catching up in córdoba

my latest trip was one i'd been planning and anticipating for nearly six months. my boyfriend and i traveled to spain, somewhere he'd been wanting to go and that i'm always glad to go back to. fortunately for us, it's also one of the most affordable countries in europe to visit, and the struggling euro helped us even more. the time of year ended up being just right, too. in september we missed the high season for european tourists, which peaks in august, and still had absolutely beautiful, warm sunny weather.

our flight to madrid was largely uneventful (except for the free wine, score!) but when we arrived we realized getting to the train station across town might take longer than anticipated and we could be cutting it close for our first train. we walked through what i'm sure is the longest hallway in any airport ever and waited for what i'm also totally sure was the slowest elevator of all time. it passed by us, empty, on several occasions. very strange. after our first encounter getting directions in spanish (i think i mostly followed everything?) and getting our train tickets from the machine in german (i couldn't figure out how to change it) we were on the train to the train station. we made it to atocha with just enough time to get a ham sandwich and fanta for the journey. so far, so good.

we passed by la giralda right at dusk

fino straight from the barrel

we had a layover (is it a layover on a train?) in a small town in la mancha so we got out to explore the streets and have our first beer and complimentary tapa - cruzcampo, the cheap beer of choice. other than a statue of don quixote there wasn't much there and it was siesta time so very sleepy. we arrived in córdoba in early afternoon, just in time to meet our friends. the benefit of living in england is that you can take long weekends in europe basically whenever you like. must be nice, right? we decided to walk to our hotel (we searched hostels and airbnbs but in the end with four of us, inexpensive hotels ended up being the cheapest bet. odd, no?) - we started in the outskirts of town, walked through the more commercial areas and along the main shopping street and into the old quarter. our hotel was on a little winding street - as it should be. we quickly explored the terrace as the sun was going down and then made our way out in search of tapas and aperitifs. the latter came first, as we found a taberna i had come across in my reading. they served fortified wine (fino) out of giant barrels that looked like they had been there for centuries, along with sherry and other wines. we stood along the old bar munching on olives and catching up. jan - the vegetarian/animal lover - even overlooked all the black and white bullfighting photos covering the walls.

eventually we made our way up the street and found an inviting tapas bar. we were able to get many of the dishes we'd been looking forward to - including salmorejo (sin jamon, for jan), which is a lovely creamy cold tomato soup, ensaladilla rusa, sort of like potato salad, and some cured hams for us meat-eaters. we talked about all sorts of things and just had a lovely evening catching up.
the rest of the evening we spent searching, in vain, for some nice spanish guitar music. we walked to the other side of town and found nothing but a sort of eurotrash bar with pricey (but not bad) cocktails. on the way home we passed by some roman ruins with lots of kittens so it wasn't all bad.

the next day we were up fairly early, figuring we had a lot to fit into our full one day in córdoba. the archaeological museum was closest so we headed there first. for such a small city it was a surprisingly modern museum! built over some of the roman ruins, they've built walkways that go over them and created projections that explain what certain parts were originally. that coupled with great artifacts and good explanations made it well worth the 1,50€ entry. us museum folk were impressed.

gothic elements with traditional moorish ornament

from there we headed to the jewish quarter - la judería - which you know is the best because it has old, winding streets. there were a number of synagogues, mosques, and patios (córdoba's specialty) that we wanted to visit. they're all fairly compact though and luckily were all within a pretty small area. the synagogue was simple but had some great stucco decoration. i continue to be fascinated by those stylistic similarities you see throughout buildings of different religions or regions. i think my favorite was a little mudéjar chapel, capilla mudéjar de san bartolomé, a tiny little chapel that's covered with beautiful decoration, from blue and gold paint to arabic elaborately carved in stucco to gorgeous geometric tiles. my kind of place. mudéjar literally comes from the word 'to remain' so it refers to the moors who were permitted to remain in spain and later the architecture that incorporated more christian and gothic elements. fascinating, right? i know.

old courtyard

we explored a few more patios on the same street. one was made to be something of a small museum of life in the city. lots of beautiful antiques from the region and lovely plants along the walls. it seemed a little fake somehow but there were still some lovely elements. plus they had some great postcards so i can't complain. another larger patio had been redone as an artisans' atelier, with studios lining the courtyard and a shop below. it was a little bit like the we visited han in bursa, but smaller.

we poked around but it was past noon and it was just about lunch time. lewis decided he'd like a coffee first though so we stopped in a little cafe where we made a very important discovery. it's called a café bombon, and it's basically a shot of espresso and a lot of condensed milk. it's incredibly sweet and the perfect mix of caffeine and sugar to give you an instant energy rush.

