This is a cemetery, of course. Yen discovered it on a previous trip – it has a parking lot and a nice restroom, so it’s where we park when we go to Córdoba.
I think this is a little alter or some kind of little saint’s house, but I can’t quite remember. Anyway, we like the mix of the Moorish door and the Spanish tradition of hanging pots on the walls.
We decided that a snack was in order to start the day. Here’s Mina checking out the pizza menu even though we all decided to have churros con chocolate, which are basically fried sticks with a thick chocolate to dip in. Linus skipped the stick and drank the chocolate.
Our main destination was the mosque-turned-cathedral.
When we arrived, we found the courtyard competely packed. While we tried to figure out what was happening, Mina discovered that Córdoba has fountains too.
Ah – it was a saint day. As we watched, these men carried out this big… OK, I don’t know enough about Catholicism to name it. I used to see parades like this all the time when I lived in Providence. So close to Christmas, maybe this is the Virgin? She must have been heavy because some of the men looked like they weren’t going to make it up the stairs.
Well, it turned out the cathedral was closed for a bit because of the festivities, so off we went to check out the outside.
Horses! Mina is completely obsessed right now. I honestly don’t know how we got through the whole trip without having to ride in a carriage.
Next order of business? Lunch!
Here you can see we’re enjoying a bit of paella. I was surprised we didn’t eat more of it. I think Yen was more interested in the Portuguese seafood casseroles, and in plain old unadorned seafood.
You can also see our efforts to get the kids through these epic meals. Linus has trucks and is construcing a road using found objects, including Yen’s phone. Mina is attacking me with a menu. But at a nearby table, Grandma and Grandpa are eating in (relative) peace.
Post-lunch walk, of course! Have I mentioned how nice the weather was the entire time? Just look at that blue, cloudless sky behind me.
This is an old Roman bridge that leads to a little tower. Just walking across the bridge is nice. We went into it last time, but this time decided to soak up sun instead.
I should explain this one. It’s inside the (now open) cathedral, which is actually a Roman-site-turned-mosque-turned-cathedral. They’ve excavated a bit and then put in a glass panel on the floor so you can see some of the Roman mosaic. The kids dropped down immediately to check it out. Some fellow visitors laughed, and some looked pretty annoyed. I didn’t let them stay long.
And here’s what’s up above them.
You always have to look up inside a mosque. Some of the most beautiful work is on the ceiling.
Linus and I toured together with a lot of, “Don’t touch that!!!!” and then headed outside. Linus and Mina continued inside.
Back outside in the courtyard now, which was fairly empty in comparison to before. They have a series of fountains that are connected by teeny canals. The kids spent an awfully long time following to see where they led.
Typical Córdoban courtyard. As you walk through the city streets, you need to turn and look in the little doorways to discover places like this.
Heading out the city walls to find our car.
Uh oh – what happened to Mina’s nose? Nothing much. We were playing in a playground the night before and she fell down, skinned it on the turf. She’s such a tough broad that she just hopped up and kept going.
Mina has started going on the big kid swings, and is trying to figure out how to pump her legs to keep it going.
Back at the ranch, we took the kids out for a little more exercise. There was a putting green right outside our unit, so Linus tried his hand. I think he’s a natural.