NO8DO

On Tuesday morning, Brennan and my dad were up and getting ready early to get our rental car. We decided to take a day trip to Córdoba and explore a new Andalusian city. We all packed into a (tiny) 7-seater car and we were off. The drive was a little less than 2 hours, and we made it with only one stop. I was glad we left the city of Sevilla so that everyone could get a glimpse of the Spanish countryside. There are olive trees for miles and miles, Spain is actually the world’s leading producer of olive oil (not Italy!) and produces nearly half of all olive oil in the world, mostly from the Andalusia region (southern Spain). There are old castillos and ancient ruins scattered throughout the countryside, some overgrown from nature and some still in pristine condition. There are mountains and valleys, springs and palm trees, and everything is so green and lush this time of year.

I’m sure this giant bull statue on the hill has something to do with a nearby breeding farm for bullfighting!

We arrived in Córdoba and parked in a central parking garage. We grabbed some coffee and some pastel Cordobés (flaky pastry with a sweet filling), and started strolling around the city.

Córdoba is half the population of Sevilla, less metropolitan and a bit more tranquil. The buildings are very old and don’t have renovated facades like many in the Sevilla tourist areas have. Córdoba is quiet and charming in its own way, but also bustling with tourists not unlike Sevilla.

The main attraction in Córdoba is the Mezquita-Catedral, or Mosque-Cathedral, the only one like it in the world. Unlike other Christian-conquered Moorish cities across Spain where a mosque was torn down to build a church, the Christian conquerors in 1236 were so awestruck by the Mezquita’s beauty that they chose to preserve the Islamic art and structure and build

inside of it. It’s an incredible slice of history that probably never should have happened. We had a tour there booked at 12:30 with a guide.

There is also a Real Alcazar where the Christian monarchs Ferdinand and Isabella lived and first met with Christopher Columbus, in addition to it being a pivotal site during the dark days of the Spanish Inquisition. Unfortunately it was closed for restoration so we didn’t get to visit!

As we were waiting for our tour to begin, we walked to another famous site - the Roman bridge that was built in the first century BC.

10th century water wheel used to propel water up to the Real Alcazar gardens above the river.

There are several old mills on the river, no longer in service

12th century watch tower built to protect the city. The classic medieval “teeth” at the top were where archers would hide from enemy arrows.

We made our way to the mezquita-cathedral and found our tour guide. It was a pretty big group so we all had headsets, even Silas got one. Hey, anything to keep him occupied. As the tour guide explains that the tour is an hour and a half, I feel Brennan’s eyes boring into the back of my head as I turn toward him and shrug. What can I say, there’s a lot to learn!

The history of the mezquita-catedral is long and complex, with two faiths - Islam and Christianity - intertwined since the 8th century AD. On this site was originally a Christian church. In 711 when the Moors took over the Iberian peninsula, the church was remarkably divided and shared between the Christians and the Muslims. About 70 years later, Abd al-Rahman I demolished the church and build a mosque, though he did also allow Christians to build churches outside of the city walls…for a small fee of course. This guy had quite an interesting background…the way our tour guide explained it was that his family was the ruling family of the entire Islamic caliphate until one day, their rivals basically massacred the entire royal family…not unlike the Red Wedding for my Game of Thrones fans. One guy escaped…and lived as a fugitive until he finally talked, bribed and fought his way to power. He pretty much single-handedly laid the foundation for Córdoba’s golden age, building palaces, aqueducts, administrative structures, and most enduringly, the Mezquita. His dynasty lasted 450 years until the Christian cross went back up again over Córdoba.

History gives us several reasons why the Christians didn’t destroy the mosque and rebuild their cathedral. One - they were truly stunned at the beauty when they walked in and saw the columns, arches and mosaic tiles.

Two - they needed a place to worship ASAP.

And three - the biggest flex move to make after you just conquered a dynasty is to make the local people kneel to your god in their own sanctuary.

Realistically, it was probably a mixture of all three reasons. The Christians continued to add to the property and alter it to fit their worshipping needs for centuries. One of the most drastic changes was the decision to insert a full Renaissance cathedral into the center of the mezquita. How it was brought to life is still a modern architectural marvel, with flying buttresses supporting the large center dome.

One more fascinating feature of the property was all the woodwork. The entire choir nook is hand carved, as well as the pulpits, from mahogany wood they harvested from Cuba. A single man did all the woodwork over a period of 10 years and ended up dying right before the dedication. His tomb is located in the choir nook to this day.

The guide told us that mass has been held in this church every single day since the Reconquista of 1236 - through countless wars and pandemics. It may be one of the only churches in the world that can make that claim! She recommended attending mass there (we had just missed it for the day) because they play the 18th century pipe organs every day. The organs are situated on both sides above the nook and have a combined 5,000 pipes...5,000!!!! The acoustics of the building are pretty incredible given the archways and corridors, she said it's quite a sound to behold. Maybe we will return one day!

