Caught in the Rain in Cordoba

Oh man, I crushed hard on Cordoba. The charming city was a feast for the eyes. We got absolutely dumped on with rain, but I still adored our day there. 

Cordoba made an easy stop on the way from Madrid from Seville and we planned for around 5 hours to explore the town. The biggest draw was the Great Mosque of Cordoba, or the Mezquita. When I read that it was the second most famous Islamic site in Spain after the Alhambra, I knew we needed to see it. Three years ago, the Alhambra in Grenada was one of the most magnificent man-made places I had ever seen! 

The Mezquita is a former mosque, full of pillars with colorful red and white striped arches as far as you could see. With the pouring rain, I was very happy that the entire place was indoors. After Spain turned to Catholicism, a cathedral was built in the center of the mosque, making it a very unique site. I tried to make it exciting for the kids by comparing the place to something out of Dr. Seuss. And while it really did seem like a page from "Oh the Places You Will Go," that comparison seemed to fuel their crazy. They just wanted to chase each other around while squealing and to climb all over the kneelers. I averted my eyes any time a guard would look our way! 

Madrid's train station

En route: A lot of pretty olive tree scenery for the adults, a lot of cartoons and snacks for the kids!

Courtyard of the Mezquita

Pillars for days

A series of blurry photos capturing the experience.

 

I can't get enough of intricate mosaic work and hand carvings.

 

Even Maeve seemed impressed.

The inner cathedral

I think our best family selfie yet ;) 

The kids were glad to be outside and Maeve was thrilled to find some puddles to jump in. 

  

Pete found us a great lunch spot while Jude and I souvenir shopped. Jude has discovered "the gift shop" and it makes an excellent bribe for good behavior. He is definitely my son as the gift shop was always my favorite part of places I visited growing up! At this particular stop we got a pair of sweet wind up flamenco dancers.

Jude spotting daddy down the street.

After a yummy lunch of risotto and paella for the adults and pasta for the kids, they promptly passed out, leaving Pete and I with two sleeping kids in the pouring rain in the middle of Cordoba.  We spent the next hour wandering the Jewish quarter, making our way to the river with its striking Roman bridge all the while getting drenched.

36 pounds of dead weight! Pete had the hard job!

"Hermana yo si te creo"- Sister, I believe you

Rain pouring out of the spout

 
When the kids were awake, we ducked into the Museum of Alchemy to get out of the rain for a bit. Then we spent some time chasing pigeons (that diaper butt run!!) before catching a cab back to the train station to continue onto Seville.

Second Day in Madrid

Monday's sun was some of the last we'd see for the remainder of the trip. The temps dropped as well so we sought out more indoor activities on Tuesday. Prior to trips, I research where the playgrounds are in cities. I had found one in front of the Naval Museum so we made a morning of it. 

Just as we left to head to the corner bakery, the airline called and our luggage was delivered at our apartment! We were glad to see all of stuff safe and sound, but didn't know how we'd manage the rest of the trip with all of the new things we had bought!

I loved learning about all of the Spanish explorers in elementary school so the Naval museum was right up my alley, plus model ships for the kids and PD for Pete!

We have a lot of pictures like this, which seem so sweet, but really Jude is squeezing Maeve around her neck and she's about to lose it!  

Lots of cool ship figureheads

One with Madrid's symbol

Our new found friends suggested a few areas to get tapas. One, Calle Jesus, very close to the museums and one, Calle Cava Baja in la Latina where we ended up having dinner that night. We opened up Vermnu, a cute tapas place at noon just as snow was starting to fall outside. The staff were really kind and accommodating with the kids. We had the whole place to ourselves the entire time. 

 

In the afternoon, we decided to bite the bullet and go with the kids to the Prado museum, one of Europe's greatest art museums. It was about as we expected it would be with kids. Magnificent artwork that we got to glance at out of the corner of our eye as we chased one kid or another. Still, I was glad to see masterpieces like Bosch's Garden of Earthly Delights, Valezquez's Las Meninas, and Ruben's The Three Graces in person. Pete also spotted the actor, Jason Schwartzman (of Wes Anderson films fame) in the lobby with his wife. They were in town for the Spanish premier of their new Isle of Dogs movie. I'm so glad Pete's facial recognition software also works abroad!

We fittingly stayed on Calle del Infante (Infant's street).

Getting out of the rain at the Prado museum. 

One of the highlights of Jude's trip was getting to meet up with his music teacher from ISA, Violeta, who is from Madrid. She met us at a cafe (one that we could find open for dinner at 5:30!) with her mother.  She even brought us chocolate and sweets from her namesake shop in Madrid.

Violeta had also helped us find a babysitter so we had a rainy date night walking the streets, stopping for tapas at Mercado de San Miguel and at El Tempranillo on Calle Cava Baja.

Super cute street, even in the rain

That's a lot of wine!

Grilled octopus and garbanzo beans

A great get away to a new city! Now time to head South!