The Last Week (or two)

During Patios, I picked up a bookmark that seemed so perfect for the moment: “When I can, I come to Cordoba in the month of May.”

We had already survived Cruces and Patios, and were embarking on the next and last adventure: FERIA. I was astonished at how fast the last month had flown by, and when Feria camearound the last week and a half, it was even harder to believe that the end was more than near – it WAS the end. Here is the briefest retelling of events of my last week in Cordoba.

Thursday, May 20 – Blues festival in the Corederra. It was kind of weird watching American blues bands perform in Cordoba. But the weather was perfect, and so was the backdrop.

Friday, May 21 – Delicious grilled dinner outside in a little hole-in-the-wall with Gabriela and Juan. Walked to a great spot just in time to see the official kick of to the Fair, including fireworks and the lighting of the portada (entrance – huge temporary entrance modeled off the Mezquita and Medina Azahara, complete with lights outlining every structural detail). After watching the lighting, we met up with Alex and Jen and Gabriela and Juan took us to one of their favorite tents where I made my first public attempt at Sevillanas – the traditional Andaluz dance usually seen at fairs and other cultural events. Needless to say, I’m glad my threshold for embarrassment is high.

Saturday, May 22 – took an evening stroll of the Feria, taking special care to sneak pictures of women and girls in their traje gitanas, and kind of wishing that I had a cool dress too. The night wouldn’t have been complete without a cheap caramel apple.

Never-ending Tuesday, May 25 – The wonderful Maria Jose who had already volunteered to teach me the Sevillanas had her daughter come to school where they both proceeded to dress me up in the traditional dress (after I protested to the tiny size of the dress, they managed to convince me – and themselves – that I could “fit” into the dress. I guess “fitting” didn’t necessarily mean being able to walk also.) I was excited to have the opportunity to be part of this segment of Cordobese culture, but was equally excited to take off the dress and gobs of blush on my cheeks after all the pictures-for-proof were taken. After school, I followed many of the teachers down to the fair to take part in the school lunch where we (endlessly) indulged in Galician food and drinks. It was exciting to see my teachers in such an informal setting (however unfortunate that it came at the very end of the school year). The women all gushed over my traje pictures and giggled at my poor attempts at trying to gracefully open up a Spanish fan. After we finished (and many pictures later), Andrew and I made the warm walk back (even indulging in a necessary ice cream cone) and I started on the evening’s activities: Isa’s pre-birthday Mexican food party (since I wouldn’t be around for her actual birthday). With Arizona-imported tortillas and sauce, we indulged in restaurant style green enchiladas. After digesting, we made our way to the river for a chilly botellón, and then into the fair where we stayed until the tents closed at 5am (my roommates being none-too-pleased that they closed the hour early given it was a Tuesday).

Thursday, May 27 – after a Wednesday of school and rest, it was time for a Thursday off (the school cancels classes for the Thursday and Friday of Feria for, well, Feria). Knowing that I had committed to another “night” of Feria with the roommates the next night, I took it easy and partook in delicious tapas at one of Córdoba’s famous restaurants (La Casa de Pepe de la Judería) and walked down for another stroll of the Feria while munching on the fresh coconut and candied almonds.

Friday, May 28 – that evening, the roommates surprised me with a going-away party (I was indeed very surprised). It included three of my American friends and homemade salmorejo, tortilla española, flamenquin and even a cake from the very nice pastry shop in Cordoba, Roldan. After the party, we once again made our way to the Edge of the river outsider the Feria for another botellón and then to enter the fair around 3am to stay again until the tents closed at 6. When we finally managed to get home and into bed (no earlier than about 930), it was high time for an actual day of rest, sleeping until almost 5 in the afternoon.

Saturday, May 29 – although I had already watched the sun come up at the Feria, being that it was the last day, me and my friend still made it back for one last (but ending MUCH earlier) hurrah.

Sunday, May 30 – drinks and tapas and more goodbyes to friends found. No fun.

Monday, May 31 – Last day at school. My youngest kids surprised me with a t-shirt and a fan. I felt very honored. My oldest kids gave me a standing ovation, which seemed only appropriate coming from them. That night the roommates took me out for a last meal together.

Tuesday, June 1 – Waking up early to finish up the last bits of parking, the roommates drove me to the train station to say our final goodbyes. Obviously, it was sad, but more than that, I was excited to get home and get rid of the bags I had now been staring at for weeks. I knew that my journey home was going to be long, and I was ready to get it started.

Wednesday, June 2 – After a great afternoon and evening in Madrid, sharing it with a friend that was all too kind in his assistance with my very heavy bags and finally having the opportunity to go to the Prado museum, I embarked on my trip home. It included a frantic layover in Zurich (a scheduled 55-minute layover and a delayed flight in! Thank you Swiss Air for holding the flight!!) and a night stay in New York, but I finally made it back to Tempe, Arizona 32 hours later.

PAAAATIOS!!

As exciting as Madrid was, and as beautiful as Granada was too, I was very excited to return to Córdoba to see the festival I had been waiting for since I found out I was placed in Córdoba: Los Patios.