We also noticed this quote by JPII in the cathedral. He visited Cordoba for the 1200th anniversary of the current building as a place of worship (not just Christian worship). The quote translates to "The celebration of the XII Centenary offers a fitting occasion to manifest the fraternity among men who profess their faith in one God." Pretty powerful for the pope to recognize 500 years of Islamic worship in this building. It's either profound humility or the most elegant possible way to absorb a history that was never really the Christians' history to claim.

Just outside of the mezquita-catedral in the orange grove terrace!

Thankfully, I had pre-booked a lunch reservation at a tapas place across from the mezquita-catedral because it was PACKED. We were seated right away and proceeded to order at least 12 different tapas plates. We all agree that we like the tapas style because you truly do get to taste a little bit of everything! Also, most restaurants in Spain have 3 sizes for each dish - tapa (smallest), 1/2 plate (medium) and full plate (large). We learn that Cordoba is where the famous "tinto de verano" drink was invented...so of course mom and I had to order one, and it did not disappoint! However, at this point in time, Clementine was fast asleep on me (for well over an hour) and it was a bit of a challenge to sip it without spilling, but I managed.

Clementine finally woke up and enjoyed eating some of my salmorejo (cold Andalusian soup - WAY better than gazpacho) and the insides of a ham croqueta. My parents don't love the mushy inside texture but it was perfect for Clementine!

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We had another diaper-changing adventure, where Brennan had to wheel the stroller into the bathroom area because there was no changing station. Just as he took off her diaper, she decided to pee all over herself and the stroller! We did have an extra change of clothes, but the stroller was just going to have to dry out. Silas was getting antsy at this point in time so Pappy took him outside "for a treat". I was relieved (I think?) to find out the "treat" was a Spanish recorder-type instrument and not sugar-based. At least Silas got a cool souvenir from Cordoba! We walked around and bit then decided to head to the car since we had a 2 hour drive ahead of us.

We were banking on both kids falling asleep on the way home but only Silas did. Clementine was extra cranky as we were getting into Sevilla during rush hour and Silas was fast asleep with my arm holding his head up. We had to wake him up when we arrived and he was not happy. My mom and I hopped out of the car with the kids and all the bags, while Dad and Brennan took the car back to the rental car location. I bathed Clementine alone for the first time on this whole trip - and it was quite a challenge! She CAN sit up but is still a bit wobbly, making bath time extra challenging for only one person. She was sitting on a towel at least and the bath tub had a sprayer but I definitely ended up spraying the wall, the floor and my face during this bath session! It was then a game of musical children. I then bathed Silas while my mom fed Clementine, then we switched off for me to put Clementine down and my mom to get Silas ready for bed. The guys got back with some light bites for dinner as we were all still pretty full from our lunch at 2:30. We were so proud that we finally got on the Spanish lunch schedule then wondered how the Spanish actually eat dinner after eating such a late lunch! Silas finished watching the movie he had started the night before with my parents - Cars - then Brennan put him to bed. The four of us watched the first episode of the House of Guinness, but everyone was pretty exhausted from the day so we decided to call it a night around 10pm!

We woke up the next morning with no real plans - one of my favorite parts of this particular vacation. It was nice having so much time at each location that we could build in rest days, or days that we had no set agenda. We took our time eating breakfast and getting around...and the kids made sure to love on their daddy.

My mom, Clementine and I decided to head out for a shopping adventure. We wanted to find those delicious Spanish olives that every restaurant served, as well as olive oil. Clementine was ready for the adventure but the bow didn't last long...they never do anymore!

We walked to the famous Triana Market and it was bustling! So many different types of booths in the market from local goods to food to art. I found a giant jar of Spanish olives specifically from Sevilla, so figured they had to be good.

We then walked back across the river to a boutique olive oil shop that only sold Spanish olive oils. There were so many different options - all different brands from the region as well as olive types - and you could taste anything in the store! A beautiful turquoise bottle caught my mom's eye and that was the first one we tasted. It was like a botanical explosion in your mouth - grassy, hints of tomato and a bit of spice on the back end. We learned that it was the Picual variety and a very popular choice given it's punchy flavor. We both had to have that bottle. We also each bought smaller gift sets with different types of olive oils in them to mix things up. Everything was organic and not only Spanish, but specifically from Andalusia (southern Spain). I wish they shipped on a monthly subscription! We eat so much olive oil at home and you can just tell this stuff is minimally processed and retains all the good-for-you benefits.

Meanwhile, the guys took Silas back to the playground at Plaza Alfalfa, where we had been a couple times before. They then walked to meet us at the Setas - another famous site in Sevilla. I do remember them being in Sevilla 15 years ago (they were built in 2011), but was never really sure what they were or why they were famous. I also remember them being called the "Metropol Parasol" back then, but after doing some digging I learned that the architect trademarked "Metropol Parasol" and would charge for its use! So the city officially adopted the "Setas de Sevilla" in response!

