Title got ya, right?
Well, so my next stop after leaving oh-so-lovely Sevilla, was Cordoba, home of ´´La Mezquita,´´ which is a former mosque which was converted into a Catholic cathedral after the Catholics came back through Spain and took it away from the Muslims sometime back in the day. Yes, I should know when, but I do know it was called ´´La Reconquista´´(by the Catholics, ´´obvi,´´ as Erin Monica Beatty would say)... right? Quizas? So pretty much it is an Islamic-looking structure (think lots of arches and ornate carvings, etc.) filled with Catholic relics... strange combo, let me tell you... But before I made it there...
(dun dun dunnnnn)
The Incident of the Rosemary Woman:
She came up to me, an older woman, bearing a rosemary sprig, as one might bear an olive branch signifying peace... But this was no olive branch, mis amigos, no indeed. Having just arrived at the city, I think, ´´oh cute- how friendly- she wants to talk to me and give me an olive branch.´´ So I smile and say hola or something, and she tries to give me the rosemary. Having no pressing need for herbs, I kindly refused, but she was quite persistent, and actually shoved it into my palm, and read my ´´fortuna,´´ which went something like, ´´long life, love, and children.´´ Now, I´ve just arrived in Cordoba and have been walking with my pack for quite a while, so I am feeling a lot more like the hostel and some water and food than standing in the hot sun with an old lady rubbing my hands with rosemary, so I try to go my separate way. And what does she say? ´´Pagame´´... just like that... ´´Pay me!´´ WHAT?! I´m sorry, when did cute old women take up conning tourist girls who mean them no harm?! I tried to say no, you didn´t tell me this would cost anything-- and I said no in the first place, but she would not be pacified... I resorted to appeasement, I am embarassed to say, and handed her 2 euros... that´s a pretty penny in my book... and she says, ´´no, cinco!´´ That´s when I lost it and was like no, be happy with that, and walked away... slash sprinted away. I really wish I had been quick enough to give her some grand retort in Spanish, but she caught me so off guard! Later that night, before traveling to Granada the next day, I read in my good ol´ Rick Steves´ travel guide that in Granada in particular, these rosemary ladies were like a pestilence... so of course I entered Granada somewhat scared for my life, since I had already had an unpleasant encounter in Cordoba. And the book said the women didn´t just try to get you to pay them, but they also sometimes worked in pairs, with one distracting you while the other robs you! ´´Oye vey´´ is all I have to say to that. So you can add to ´´beware of greeks bearing trojan horses,´´ ´´beware of spanish women bearing rosemary branches.´´ They might look like olive branches, but they are no peace offering, my friends. BEWARE.
But back to Cordoba minus my scarring encounter... While I was there, I also saw a house called Casa Andalusi, which is decorated like a typical Andalusian style house, and I went in the Alcazar and gardens there as well. They were lovely too, but I must say, Sevilla remained my favorite.
But enough about inedible gardens and palaces and such... let´s talk comida (food)... Leche Meringada... possibly the best stuff on earth. It´s an helado (ice cream) made from lemon-flavored milk mixed with cinnamon (which I can never remember how to spell, but whatever... ´´canela´´... how about that, eh? who needs English?... this from the future English teacher-professor...) It´s basically the tastiest, albeit strangest, ice cream combo I´ve ever had. I highly recommend you try it. The place I went had it sugar-free too, which was just peachy :o) Sadly for me, that was to be my last dose of chemical sugar this trip, except for ´´Coke Light,´´ which I guess is the Spanish version of Diet Coke, a favorite chemical concoction of mine... :o) ANYWAYS... so leche meringada... maybe you can try it at home with lemon sherbert - sorbet and cinnamon?... no se... (I don´t know) Maybe part of the reason it tasted so unbelievably good was because I had been walking out in the hot sun sans agua for a very very very long time... could be...
Ok, that about does it for Cordoba... I really wanted to go to this museam of some artist who paints women... maybe all women, I think... but it was closed Sunday afternoon and Monday... que triste :o( ... how sad... But I bought two of his posters at a shop, and plan to research him back in the states, or maybe here, depending on how much ´´tiempo libre´´ I have... (free time)... Pictures coming sooon! Adios mis amores-- hasta luego!
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