Up early Monday morning to catch the Ave (high speed rail) to Córdoba.
To get an idea of the speed, it took us less than 5 hrs to get to Córdoba, when in 1972 I took a train from Barcelona to Málaga that took 24 hrs! In Córdoba, we get a quick tour of the small, quaint streets, typical of Andalucía.
We learn about the Jewish community there before the Inquisition and the role of the Moors in Spanish culture and architicture. This is especially evident in La Mezquita, a HUGE mosque-turned-cathedral that was so big the Spanish just could not tear it down to build their church. So the "mudejar" style (the mix of Muslum and Christian motifs) has its greatest roots and examples here.
Another great landmark in Córdoba is this Roman bridge over the Guadalquivir that predates all this Muslum and Reconquista stuff.
These girls can shop! Give them fifteen minutes to look around and they come back with nice dresses and they are on time! The guys, on the other hand, loll around the tourist trap gifts shops and choose some crap to buy. They seem to be compelled to spend money, even though there is little rationale for what they are doing.
Our new tour bus, driven by Isadoro, takes us to Sevilla. We have purchased (in advance) tickets to the Monday night bullfight, which is three torreros with two bulls each.
I had never been to one before, but it IS the tradition here. They raise the bulls for this and they would all be harvested anyway, but still, the ritual has its contravercial elements. One of our group could not watch.
When I have a better connection, I will add the video to this post of the final moments for one of the evening's bulls:
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