I took the train to Cordoba and when I got off, the station was full of police, was all roped off, and dozens of people were waiting behind the ropes. I figured some star was coming so I asked someone what was going on. Duh! The team from Real Madrid was on the train from Madrid. I decided to stick around to see them, but after half an hour I gave up and walked to my hotel. About half a mile away, I came to a hotel with lots of police, roads blocked off, and dozen of people waiting behind the barricades. You got it ... Real Madrid was staying at this hotel. I kept walking.
Cordoba has an old walled city with narrow, twisty lanes. Of course, there is a Jewish quarter (no matter that they kicked the Jews out over 500 years ago) and even a synagogue built in 1315. It is in the moorish style - very interesting. I believe it is one of only four synagogues in Spain today and, obviously, the oldest.
On Friday night I walked around the tourist section which was pretty empty at this time of year. Then I walked around the rest of the city and found where the locals go: to the mall. It was packed.
The highlight of Cordoba is the Mezquita, which is the Spanish word for mosque. Like the Alcazaba in Sevilla, I was not prepared for how incredible the Mezquita is and ... the Moors built it in the 900's. It is HUGE with rows and rows of red and white double arches, supposedly to look like tents in the desert. The leader stands in a niche at one end with his back to the thousands of people praying but the rounded niche carries his voice out to everyone.
Those crazy Christian conquerors had the good sense not to tear this one down to build a church. No, they built a cathedral inside the Mezquita. That's how big it is. The cathedral only takes a small part. It is kind of the turducken of religious buildings. All they need is a small synagogue inside the high altar.
I don't think I have ever been in a stranger building. The organist was practicing almost the whole time I was there, so there was incredible music all around.
From the sublime to the ridiculous ... I was unable to buy a ticket to the futbol game online because I misunderstood when they went on sale and they sold out. So I went to Cordoba with the intention of buying from a scalper. I stopped at the mall again to grab lunch but so had a few thousand fans since the mall is right next to the stadium, so the lines were way too long everywhere. I noticed an ATM and tried to take out euros, but the ATM was broken. I walked through the neighborhood trying to find a bank but couldn't find one. There were lots of bars and restaurants all packed with futbol fans. Finally, I decided for some reason that I cannot explain, that dollars were as good as euros. I went to the stadium an hour before game time and there were scalpers with tickets. But guess what? Scalpers in Spain don't take dollars!
I walked back to the neighborhood, asked someone where the closest bank was, and took out euros, but when I got back to the stadium fifteen minutes before game time, even the scalpers were sold out. Oh, well. My stupidity at least saved me a lot of money. Then I noticed that I was not alone. Hundreds of people were standing around the stadium. There was a bar on the lower level with three TV's. So I went to the bar and watched on TV with a hundred other ticketless people. Two men about my age were standing next to me and at halftime they started talking to me. I can't remember the last time I hung out at a bar with two strangers, one of whom was drunk.
So the bottom line ... I didn't see Real Madrid at the train station. I didn't see Real Madrid at their hotel. I didn't see Real Madrid at the stadium. And I had a great time. The Real Madrid star, Ronaldo, got himself ejected with ten minutes left in the game and the score tied 1 - 1, but Real Madrid picked up the offensive even down a man, and won 2 - 1. It was not a very inspired game on the field and all of the goals were scored on penalty kicks. Guess I wasn't so dumb to not bring enough euros.
I took the train back to Seville on Sunday where it was a beautiful afternoon. The mornings are still chilly, but the afternoons this weeks have been sunny and in the low 60's. When I got back, the Alameda of Hercules was packed with people enjoying the warm day.
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