Hotel Occidental Cordoba Córdoba

We got up at 11am and drove to the old city of Toledo for a tour of the Cathedral. The cathedral was built in 1226 and took 267 years to complete. It was soooo beautiful. Shae was a trooper again. She hung in her stroller for our walking tour of the cathedral (over an hour). We headed up the mountain side so Mike could get a large format shot with the big dog camera. I hope the pictures turn out!

We left Toledo and headed out on our 3 ...

So we left Seville at a more reasonable time of the morning, but still meant getting up at 7h30am... this early morning certainly have not made this seem like vacation...

we went to Cordoba and really theonly thing to see there is the La Mezquita - beautiful... we will upload pics when we can get to good internet services.... but really once you have seen this site... you are done with ...

... polices the immediate area around the patio tables, he opens up the other case and assembles a clarinet. He’s scruffy, dreadlocks, tattered clothes, but not a stoner. He was a kid. Someone’s son. He finished a so-so song….then I see him taking apart the clarinet and, while not making a scene, he was muttering something to the head waiter who’d told him to pack up. I connected with this ...

... br>After a short look at some shops I stoped for lunch and opted for the daily menu which consisted of a tapas portion of Paella (which was very good...its hard to get paella on your own because its made for at least two people...i'm hoping to have some in Barcelona...) and some chicken and vegetables. All was very good. It was during lunch when I read in my guide book about a history of Arab baths in this area and the history of hydrotherapy. Knowing ...

... I was on the way. So at that point, I just took the metro to Chamartin, I did not want to miss the night train. So I got to the station and went to a phone booth and called my old host families and set up plans to meet up with them. It was a tricky area as both wanted me to stay with them, but I decided to stay with Alberto's mom as they knew about my arrival first. But I was going to give my first meal to Pedro's family as the parents were delaying their vacation just to have lunch with me.

... huge tents, all serving traditional food and playing either flamenco music or, yes, American music to dance to. Grab your castenets, look sultry, put your arms just so, and start clicking those heels, will you? The crowds are fierce; the horses and carriages parade, as do the ladies and gentlemen. Very Spanish, very Cordoban. Their hang-overs musts last for days. Tomorrow, Granada beckons! Ciao, Dick and Sue

... transfer service and the guy I believe tries to explain to me in Spanish that the store I need is next door. He quickly sees the blank look on my face and walks me over and explains to the woman what I want done. Prior to actual words, I have just pulled the memory card out and said CD. She tells me it's 7E, sweet!! I ask for both cards to be transferred. This is taking some time so I go to the grocery store and buy provisions for the ride to Granada ...

... the largest city in Western Europe and, perhaps, in the world. at one point they were the capital of spain. the mosque construction was started in 784 AD and over seval hundered years was taken over by kings, and converted into a cathedrals and a synagogues. the building was amazing and we took lots of pics. we left cordoba around 9 and went to granada. more updates to come.

... Now on to my addiction with PodCasting.... Today I downloaded & watched games 3 & 4 of the NBA Championship & was utterly disgusted with the play of my beloved Dallas Mavericks. We have now blown a two game lead in the series, but as bad as it might seem - I really think that the Mavs will be just fine & ultimately prevail in the end. ABC World News's also had a very interesting story last night about how recent college ...

... a while in the temperate water, we moved on to the hot water which is a few degrees cooler than a hot tub. We stayed in there for no more than 5 minutes, and then moved on to the (yikes!) COLD water. It was hard to stay in there for more than a minute it was so cold. Then we went back to the temperate water to start all over again. It was lovely. BUT THAT´S NOT ALL!!! We also got massages with scented oil. That rocked hard core!! Pretty much arab baths ...