On Wednesday, the news came in… We couldn’t avoid Will’s rain power. Nevertheless, the fact that our plans had changed didn’t mean we would let our day go to waste.
Due to the unpredictable weather, we had to change our plans for the day. Instead of going to the Grazalema mountains, now we were heading to the golden city of Cordoba. I knew what was coming, so the night before I went to buy a rain jacket for our trip and the next day woke up early to prepare myself physically and mentally for the upcoming rain.
In the morning I went down to eat in the lobby for the first time. I had a brief breakfast, and as I was eating, I met a few other college students from the U.S. (North Dakota, to be specific) who were also visiting Sevilla for their spring break! It was exciting to meet other people who were also going through a similar experience, and we could connect to one another in such a spontaneous moment. Such a beautiful reminder of how magical and memorable experiences can be while studying abroad.
Our Trip to Cordoba
We took the bus to go everyone took a window seat so we could fall asleep next to various landscaping across the way. When we arrived at Cordoba, we were welcomed by an ancient bridge from the 15-16th century that led us to the center of the city.
We met our guide, Luis. He led us across the city and walked us through different alleys in the Juderia, or, in English, the Jewish Quarter. Later on the day, we headed to the famous Mezquita-Cathedral.
Just by crossing the gates, you could notice why it was so popular. The garden filled with trees brought a calming sensation as you walked over to the main entrance of the Mosque-cathedral. Among these, the tower provided the perfect background for group pictures.
As we headed inside, I couldn’t stop going in circles so I could see all the architecture. I was perplexed by the columns and as I looked at my fellow travelers, I could see the excitement in their faces and how captivated they were with the whole place as we would try to take videos and pictures for the memories. Every room we entered and every sculpture we saw amazed me more and more. I probably took a few hundred photos in the span of an hour and of course, and made my friends and professors take pictures of me.
Rain vs. Us
While we were heading out, we met our foreseen destiny; It was raining. You could see the sadness in almost everyone and how, almost immediately umbrellas were opened, and rain jackets were zipped all the way up.
However, the rain didn’t stop our day nor our voracious appetite. We prepared ourselves for going outside and spontaneously started running through Cordoba’s streets to find a place that would fill our empty stomachs.
Food Adventure
Sadly, the first two places we found were either fully booked or didn’t have enough variety of food to satisfy our group. Thus, our running streak kept got higher as we kept running trying not to step into a puddle because I can almost completely assure no one likes the feeling of a wet sock.
Finally, we found a restaurant in the middle of one of Cordoba’s narrow streets. The menu sounded quite interesting, and there was enough seating for us to sit comfortably. As we read the menu, a few of us, including me, decided to try Oxtail for the first time. I tried kangaroo’s meat (Which I really enjoyed) the night before, so Oxtail shouldn’t be an issue to eat.
As the food came, the plates were placed aesthetically pleasing across the table. We recorded the memories of the first time trying some of the foods. The least I can say is that the food was nothing less than spectacular and mind blowing.
Even though we couldn’t make our original plans, we still made our day as memorable as possible. This trip has made me realize that one of the benefits of studying abroad is to transform casual moments into unforgettable memories. I hope to be able to continue studying abroad in the near future and maybe one day in (very far away) several years be able to tell these stories and experiences to my children. For now, I would like to keep creating these memories as much as possible.
