Day Trip to Córdoba

On Friday we took a day trip to Córdoba as a program. We met at the train station in the morning where Stuart brought us our tickets and told us a little bit more about the plan for the day. We took the train so the trip was only about 45 minutes! Upon arriving at the train station in Córdoba we walked to the downtown area where we went to visit the Mezquita. Córdoba has a very strong Muslim history just like Seville and other places in southern Spain, so it was amazing to see the Muslim architecture and culture still prevalent there. The Mezquita, or mosque, was stunning. It is filled with red and white arches on the ceiling that I have seen in many textbooks. When the Christians conquered Spain they converted the mosque into a church, so there was a beautiful Christian church in the Mesquita as well. I loved seeing the mix of cultures all in the same monument!

After this visit we walked around the city and admired all the historic architecture, like the bridge that goes over the Guadalquivir river there - the same river that crosses through Seville! We stopped for a tapas lunch, where I ordered croquetas and fried eggplant with salmorejo. I had to try the salmorejo, as it is a very traditional food from Córdoba. It is a cold soup like gazpacho, but it was a lot thicker and creamier - more like a sauce to me. I really enjoyed it!