Thursday, March 19: How about some more sangria?

Man, is it hard to get out of the bed this morning!!  No going down to breakfast for me.  This morning I add a warm coke with the nabs and get dressed.  We meet up with our group to head for the Alcazar.  Before we leave, however, some of us decided to make reservations to eat out our last night in Cordoba.  Reservations being made, we head to the palace.  Now, I thought the Alcazar in Seville was beautiful with all the mosaics and tile work, but the one in Cordoba had the most beautiful gardens and fountains.  The official name of the Alcazar is The Royal Palace of the Christian Monarchs.  I guess the Christians got upset with the Muslims tearing down their cathedral so they decided to build a palace on the site of the Caliphal Palace (FYI: caliph--a spiritual leader of Islam, claiming succession from Muhammad).  Early records show that the Christian Palace exisited as early as 1359.  You know this Christian and Muslim stuff has been going on for a long time! Can you say Issac and Esau?!!  The major attraction of the palace is the gardens that are layed out in the Arab-Abdalusian style in which many of the native plants can be seen.

We begin the morning by strolling down one of the main fountains that end at the statues of King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella facing Christopher Columbus.  Guess Chris is trying to make a deal with them about sailing somewhere!

I just couldn't let this photo opt get away.

Front--Lisa, Mary Ruth, Debbie, Louise, Natalie

Back--Natalie, Johnny, Paula, Drew

Lance is afraid I want some of these in our yard.

Disney World doesn't have anything on this place.

Kneeling- Ashley Giglo

Sitting--Dianne, Mary Ruth, Louise

Standing--Paula, Betty, Megan Kay

Ending our tour with one last photo

We have the rest of the day on our own so we group up and take off in the direction that slave driver Debbie points.  The old city had entranced us so much we decid to go back and scout it out some more and try to do a little shopping.

It is getting close to lunch so we think we might try to get a bite to eat in the newer part of town.  The people are out in force drinking, socializing and getting ready to eat lunch before the obligatory siesta.

Gearing up for lunch

Although this looks like a nice place to eat, it just does not have the charm of the old city, so we take off to find a taxi to get us back to where we enjoyed so much of the day before.

 We find our way back to the square where he had the wonderful sangaria, and the outdoor restaurant across from it.  We have a wonderful lunch of roasted chicken and potatoes along with some great olives.  We wander around a bit more and look at the beautiful mosaic and buildings.

One of the beautiful mosaics in a courtyard of a home

Now one of the items with which that many of us want to come back home with is Majorica pearls.  So we hit every shop making deals and talking down prices.  We all end up with our pearls and can't wait to wear them.  We are worn out from shopping (ha ha) and decid to go back to our sangria cafe and relax for a bit.  After one round, we head back to the newer part of the city, and in the process almost lose Paula again when she runs into a pole in the middle of the street.

The infamous pole

  Before we make our way back to the hotel, we visit some of the Roman ruins.

We make it back to the hotel for an impromptu social hour in Louise and Betty's room and then get ready to go out and eat.

The Pearl Girls--showing off our Myjorica pearls

MR and her birthday fan from me

Now, I know I haven't written one word about Drew this entire post.  I will let this picture speak for itself.