Los Patios in Córdoba, infamous through the entirety of Spain, is a 10-day celebration of flowers and tradition. Private homes prepare all year long their patios (different from American ‘patios’ in that traditionally they were the open-air areas that a certain private community of people would share amongst themselves, usually being the central-most area of all the homes within the group of neighbors). Some patios are less-than-spectacular, but still maintain their own sense of charm (especially the ones located within restaurants which weren’t necessarily made any different for the occasion). On the other hand, there were other patios that when you turned the corner and entered the space, they just took your breath away. Upon entering what became one of my favorites, there was nothing I could do to hold back a loud and astonished gasp and “ohhhhhh” (and after doing so, the owner even made the comment that his patio should be named “OH” because it seemed to be the general reaction of the visitors to it)

For the first couple days after returning to Córdoba, wonderful local friends of mine, Gabriela and Juan, graciously offered to help show me and my parents to someof the best patios and then afterwards, the best food around town. After my dad left to France the next day, my mom and I still took part in more patios (Dad was probably relieved he had a way out of seeing more flowers) and even a homemade lunch prepared by sweet Juan and Gabriela.

At the end of the week when it came time to say goodbye, I went back up with Mom to Madrid to help her with the immense bags filled with my clothes and goodies (including the paella pan I wanted to get home). The next day I returned to Córdoba to be able to then show Vanessa and her boyfriend around what few patios we could get to (being it was the weekend and the weather had cleared, lines to get in to see prize-winning patios were up to an hour long!), the Alcazar (which was stunning and full of flowers of every variety after our heavy winter rains), and the best places to eat in Andalucía (including a wonderful chill dinner at home with my roommates).

Despite the bad weather during the first part of the week (including a downpour during siesta when there was no shelter around – and again, only one umbrella to split between three), the patios and company with them were nothing but spectacular, and I’ve already reserved a place on a friend’s couch for next year’s pandemonium.

Gabriela and Juan - LOVE these people!

Mom in the 1st Place patio

Vanessa and I in a nook of the "OH" Patio

The Padres Return

The following weekend after Cruces I had the great opportunity to welcome my parents back to Spain, and this time during a much warmer season. The few days we were together were certainly not without their share of exciting moments.

The first day of their arrival, I rushed out of work to take the high-speed train up to meet them in Madrid, and we hardly stopped from there. After seeing Madrid in the cold winter, my parents (and I) were excited to see it on a warm day in May, and we took every opportunity of the weather and got back to many spots previously seen under the shadows of rain clouds and umbrellas as well as many new places– like El Retiro park – and taking many moments to pause and bask in the warm sunlight (and even taking a snooze or two).

That evening as we wound down, we decided to enjoy a last café before turning in for the night. Within moments of sitting down and getting our coffees in a restaurant in Puerta del Sol, we were transported back to Watts as we heard gunshots fired from the sidewalk across from us and looked out the window to see a stampede of people and two others fall to the ground. In the next hour, we drank our coffees as we watched the ambulances, police, and detectives swarmed the area around us as I strained my ears to understand the ambient conversations to understand what actually just took place before our eyes (our own speculations as to what happened ran the gamut as if it was instead a game of Telephone). After the action died down a bit and our coffees were long gone (and none of us having actually established our goal of “winding down” for the evening), we left the restaurant to be escorted outside of the police tape to finally navigate our way back to the hotel.

The next day after a leisurely stroll through the city and a fabulous meal at my favorite restaurant (even got Dad to enjoy the vegetarian!), we made a hasty dash to the bus station to catch our ride to Granada.

Even though I had been to Granada numerous times during the year, I was particularly excited to show my parents the city that originally made me fall in love with Spain and gave me the inspiration to come back. Our first day, with beautiful skies above, we trekked the city all around and even spend the afternoon exploring La Alhambra, one of the most beautiful spots in all of Spain and the whole of the world. We were even able to finish off the day with a relaxing session at the baños árabes and indulge in delicious Moroccan tapas.

The next day, we were able to get in a walking tour of the Albacín before the weather turned and the umbrella (not plural because we only had one) came out. But all was certainly not lost and we still took part in a delicious seafood paella with my old college roommate before leaving on another bus to Córdoba.

It was definitely good to have them back in Spain.

Las Cruces

Las Cruces ushered in the first weekend of May – and it was one great celebration. Not knowing entirely what to expect, the weekend was full of surprises around every corner – quite literally!

Cruces, generally speaking, is one great botellón scattered across various locations in the city center. Neighborhoods and organizations participate by putting up a large cross that is decorated in red or white flowers then placed on altars of more flowers. Usually, a large tent accompanies the crosses where wafts of savory smells draw in large crowds who indulge in great food (chorizo, pimientos, salmorejo, pinxtos) and refreshing drinks (the rebujito – a mix of fino and Sprite – being the most popular)

Through the three days of Cruces, my friends and I made a goal of visiting as many of the crosses as possible, as each one definitely had something different to offer and share. Some were in beautiful plazas, in front of old churches, or historic centers. Other’s had amazing food, some were filled with students, others with adults. There were even some that were an oasis of peace and serenity amongst the madness that was Cruces.

At the end of the weekend, it was a partial relief that the festivities were over. Not only did it mean that other parties were just around the next weekend’s corner, but I would no longer spend long days out in the warm sun partaking in the endless food and drinks. It was a hard life to lead indeed.