Córdoba, Belalcázar, y Clases Particulares

Just a quick update to let you all know that I'm keeping busy (relatively), and that I'm back safe and sound from my trip to Córdoba. I had originally planned to visit the city with a professor from Bates who is on sabbatical for a year and lives in a nearby town, but because of some scheduling conflicts, I ended up visiting her at her pueblito. That town is called Belalcázar, and has stunning views over streams, olive orchards, and a convent (where I bought cookies from cloistered nuns!) and castle both built in the 15th century. The castle is totally in ruins on the inside, but it's that much cooler, because one is free to walk around and isn't bothered by hoards of tourists. These pictures don't do it justice.




I ended up staying in Córdoba a night by myself because I liked the city so much and hadn't gotten to do everything that I wanted to - I think it also helped that it was 75 and cloudless the whole time I was there, and that the city has parks with lots of green grass; I've still got to fault Granada for it's lack of grass! Córdoba is home to one of the most important cathedrals in Spain; this one happened to be a Visigoth church before being turned into a mosque which, for many years, rivaled Mecca as a pilgrimage site. It was taken over by the Christians (like so many things here), but its two most striking architectural features are the result of its Moorish roots: the bell tower, and the almost 900 arches inside the cathedral itself.




I also visited Córdoba's alcázar (which comes from Arabic and means "fortress," but it's basically the generic word used here for any fortress originally in use by the Moors), which housed the Catholic Kings while they plotted to reconquer Granada (my town). It's also worthy of note because it was the seat of the infamous Spanish Inquisition (and had a pretty extensive dungeon network), and because it's where Columbus asked the Kings permission to head over to "India." It was by far my favorite spot in the city. I couldn't get over the number of fountains, gardens, ponds (most of which were added in the 20th century), and the sculpting of the trees, all of which made me feel like I had stepped into a story by Lewis Carroll.




In other news, I've started tutoring two young kids in English, the boys of a friend of my "brother" who plays the violin in Granada's orchestra. The older one is thirteen, and while he's pretty good, he's not as good as he thinks. This afternoon I'm off to find the hardest English workbook I can, just to shut him up. The younger kid is eight, eager to learn, and just starting out with English. We get along pretty well. The only problem with the situation is that they live in a town about 30 minutes outside of the city, and I've got to catch a bus there, but, it does get me out of a town for a little bit, and gives me some pocket money (just not much!). Ah, yes, I finally got to an organ/choir concert at the cathedral here in Granada last night. Amazing setting and, wonderfully, free, even if the chorus needed to be about four times larger to be heard in there. Hope everybody's doing well!