picturesque restaurant in the jewish quarter

after that we found a perfect little tapas place across the street, casa el malacara, with tables set up just outside one of the main gates in the old city walls. it reminded me of jerusalem somehow. we had fabulous tapas - even more variety than the day before, including albondigas (delicious meatballs), patatas alioli (potatoes in very garlicky sauce), chicken curry, spinach with chickpeas, pickled mussels and bread. tapas are usually in the 1,50-3,00€ range and even though each couple usually split about four of them it always seemed to be plenty of food. the perfect amount without feeling too full or having any go to waste. the spanish are doing something right.

gorgeous gardens at the alcazar. this isn't nearly all of them.

from here we made our way quickly to the alcazar, which was only open for another hour or so before siesta time. we made it in just enough time to get a wonderful view of the city and explore the expansive - and beautiful - gardens. from the top of the tower we could see the roman bridge, the top of the mosque/cathedral, and the rest of the alcazar. although we didn't have time to see much of the palace's interior we felt confident we hit the highlights.

figuring we were doing pretty well seeing the sights we thought we would heard toward a moorish tea house i had read about simply called salon de té. on the way we stopped by the mezquita for a view of the grand umayyad doorways on the various sides. they are impressively large. we continued on to the tea house which was beautifully appointed. we found a little cushioned corner to relax and enjoy our beverages. after some mint and fruit teas we ventured out for a little shopping along the nearby streets. along the way we stumbled upon a courtyard that promised a guitar performance in the evening. we took note for later on.

arches for days

next up was the long-awaited mezquita - or cathedral depending on how you look at it. it's pretty humbling to walk inside. not in the same way most cathedrals are humbling, for expansive vertical spaces, but horizontally, with colonnades that resemble a forest of arches. i had been before and it was incredible then. sadly my camera died at that very moment so i have few physical mementos of that part of my first trip. it's pretty amazing to be inside a building that's one of the oldest and most important examples of islamic architecture. and you can clearly see the progression of the mosque's expansion over the years with the placement of the original mihrab.. and then the takeover of the cathedral. it's so incongruous to see the understated beauty of the islamic ornament next to the overly ornate gilded everything of the later spanish cathedral. or maybe i'm just biased.

after we thoroughly explored the mosque we figured we had earned some churros con chocolate. because, given the possibility you always have churros, right? we wandered all the way back to the more commercial part of town in search of a traditional place i'd read about that seemed fabulous. of course it was closed when we finally arrived so we settled for a place along the big square. not the giant churros i remember but they were still pretty good links of fried dough.

waiting for sunset

from there it was back towards the mosque and to the roman bridge just behind it. honestly most of the bridge is no longer roman (probably in our best interest since we crossed it) but it was great to get a view of the mosque and the city behind. we tried to wait until the sun was fully down and we got a peek at the sunset but to no avail. we were worried about missing our guitar show so we headed back across the river and back to the restaurant we had seen before, el patio cordobès (another pretty direct name).

flamenco in the patio

the dinner (in other words the requirement for us getting a free flamenco show) wasn't bad but the main event was the music. it started off with just some guitar and foot tapping, then singing and clapping. eventually an older man joined in, with a raspy voice but obviously very passionate. the younger and older man took turns singing, the young one later coming in to dance. that was some very fancy footwork. they performed for what must have been at least an hour and a half and who knows how often they do this. it was clear they were very passionate. so, we didn't see any frilly dresses but we still got a great flamenco show, and without shilling out the 28€+ they charge at other places around town.

we were hoping to cap off our night with a bit of hookah, which we'd seen evidence of at the tea house earlier. we made it back there but sadly it was closed. guess we'd stayed too long at the flamenco show. instead we settled for buying a bottle of wine and drinking it on the roof of our hostel - complete with a very slight view of the giralda (bell tower). and so we rounded out the last of our hours in córdoba. i hadn't expected to, but i liked it even more than i remembered. it ended up being our favorite city on the trip - small enough to fully explore, with hidden treasures. a perfect reintroduction to spain.

breezing through boston

well, i made it back to the states. after taking care of some necessities (orioles game. friends and family. museums) and making some quick stops in DC and richmond i did what anyone would do after being gone for 10 months.. i got on a series of buses to visit a city i've never been to. thanks to megabus and my knack for planning way ahead, i had scored some very affordable tickets and, after many hours of travel and some fitful bus sleeping, arrived in boston, greeted by early morning light. walking out of south station i found myself in the middle of boston's business district, too early yet for even the busiest of businessmen.

of railings and rowhouses

i managed to make it to my friend yasmeen's place, a friend whom i hadn't seen since my summer in jordan. (she doesn't have facebook either so, you know, it feels like even longer.) she lives in one of these charming brick townhomes and swirling wrought iron railings. the inside is what i like to think many of these boston interiors look like - a dark corridor filled with musty furniture and turkish carpets. her place was similarly haphazard, full of antique furniture but littered with the textbooks and notepads you'd expect of a busy law student. despite my early arrival, my gracious host treated me to some vegan 'chocolate' pancakes and fancy maple syrup which i enjoyed in a well-appointed green velvet chair.  

