Córdoba and the Chess Mastermind

Oh, how I love Andalucía! Every single city I have visited in southern Spain, I have absolutely adored! Córdoba was no exception.

Córdoba is a stunning place to visit. It is not only a beautiful city but also one of UNESCO’s world heritage sites. We only had a day in Córdoba so I didn’t see everything that I wanted to but we managed to squeeze in quite a bit. The highlights of the day were definitely seeing the Mezquita and the Alcázar as well as the traditional food we tried for lunch!

The Mezquita is a cathedral that was originally built as a mosque in 600 AD. I have never seen anything like the Mezquita in my life. Its architecture and art demonstrates an intriguing mix of the Muslim and Christian traditions. Multiple columns and the mihrab with the meticulous and intricate Arabic decorations coexist next to depictions of the cross and statuesque marble angels. Walking into the Mezquita, I felt like I could actually feel the layers of history surrounding me.

The Alcázar of Córdoba was also impressive. Although, we never actually made it inside to see to actual Alcázar castle itself. The gardens were so gorgeous that we spent all of our time exploring and taking millions of pictures!

Because I am a very food orientated person, my other best memories from Córdoba revolve around the traditional dishes we tried. The first dish was Salmorejo. Salmorejo is a typical dish of Córdoba that is a cold soup almost like a thicker version of Gazpacho that you eat with bread instead of a spoon. It has a very strong almost tangy flavor to it. I still haven’t quite decided if I liked it or not… The other dish was flamenquín - deep fried bread stuffed with ham and cheese! I was really looking forward to trying flamenquín because honestly, I thought that anything deep fried with ham and cheese would be amazing. Sadly, that was not the case! The flamequín tasted more like the oil it was fried in that anything else. I am on the look out to try it again in hope that it was only a crappy restaurant, not a crappy dish!

After our whirlwind of a day in Córdoba, my roommate Haley and I returned to our apartment and crashed exhausted. The next thing I know, I am being woken up in the morning by the sound of Spongebob (even more annoying in Spanish than in English surprisingly) blaring from the TV and squealing laughter. I was so confused because it is only Haley, me, and our señora in the apartment and I knew that there was no way she could be watching Spongebob on a Sunday morning. Groggily, I wandered out into the living room only to be met with a sudden silence and big brown eyes staring up at me. Our señora’s grandson, Antonio, finally stopped by to visit!!

Antonio is about the cutest thing I have seen. He is a ball of energy in such a way that only six year old boys can pull off with a goofy, crooked toothed smile. He was really shy at first only introducing himself to me in english as Anthony because “Antonio is Spanish but Anthony is Antonio in English and I’m learning English” in one big rush of breathless words.

It wasn’t until the next morning that Antonio truly opened up. He chattered at me all morning telling me about his English classes at school and his fútbol team and then demonstrating proudly the ‘head and shoulders’ song in English. He then decided – quite stubbornly, I might add – that he wanted to play chess. The thing is, I don’t know how to play chess!

Antonio thought it was great that he knew something that someone ‘old’ like me didn’t so he took it upon himself to teach me… in Spanish…with all of the wrong terminology. I’m pretty sure that the rook is not called castilla (castle). He also was teaching me all of the wrong rules, I came to find out later once Haley (who actually knows how to play) joined us! Playing made-up chess in Spanish with Antonio will definitely be one of the memories that I will remember forever of my time in Spain.