Day 7 and 8: Córdoba, One More Gaudí, and The End.

On Day 7 we decided to get out of Sevilla for a day trip to Córdoba.  During the Moorish reign, Córdoba was the main hub.  It's not as big now, but still has some awesome sights.  We started by wandering through the Jewish Quarter.  Similar to Sevilla, but smaller and windier streets (not windy as in breezes, but windy as in a maze). 

The major site in Córdoba is the Mezquita, a once-mosque turned into a cathedral when the Christians reconcured.  It was stunning!  First, it retains much of its original mosque design.  It has these amazing red and white stripped double arcs EVERYWHERE that makes the room feel endless.  In the back there is the Mihrab, the main focal point of worship.

But then, plopped dead in the middle, is a cathedral.  A hugely tall cathedral that seems totally out of place.  It's beautiful, but everything seems like it was pieced together.

 After, we went to the Alcázar, but it was much less impressive than the one in Sevilla (but free).  The gardens were nice, but under maitenance and then we wandered through the building.  On first appearance it seemed like there were only a few rooms, but on further exploration, we found our way up onto the ramparts and other parts of the building.  Very nice.

When we came back to Sevilla, we met up with another one of Ellie's friend.  We went to dinner and then went salsa dansing!

For more pictures from day 7 click on the organ from the Mezquita:

Day 8:

Our last day in Spain was kind of slow because we were tired.  We went back to Barcelona and checked out the Gaudí designed Park Guëll.  It was really awesome, but very croweded and a little cold so we didn't stay as long as we would have liked.

 

For our last night, we went out to a nicer restaurant with some people we met from the hostel (American, Quebecois, and Brazilian). 

The next day we took a bus "home" to Montpellier.  It was actually quite a strange feeling because, even when I didn't know if home was Lehigh or New Jersey, at least it was always in the US.  But now, my concept of home has been shifted, because leaving Spain definitely felt like going home.

And thus concludes winter break!

For more pictures from day 8, click on the tiles:

Stay tuned for... The smelliest caves in all of France