When both Beth and Maya tell me that I needed to write a new entry in this travel journal, I protested that a week hadn’t passed. They protested that our weekend basically amounted to a full week, so here goes the half week update.
Maya faced most all of her fears on Friday afternoon when she went to practice with a Spanish soccer team. Maya doesn’t like new social situations, being the only one who speaks English, playing soccer for an entirely new team, or not knowing what she is supposed to do...sooo she really didn’t want to jump into a Spanish soccer practice, but she did it. She is practicing with CD Hispalis, which is a club in Sevilla that has committed to developing women’s soccer, which is not that common given the country’s passion for the sport. Maya fit in nicely, though there was one drill in which she had no idea which team she was on...oh well. Maya and I ran home the 2+ miles from the practice. The evening run has become a delightful daily ritual. Maya is running faster and faster, and running through the streets and the parks lit up is spectacular. This is the one time when Maya really seems to comment on the beauty of the city. We even had one evening run side-by-side with the horse drawn carriages. (Maya does always comment on the beauty of the horses)
On Saturday, we headed off for a day trip to Cordoba, which is about 90 miles northeast of Sevilla. I had forgotten just how enjoyable reliable train travel can be. The fast train only takes 45 minutes, and it seems to run like clockwork. There is even a movie on the train. I was struck by the timing of our visit, coming almost exactly as Trump signed the Travel Ban. Cordoba came to be one of the most glorious cities in the world in the ninth and tenth century in the Umayyad Dynasty beginning with the arrival of the Caliph Abd-ar-Rahman. The Caliph developed a rule that embraced diversity and tolerance. The Jews and Christians were allowed to worship, and the Caliph even had a Jew as his Vizier. In fact, the Jews and Christians embraced the culture; they fell in love with Arabic because it was a language of poetry and philosophy. The Caliph managed to build a remarkable library, including significant translations of Greek texts. Christians and Jews read Greek philosophy for the first time in Arabic...mindblowing. They also wrote poetry in Arabic. It really only takes ten minutes in an Alcazar to begin to understand why many Jews and Christians embrace the Caliphate. Anyway - I make the point because history seems to instruct us quite clearly that tolerance and diversity leads to far more success, in all ways, than intolerance and fear. Cordoba enjoyed economic, political, and artistic success in a time of relative peace as a result of the policies of tolerance. After the glorious years of Cordoba came the Spanish inquisition. So, while we are in Spain, we have not ignored the American political mess. We are just wishing the U.S. was moving more toward the poetry and tolerance end of the spectrum and trending less toward the inquisition side.
Our time in Cordoba was delightful and surprising. We started with a visit to the Royal stables of Cordoba - a good way to keep Maya happy. The horses are stunning. From there we headed to the Alcazar and the Mezquita. The Alcazar, like other remnants of the Caliphate in Cordoba, displays a remarkable mix of architecture, gardens, water, and ceramics - I am struck by how much luxury hotels today seem to be designed just like these Alcazars. The Mezquita, the Mosque/Cathedral, is just remarkable in size. As a building it does not really make sense, but it does display just how rapidly people converted to Islam throughout the ninth and tenth centuries - each new Caliph doubled the size of the mosque for a number of generations. The church set in the middle of a huge mosque is pretty wild; it is a huge church dwarfed by the mosque surrounding it. From the Mezquita, we followed a flow of people across the river where we found a vibrant Medieval fair. I think unexpected finds like this might be one of the true joys of traveling. There was almost a mile of booths: some grilling all sorts of meats, others selling beer, hot wine served in a horn. There were also blacksmiths, weavers and many vendors of wooden swords. It was hilarious and delightful. Sadly, it put the Menlo Park street fair to shame, just look at the picture of the barbeque wheel of glory...truly there is no comparison, and we are not sure we can ever return to the Menlo Park version...sad. We ended our day in Cordoba with the horse show at the royal stables - super impressive. They even have horses that jump off all fours straight into the air. Yes, Maya liked this part.
After visiting real churches on Saturday, we focused our Sunday on a different kind of Spanish religion by going to see Real Betis, one of two soccer teams in Sevilla, play the uber-famous FC Barcelona. We fortuitously ended up with seats directly on the goal line in the first row of the second level of the stadium. Not unsurprisingly, Betis game out with more energy and vigor than did Barca, but the quality of Messi was still clear. I have never seen anyone capable of doing more with such economy of motion - he is unbelievable. Still - I was rooting for the home team...while Beth and Maya were rooting for Neymar, Messi and Suarez. Betis scored first - midway through the second half. The stadium went bat-crazy; it was very exciting. But, it was also like the home team had awoken a giant....because they had. The goal flipped a switch, and Barca was in full attack mode, and within a minute they scored what from our angle was a clear goal; however, the ref didn’t see the ball two feet over the line, and play continued. Betis lamentably missed a 1 v 1, and Messi set up Suarez for a tying goal in the final minute. The last twenty minutes of the game was crazy exciting, and it might go down in history as the game that convinces Spanish football to use the Hawk Eye goal line sensor that every other league in Europe uses. It was big soccer news across the country “el gol fantasma”. We walked home from the stadium and stopped for a long lunch at an outside cafe just off of the Plaza Espana - what a delightful way to spend a day.
On Monday, we returned to our weekly schedule. Maya’s school took the whole day to celebrate Dia de la Paz - the day of peace. They marched down the main street with signs, heard speeches, and ate cake and chocolate. I loved the sentiment, particularly given all that is happening in the world. Makes me feel pretty good about being associated with Sacred Heart.
Finally, my favorite part of this rambling travel journal: the Spanish customs that we have quickly adopted:
First, it seems that just about every Sevillano, from college student to grandmother, orders a small beer at lunch. I really do not think I am exaggerating; if you look around a restaurant, every local has a small beer, or two. You simply ask for a cana, they the waiter brings you a small beer. It will always be a Cruzcampo and it will be very cold. It turns out that adopting this custom is remarkably easy. In fact, it quickly seems hard to imagine not having a small beer to start lunch. Why would you not have a small beer?
Second, Sevillanos have a mid-morning break/meal called Merienda, in which people eat a toasted bread and have a coffee or a juice. On our street, there is a very chic cafe/bar that serves cocktails in the evenings and merienda in the morning. In the mornings, the place is regularly full of working people (no tourists), and every single one of them is eating a toasted roll - yes-everyone has a toasted roll. The gluten free diet is not big here. Most have their toast with olive oil, pureed tomato and jamon iberico and they have a small cafe con leche. Beth and I go there every morning after I drop off Maya and Beth has read most of her cases. Beth declares it to be the perfect breakfast and the perfect business...it is a toast restaurant, and it is delicious. It is also run by three hip, young Spanish women with tattoos who seem to know everyone who comes in. We are not sure that we are cool enough for the cocktail crowd in the evening, but we are quickly becoming regulars in the morning.
