Woke up early this AM with the intent of hitting La Mezquita before it closed in the middle of the day. Plans were to otherwise wander through the mazelike center of the city, take in some of the flowerpot-adorned plazas (what Córdoba is also known for besides La Mezquita), eat, and be leisurely.
First, however was to take care of some unfinished biz for my electronics situation. I had realized that I left my single electrical plug adapter (US to EU current/plug) in my Lisboa hotel, so I was screwed for using my laptop much until I got a replacement. The previous evening's searches got me a 3-prong plug adapter... imagine my disappointment when I got back to my hotel last night after the hour-plus search only to find it wasn't what I needed (it did not convert a US plug to a European plug, it downgraded a 3-prong European outlet to a two-prong one. This was purchased at a convenience store where the owners asked a fellow shopper to help identify what I was asking for in my imperfect Spanish. FML.).
So I headed up to the train station and finally got what I needed from a stand there. Did some plaza wandering and got caught in the middle of peoples waiting for what I realized were Palm Sunday processions through the city. Ended up taking in a few, and realized I wasn't going to make La Mezquita with enough time to really see it substantively, so I headed back to the room for some siesta and internet time.
(Funny side note: it turned out the adapter I bought at the train station didn't independently work either... it took both the 3 prong to 2 plug from the night before plus this morning's adapter to get power to my laptop. Ay.)
Got back out later than planned... only ended up with 45 minutes at La Mezquita before it closed for the day. Since a Lunes morning visit was not an option, I paid the admission fee for a 45 minute visit. It turned out that 45 min was all I really needed. La Mezquita: Its beautiful, and (dare I say) it's strange: the mix of the pre-1200s mosque elements overlayed with the Roman Catholic components, including the main tabernacle and chapel. It's a little surreal. Very photogenic, regardless.
After spending maybe 35 minutes inside touring and photographing, I went outside, sat down in some shade y read the full brochure.
Crazy the amount of history there. Not to mention that in its mosque days (when Andalucia was under Moorish rule, pre-1200s, La Mezquita rivaled Damascus as THE place for worship. Also was a trip to learn that Córdoba used to be the most populous city in all of Europe. Particularly considering that as a city with currently 330,000 people total, it does not feel all that large.
I walked around a bit more and took in a few more processions, but even in shorts and a short-sleeve buttondown it was HOT.
Felt bad for the kids in the processions who were clearly miserable under all the hot black garb...
Ended up heading back to the room again, with plans to go out after dark, see Córdoba in moonlit splendor and grab some grub and a couple drinks.
And done. The bridge over the Guadalquivier River looked even better at night than during the day. And there were still TONS of people out and about... on a Sunday night no less. Also, Palm Sunday processions were still going on in some of the narrow streets.
Ended up hitting up this mercado not far from my hotel. Got some fancy mini-mini burgers and some draft Cruzcampo to pour down the hatch. And lol that I had to pronounce my name with a Spanish accent in order for the guy taking my order to understand. He didn't understand when I said "Kevin" pero cuando lo pronuncié como "KAY-bean", él lo escribió perfectamente... K-E-V-I-N. Yo exclamé "perfecto!" y we both laughed, haha. Perhaps I should come up with a Spain name...
Salud!
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