breathtaking mosque begun by Muslims in 784 and officially ended by Christians in the 18th century. The Christians came in a re-conquered Cordoba for the Christians and literally constructed a Cathedral around the mosque. Crazyyyyyyyyyyy! (to the right: Catholic altar). Post-Mezquita (the mosque/cathedral) I took a walk around the town, soaking up the beautiful architecture, the oranges, the food, etc. I made it a point to sit down and eat churros and drink Spanish hot chocolate - Darija drilled it into me that I HAD to consume these before leaving the country. Ummmmmm she was SO RIGHT. Heaven.

Took the bus (yay! public transportation!) back to Sevilla and I had my last night there. Met up with Hannah from U of M and we powerwalked around that city which was nice. Saw her neighborhood, saw Sevilla at night, good times.

And here's another time when I'll tell you about the food I ate while on vacation!
Met up with Chelsea and crew again for vegetarian dinner at the world's greatest vegetarian restaurant (ok, when I get back to Ann Arbor I will go back to Seva and let you know which is better)
Chelsea treated me to SO MUCH amazing food. THe menu?
Appetizer: hummus on toast. I hadn't had hummus in five months. It was about damn time!
Main: tofu skewers in balsamic dressing, french fries, asparagus
Dessert: Vanilla ice cream with chocolate sauce.

SO. GOOD. Viva Espana!

Chelsea and I finished my last night in Sevilla catching up on that Sunday night's L-Word. I left bright and early in the morning to catch my flight to Italy.

Spain was awesome.