Cordoba

We had planned on going to Cordoba while on our way to Portugal but that did not work out. We originally thought of hitting Cordoba for a few hours, heading to Seville to catch a bus to Lisboa (Portgual), then back to Madrid. However, we found out that only one bus sells out in advance to take off… Cordoba! I do not know why, the only thing interesting is the Mezquita.














The Mezquita has identity problems. First it was a Christian church. Then a Mosque. Then again a Christian church. Now it’s just kind a mix. While there are still masses that Catholics worship the Living God, the building itself is just a beautiful example of a time long gone. It’s gorgeous red and white arches provide just an unreal atmosphere. Standing inside the Mezquita (church/mosque) makes one recognize how many people stood exactly where I was, whether worshipping Allah, Jesus, Muhammad or the Pope. What were they like? Did they worry about how history would remember them? Did they think about the tourist money this temple would someday bring? If so, no wonder the Catholics recaptured it again. Anyways, it was super interesting standing inside a spiritual site of such significance for many people over such a long time.

Check out the beauty!













Some more Mary worship for you.


The Lord


Counsels of bishops, cardinals would meet here, as well as for ceremonies


Guys with the keys to heaven I guess, maybe Peter!


Random picture:
Sombrero!

Portugal

Bem-vindo a Lisboa. Welcome to Portugal.




So we decided that we had to see Portugal on this trip, because we probably wouldn’t ever be headed there again. So we bought 2 overnight bus tickets and got a place for one night in Portugal. We headed out after being out for the day in the city of Madrid at about 11:45pm. We were exhausted, so that was good as we both slept a lot of the way, of course waking up during the trip due to being uncomfortable sleeping on a bus. We have no idea when we crossed the border because there was no stop, no checking of passports or anything! I remembered this last time I was in Europe, as I guess it doesn’t matter when you are traveling from one EU country to the next.
We didn’t understand a thing that was said in this country even though it’s supposed to be very similar to Spanish. I don’t know it it’s because people talked really fast or what, but the guy we were staying with said that most people there like to cut many of their words short, so that may be it. I knew 3 phrases in Portuguese because of when I went to Brazil. Disculpe is how they say excuse me or sorry. Obrigado/a is how they say thank you, and I did use this word a few times. And “no fallo Portuges” is “I don’t speak Portuguese” haha

We got to Portugal, found our bus and took it to the stop of the people where we were to be staying. When we finally got in the house we took a 3 hour nap because we were exhausted. Then we headed out to explore the city. We walked from where we were staying to a place with a great view of the whole city. Well most of it. Here are a few pictures.




Then we headed down the hill to check out some of the touristy things. Here is another great view with the water.



We saw a Palace/Castle whatever you want to call it, but we didn’t go inside because there was a long line and we didn’t feel like waiting.



We saw a church that Jordan went inside to check out, while I sat down outside. It had some beautiful stained glass.



Then we kept walking down the hill and saw their main plaza or square.



They have this tram that goes up and down and around the hill all day and is very popular and more than 100 years old. It actually went right in the front of where we were staying as well. We didn’t take it because we just walked everywhere, but it looked cool.



So, we walked around a lot of Lisboa, Portugal and saw a lot. Jordan thinks, and I agree, that it is like a dressed up Panama. There were a lot of places old and run-down, but not as many as Panama. It wasn’t very pretty, at least we didn’t think so. The water and views were great, but I don’t think something to live in a city for. We both just realized that we don’t like the big city life, and could never live in a touristy place like many of the places we have been.

Anyway, our second day we had all day to explore and walk around, then we were catching our bus back to Madrid at 8:30pm. So we took our time, walked around and then sat down in a park. We decided we wanted to eat McDonalds, so we were on a hunt for one. We probably walked more than 4 miles that day and didn’t find a McDonalds. I guess God didn’t want us to eat that.. lol

Here are a few more pictures of us walking around.




Then we went to a Corte Ingles (the only department store with everything you could possibly think of) to get some air conditioning, food, and relax. They had this star wars exhibit that Jordan enjoyed.

(Jordan) It was quite impressive and I was very fascinated with the collection itself. However, there were so many useless items that I found myself transported back in time to see my cousin Paul’s unopened collection of G.I. JOE toys (which I was so impressed with as a 10 year old I almost opened some of them up). I mean, seriously people, what is the point of toys if you do not play with them. Our society will not survive if we continue to center our lives on such material possessions that hold zero value in promoting Mankind. But enough of the rant, Star Wars rules!!!!

They had actions figures for everyone; miniature action figures, regular size action figures and man-size action figures. There were the metal and plastic lunch boxes from all the movies, most older than I am. They had video game consoles set up to play current Star Wars games. There were Legos, that one could build starships, cruisers, and individual characters such as Darth Vader and Chewbacca. They had posters of many of the movies, many of which looked like the originals. They were in both English and Spanish. Quite cool.

Toledo

We took a day trip by bus to Toledo one day. The bus ride was about an hour and a half and was very easy to us considering the other bus rides we have taken. Upon arriving in the city, you can just tell that it is an ancient but well preserved city.






It has some well preserved walls and is mostly known for its swords. Almost every store had some swords and knight armor which was very interesting.
Here are a few pictures inside the stores.





We asked the tourist people if there was a sword factory we could go look at and there was one. We didn’t take any pictures inside to respect the guy working there, but it was a very small little workshop with a few different rooms and lots of swords! We saw the furnace where they heat and mold them, it was cool to see the different stages of that. Then of course we saw many of the finished product. If we had more room in our bags we would have brought a few back as souvenirs! Toledo was great for a day trip, then we headed back to our home base for the night.

Segovia

Segovia is unreal. Wanna know why? It’s got a Roman aqueduct running through its downtown. It’s not even hiding, it’s right in plain view.


Those that love Roman mythology, here is a neat little tribute to Romulus and Remus. The story goes they were raised by a wolf. Anyways, woot woot for mythology!


While I thought about climbing up it, I stopped knowing that it would simple lead to an international arrest record. But seriously take a look out how beautiful and huge this structure is.







Now I’m a little bit of a cynic when it comes to my next topic. It’s amazing to me the size and grandeur of one building in each ancient city. The cathedral. I mean there are really cool but does every city need one that by sheer size is bigger than most castles and can encompass the housing districts of most of the cities. I don’t think this is what Jesus meant when he said “feed my sheep”. I mean shouldn’t the tithes of a church be used to help it’s actual people, not just have enough ceiling space to fit a fleet of hot-air balloons.





Anyways, we next headed over to the castle of Segovia. A-MAZING!! I will let the pictures speak for themselves.







This castle has served a multitude of uses over the years. It was a prison, artillery barracks, and now obviously, a tourist attraction to make the government money! Here are some pictures of the inside.






Views from the castle







War!










Library of the mathematics involved for using cannons accurately