Our Weekend in Córdoba and Seville!

Last weekend we had a great - and very busy! - weekend getaway, from early Saturday morning to Sunday afternoon.  It was neat to see other cities in Spain and compare their atmospheres, culture, and famous cites. I may be biased, but Granada is still my favorite :)

Day One took us to Seville, a very large and touristy city. We toured a beautiful palace/garden (with waterfall fountains and roaming peacocks!), then entered a cathedral that has to be the most beautiful building I've ever seen.  The inside was enormous and glittering with stained-glass windows and gold alters.

Later, we had free time to explore an incredible public rotunda/palace building. Seville was our program assistant Sarah's hometown when she studied abroad, and she was able to show us around. Like other posters have mentioned, one of my favorite things about Spain is that the every city has so much history and actually PRESERVES this historical architecture and tradition, rather than trying to constantly remodel to stay "modern".



Our night is Seville was great, as we explored the city and found a giant outdoor theatre with free public performances.

Day Two began with delicious buffet breakfast and a short bus ride to Cordoba. My first impression of Cordoba were that it was a bit smaller, more cutesy (think white latticework, thin winding roads, and flower blossoms spilling from every window basket), and perhaps a but more touristy. This could have just been because we were in a touristy area of the city, however. Our first stop was an incredible mosque-turned-cathedral, built in four stages between years 700 and 1700. Each stage added distinct style, and the end result is one of the most interesting and best-maintained cathedrals I've ever seen. We loved our sweet tour guide! The most distinctive architectural feature of this place was the ceiling, with hundreds and hundreds of red and white arches.



We finished up with a few hours of exploring Cordoba: a beautiful bridge, shopping, and of course our (daily?!) gelato!


Overall, a very fun weekend. Granada is still my favorite city because it doesn't feel so touristy. It has the most-visited attraction in all of Spain (the Alhambra), yet very few people here speak English and I feel like a local. I think one of my favorite quotes about travel captures this sentiment well: "The tourist sees what he came to see; the traveler sees what he sees."

My other big takeaway from this weekend was that, believe it or not, I'm glad we haven't spent EVERY weekend taking side trips. The group has mixed opinions on this, and I know some study abroad students travel every single weekend, but it's finally sinking in that we only have two weeks left in Granada. I'm missing the city and I haven't even left yet! Granada feels like home, and I want to soak up as much of it as I can.