I woke up to a gloriously sunny day and as I write, I’m taking my
morning coffee in a charming outdoor café on the tree-lined boulevard
aptly named Calle de los Reyes Catolicos (the Street of the Catholic Kings).
We are staying in the ritzy part of town at the comfortable Hotel Becquer
and like those strolling down the street, the café is riddled with
well-dressed middle aged men and women decked out for a morning of people
watching. They sit in rows calling out to passersby and when they spot
someone they recognize they are encouraged to join in a morning of coffee
sipping. The group just grows bigger and soon, one table grows to two
and by noon, it will be three tables. So far I love Spain and despite
the speed in which we are touring, and the close proximity of the cities,
each town seems to have a pronounced and unique flavor all its own.
First Madrid: it is a sprawling, busy city with wide central avenues that belie the quaint feel of its smaller streets. At first glance, with the exception of its museums, it’s an unattractive, unremarkable city with its dirty streets, tall building and gray facades. But upon closer inspection one can see that the city is rich with opportunity and diversity. It’s a classic case of coming into a big city and not knowing where to go and what to see unless you’ve befriended a local. Yes, there is the Prado, which alone is worth the price of the airfare to Madrid, and the Reina Sophia’s less interesting modern collection but equally impressive architecture, yet the thing about Madrid that I will continue to recall most vividly is our delightful dinner at La Vaca Veronica. La Vaca Veronica is located on a quiet, hidden and somewhat intimidating road, but once past its doors the smallish Spanish bistro is a welcoming burst of elegant chandeliers, intricate ironwork and cheerful yellow paintings. The owner is friendly and welcoming, but runs a tight ship and staff responds with excellent service (don’t get me started on the many atrocities of Irish service). My perfect fillet was $10 and the very good house wine was a mere $12. Ah, happy days! But what made Madrid so special for me was that despite its size, the people are genuinely friendly and helpful. Although Chris’ Spanish is muy excellente, mine is a laughable combination of broken English and pantomime, and despite this tragedy, I have only been treated with patience, good humor and respect. If I’m not careful, I may start to get used to this.
Next came the ancient and serene Islamic city of Cordova. We spent a miserable night in a dumpy little room above a restaurant, unable to sleep due to a mattress the consistency of jello and a fear that rats climb up the steps and invade the room (you know about my fear of rats). The only redeeming aspect was the great location next to the mosque and the balcony with views overlooking the main bridge connecting the old and new sectors. The city itself reminded me very much of our trip through Morocco with its winding corridors, hidden internal courtyards and tons of intricate tile work, but unlike Marakesh and Fez, the pace was decidedly leisurely, with tourists wandering the streets eating ice cream cones and viewing the city by horse drawn carriages. We dined at El Caballo Rojo where we sampled the local sherry and the house specialty of stewed ox tails. It’s a very manageable town and easy to navigate on foot. By car is a whole other story…we somehow managed to get trapped in a private parking garage and was only rescued after much banging and cries for help.
Corboda’s primary (really the only) attraction is La Mezquita (the mosque). Built in 784, it is the most important Islamic monument in the Western world and features more than 850 columns, dramatic brick and stone arches, an internal courtyard of orange, palm and lemon trees, public fountains for pre-prayer washing and intricately carved marble ceilings and wooden statues. The whole if it covers several city blocks. It is an absolute orgy of ornate décor which could only be a result of extreme religious fervor or obscene wealth. Imagine what the world would be like if God had money.
Anyhow, I would have loved to have spent another day in Cordoba, but Chris was itching to get to Seville. The drive itself was wonderful – filled with views of olive trees, cotton fields and rolling clay hills. We got a little turned around trying to find our hotel and frustrated by the crazy tangle of streets, Chris (despite my many protests) thought it a brilliant idea to pick up some old drunk guy who volunteered to escort us to the hotel. We drove around for 20 minutes with him breathing his stinky drunken breath down my neck before finding the hotel and then he wouldn’t get out of the car unless we gave him the equivalent of $10. I screamed at the both of them until they both jumped out of the car. In the end, Chris managed to send him on his way with $4 despite the fact that we were only a couple of blocks from our starting point.
Having arrived late in the afternoon we were surprised to find that Seville, famed for its lively atmosphere, was so dead and quiet. We found a little quiet corner at the edge of a square and had some beers and tapas. By the time we left, every table was filled with throngs of happy young Sevillianos. Although we had heard much about siestas, we had not yet witnessed its impact on Spanish culture until arriving in Seville. By 2pm the large metal and wooden shutters that hang suspended over each window is lowered and the whole of the city goes into hibernation. The streets empty, the shops close and many restaurants stop serving food. This makes sense though when considering that by noon, the temperature rises to a sweltering 85 degrees in late October! It’s not till close to 5pm that the city reopens and the townspeople come out in full force, refreshed from their naps and happy to start the evening’s drinking over tapas. If you haven’t gorged yourself on the small plates, dinner is served around 10pm. The food is excellent – the healthy, light Mediterranean menu I love most and to top it off, its dirt cheap! Same goes for the accommodations. This is why, despite all of the money spent trying to get set up in Ireland, we decided that it was absolutely necessary to tour Spain. And so far, this country has lived up to our expectations – cheap, friendly, sunny and colorful. Just what we needed to reinforce our love of travel.