The Setas are the world's largest wooden structure, and a beautiful piece of architecture. Originally in their location was supposed to be a parking lot; however, once the city started digging, they found Roman and Moorish ruins underground. They pivoted, built the Setas and there is also an Antiquarium (archeological museum) under them that sits 5 meters below ground. Unfortunately, we didn't have time to visit the museum or walk across the top of the Setas as we had to get to lunch, but we definitely snapped some photos!

"Setas" means mushrooms in English!

Lunch on our last day in Sevilla was at 1pm - two days in a row we had lunch at the proper Spanish time! We went to the famous restaurant El Rinconcillo. They opened promptly at...1:05...with a large crowd waiting to get in. It's the oldest bar in Sevilla and arguably one of the world's oldest tapas bars, dating back to 1670! Guys...America was barely discovered and this place was out in Sevilla just cranking out beers and tapas!

It's still a bar and tapas bar, but also has a nice white tablecloth restaurant on the second floor, which was where we had our reservation thankfully. Our grilled octopus starter was melt-in-your mouth and so tender. And my steak was delicious. It was so savory and flavorful with barely any seasonings, just a really good local steak. Silas demolished two orders of salami and I don't know how much bread. While I much rather prefered the jamon Iberico, Silas was clear he wanted the salami and not the jamon - too fatty he said about the jamon! Well okay then my little prince.

We were celebrating my mom's 61st birthday a day early since we would be traveling the next day, and bought a bottle of Spanish sparkling wine from a renowned producer in Catalonia.

The kids started to get a little vocal toward the end of the meal so Brennan offered to take BOTH of them back to the apartment by himself so my parents and I could finish the wine and meander slowly back through the city together. The journey was about a 1 mile walk. I asked him multiple times...are you sure? And he assured me that he could handle his own two children. I'm glad one of us can LOL. He strapped Clementine into the carrier and loaded Silas into the stroller and they were off. About 25 minutes later he snapped this photo in the elevator - mission accomplished! Again...he was worried about working out on this trip...he just carried an 18lb baby and pushed a 35lb toddler in a stroller at the same time for a mile!

My parents and I slowly walked back toward the apartment through the busy streets. Every day they were getting busier and busier, and more structures and barricades were being set up for the upcoming Semana Santa festivities.

Every few blocks in Sevilla, you run into a beautiful old church!

When we got back to the apartment, everyone was full from lunch and tired from the walking, so a siesta was calling our names. Once we all woke up refreshed, the girls decided to go out for coffee and dessert at a little cafe near our apartment for "dinner" - and I believe Clementine thoroughly enjoyed her first(?) taste of ice cream!

That was my last picture from our trip to Sevilla, but not my last memory! That night, my dad needed an excuse to go buy a mosaic clock for my mom for her birthday. She found it in a nearby shop but couldn't pull the trigger on the price, so of course my dad had to snag it for her as a (last minute?) gift. He asked me for an excuse to get out of the apartment and I told him to grab me a bottle of white wine. That wasn't just a made-up excuse though! You see, my husband had attempted to buy some wine earlier in the week at the grocery store and struck out on both bottles. One bottle was actually labeled "semi-dulce"...come on Bren, you know that means "semi-sweet" and your wife would never drink sweet wine! And the other bottle he bought just tasted like bitter cheap wine. Luckily the bottles cost about €4 each so no harm, no foul. Dad actually DID procure a decent bottle of white wine in addition to purchasing the clock - score!

As Brennan fell asleep with Silas, my parents and I stayed up late visiting - recapping the trip and talking about the future. Before this trip, I really thought this would be my last time visiting Spain, after all, the world is a big place! But as I was reflecting on the last week, I actually don't think this will be my last trip to Spain or to Sevilla. It has a way of drawing you in and I think my family felt it too. When our friends and neighbors have asked Silas what his favorite part of our trip was since we've returned, he always answers "Spain". That night, my parents told me that knowing I had lived here 15 years ago made the trip more meaningful to them — and having them here with me this time meant the world to me too.

15 years is a long time. Long enough to finish a degree, build a career, fall in love, move multiple times across states, get married and have babies. I realized I also might have forgotten, just a little, who I was before all of it. But walking the same streets I walked at 21, I can't even begin to explain how many times I felt that old version of myself again, the girl who wanted to taste everything, see everything, feel everything life had to offer. Spain had a way of bringing her back. As they say, travel is the only thing you buy that makes you richer — and after a week in Sevilla with the people I love most beside me, I have never felt more wealthy.

NO8DO - what does it mean? The city has not abandoned me.

And it never will.