Lest all the glorious pictures leave you with the impression that our vacation was flawless, I present our final meal in our hotel room near the Madrid airport.
While this may not appear to be any worse than a microwave lasagna picked up at a nearby grocery store, note the following key details:
The “microwave” that one of the kids saw in the hotel room turned out to be a safe. The lasagna is cold and clammy.
The supermarket didn’t have any plastic forks, so we figured we could get some from the hotel. Wrong again. We’re using flimsy coffee stirrers as mini-chopsticks. This is very difficult.
The two glasses beyond the lasagna contain Maggie’s frozen pork buns submerged in boiling water. (Again, we were expecting a microwave.) The boiling water was a total failure, producing a sodden, inedible mush.
Under more flexible circumstances, we might have just called this a divine sign that we should go out to a restaurant instead, but we needed to get up at 2:45 AM to catch our flight home, so we made do.
Frigiliana is one of the famed Pueblos Blancos (“White Towns”) of southern Spain, so called because the buildings are all whitewashed to reflect the intense summer sun. (There’s interesting history to it, too, having to do with the plagues that ravaged the area historically.)
In Frigiliana, you don’t have a choice about the exterior color of your home, but you can choose whatever trim you like. I’ve been struck by the colorful array of front doors that provide a hint, perhaps, of the owner’s personality.
We woke up early this morning to catch the train to Malaga. Saw this headline in the news:
A few minutes later, I received this message from Renfe, the rail company:
Even with my limited (nonexistent) Spanish, I could spot key phrases like “uuna incidencia en la infraestructura,” “no presto service,” and “en BUS.” Indeed, our train was canceled.
After a bit of investigation, we decided that renting a car would be superior to a lengthy bus ride. Thus I am tapping this out on my phone while Sarah drives our Opel Corsa past the palms, cactuses, and olive orchards of Andalusia.
After Cordoba, we took a short train trip to Sevilla. Daytime temperatures were still off the charts, so we took things slowly. Highlights included:
A flamenco performance that was out of this world. This was probably the best dance I’ve ever attended. We were in the second row of a tiny space and felt like we were sharing the stage with the dancer and musicians. The emotional intensity of the show was incredible. Slow builds, wild frenzies, and everything in between.
A visit to Centro Cerámica Triana, a ceramics museum on the site of a former factory. The Triana neighborhood is famous for its distinctive ceramics which blend Christian and Muslim aesthetic traditions.
The Royal Alcázar palace. Quite different from the palace in Madrid, this one features extensive courtyards and gardens. With peacocks. And a full-size hedge maze.
The Seville Cathedral is the largest Gothic cathedral in the world. We got to climb the bell tower for impressive views of the city before exploring the interior. I hesitate to say it, but despite being staggered by the scale of the place, we didn’t find it as compelling as the Mosque-Cathedral of Cordoba.
A full-size replica of the Victoria, the first ship to circumnavigate the globe in 1522, part of Magellan’s expedition.
The Plaza de España, built for the Ibero-American Exposition of 1929. The surrounding Maria Louisa Park is quite lovely and includes massive Australian fig trees which the kids enjoyed climbing.
We attended a beautiful evening concert in the Alcázar gardens showcasing historical Andalusian music. The elegant event started at 10:30 PM, which seemed crazy late, but we were trying to adapt to the late night culture of Spain. And, to be fair, it would have been intolerably hot while the sun was still up.
When Sarah asked me what I wanted to see in Spain, I was very flexible. I generally don’t want to obsess over checking off every cool thing on a trip. But I did have one hope: the Mosque–Cathedral of Córdoba. At first, I didn’t even remember what it was called, but I remembered the distinctive arches. I’ve seen photos and illustrations since childhood, and I recall learning about it in a class on Islam in college. Something about the red and white pattern was mesmerizing.
The reality did not disappoint. I was surprised to find myself a bit choked up as I first entered the vast space. It is a stunning example of how two faiths used architecture to represent the sublime.
We walked past the mosque/cathedral to a Roman bridge first built over 2000 years ago. saw old fortifications and the water wheel that, during the Islamic period, was used to raise river water to an aqueduct that supplied the palace.
After tea and siesta, we wended through the alleys to Casa Andalusi. It is both an example of a traditional Andalusian home, with rooms built around a central courtyard, and a museum to local paper making.
The basement of the house included a Roman mosaic from the ruins upon which the house was built.
We caught the high speed train to Cordoba on Monday morning. Cordoba was blazing hot when we arrived. It was a long, awkward walk to the Airbnb, not least because I chose a poor route that required dragging our luggage over cobblestones.
It was worth it, though, once we got to our apartment in the old Jewish quarter, in sight of the famous minaret of the mosque/cathedral. Compared to the tiny Madrid flat, this place was palatial, with a gorgeous rooftop patio.
We enjoyed a late lunch at a tea house down the block. Despite having no air conditioning, the shady courtyard was cool and refreshing.
Sunday was blazing hot, so we took it very slow. Spent time at a massive park (Parque del Buen Retiro) and wandered around the city. The Spain Saudi World Cup match was in the evening, so we enjoyed some bread and cheese and watched it in the comfort of our air conditioned Airbnb.