we spent our morning catching up while also running some errands yasmeen needed to tend to before her upcoming trip. along the way we stopped for lunch at veggie galaxy (noticing a theme here?) where we supped on some very tasty veg food and vegan milkshakes (which, apparently, if you're vegan, are a very big deal).

as it grew closer to evening we made our way back to yasmeen's and i planned to head to the MFA, quite proud of myself for arriving on their one free evening a month. which made me even more incensed when, encountering a locked door, i was curtly informed that the museum was closed for a private event. after expressing my disappointment, having planned this quite literally months in advance, i was told it was on the website. after leaving in a huff, i did some fact checking. turns out it is on the calendar of events... listed after about 18 other events occurring on that day.. which can only be reached by going through several screens. it's very possible i will hold this against the MFA forever. only time will tell.

rosy skies over a cheery gazebo

perhaps in a way it was for the best. instead of meandering the halls of the MFA, yasmeen and i had a little more time together. we walked the streets of harrison. mostly residential.. charming colonial townhouses punctuated by community gardens and corner cafes. we grabbed some kebabs (well felafel for my friend) in a little mediterrean place and talked to the proprietors as we treated ourselves to ice cream, too. yasmeen, it seems, has been much better at keeping up with her arabic.. then back to yasmeen's where her friends dropped by and we capped off the evening with a nice indian movie. i didn't even it make it through half (which, to be fair, with an indian movie is typically the duration of an entire hollywood one) before konking out. i guess an early morning that starts on a bus can have that effect on you.

hahvad yahd

the next day yasmeen set out early on her long drive to toronto and bid me, and her house (where she was graciously letting me stay), farewell. i was off on the bus to do some exploring of my own. one easy bus ride over the bridge and i found myself in cambridge. stepping off the bus i found myself in front of harvard and its ivy gates. i didn't linger long but i did enjoy a walk across the quads and between stately buildings.

cheery cafe stop

having finished with harvard (probably a tad faster than most students) i explored cambridge, making my way towards harvard square. along the way i popped into bead shop and found no shortage of bookstores (go figure). i punctuated my walking with much-needed respites at mediterranean cafes, of which the area seems to have no shortage. algiers cafe and andala coffee house were welcome breaks from the heat with cozy interiors and middle eastern touches (which i think adds to just about any decor). i've always heard that boston is a walkable city, so walk i did. all down mass avenue (which by the way has one of the best goodwill book selections i've ever seen. and i've seen quite a few), past the MIT campus and over the longfellow bridge. and did i mention how hot it was? if you thought new england in june wouldn't be well into the 80s, you'd be mistaken.

come sail away

though i was in a hurry i lingered over the longfellow bridge, with its picturesque salt and pepper shakers and sailboats below. one has the feeling those sailboats are always there; it must be one of the better views of boston. sweating by now and walking briskly to make up for all that picture-taking time, i at at last made it to the MTA stop on the far side of the bridge. side note: did you know boston's fare cards are called charlie cards? i confirmed this is a tribute to the kingston trio song about the ill-fated charlie and the boston MTA, a fact which delighted me, remembering the song vividly from my childhood.

the hot sun still shining brightly, though it was nearly 5, i made my way toward the harbor. i met an old college friend at the barking crab, where i was advised to go for beer and seafood. can't argue with that. we sat in what was essentially a covered picnic area with long continuous wooden tables. a huge party one table over was just finishing up what must have been 1000s of dollars' worth of lobsters. we were a little less ambitious, opting for beer and clams. i'm not actually sure if i'd ever had clams before (outside of a chowder) but on the water in new england seemed like the right time to start.

representing infinity

next up was the ICA - institute of contemporary art - on what just happened to be its free night of the month. (do you see how perfectly i had planned this out?? curse you, MFA!) we poked around the permanent collection and checked out the brand new exhibition from josiah mcelheny, some pictures of the infinite, a really fun installation that plays with ideas of time and space. and were also quite photographable. we sauntered slowly through the galleries, poked through the store and made our way out. almost as good as the artwork, though, were the views from the many windows out onto the harbor. i do love cities on the water.

oh look, more sailboats

from there allison and i had a leisurely stroll around fan pier, across the bridge and over to the harbor, parts of which seemed very much like georgetown to me. not having quite had our fill from our seafood hors d'oeuvres, we sought out some more libations. we stumbled upon blue inc. where we sampled some great small plates and fancy cocktails. it was lovely catching up and a great end to a wonderful whirlwind trip to beantown.

and i can say for certain i'll be back. there's so much i didn't see.. the city's unique history, some architectural gems and, the way i see it, the MFA still owes me a free visit.