From Anchovies to Sea Anemones, Cathedrals and Caliphs

Sea Anemones with eggs

Saturday, October 21, 2017, Córdoba, Spain--John got his anchovies on Thursday night at a tapas restaurant on Calle San José in Seville, along with chicken, cod in a tower with eggplant, small calamari and stuffed zucchini flowers.  La Bartola.  We enjoyed a Rioja Riserva with them.  Following along the same line, dinner last night in Córdoba at Regardera was even more fish-related.   Along with a Majorcan red wine, which was excellent--named "12 volts," it was not battery acid--it opened beautifully and went with the four dishes we ordered to share:   anchovies on spinach with a red pepper couli sauce, tartar of butterfish on teriyaki sauce, tartar of tuna with warm mashed potatoes, and the most interesting dish, if not the tastiest--deep fried sea anemones on a bed of scrambled eggs and kale.  Deep fried anemones have a similar taste to fried clams, nice but not that different in taste.  


We began yesterday with two hours at the Seville Alcazar.  It's the oldest still-inhabited royal palace in Europe.  The Spanish royal family uses it as its residence in Seville when they are there.   It was built by a Christian king, Pedro the Cruel, but the base architecture is entirely Muslim.  They were the better craftsmen.   Additions in later reigns brought gothic architecture to the additions, but the basic palace is mudéjar architecture.

The place is splendid.  From the intricate plaster designs to the colors to the ceilings representing the heavens, it is overwhelming.   

From there we stopped to look at the battery operated trams that run nearby and charge themselves at each stop so as not to require wires above the streets (Why don't we do this on H Street NE in Washington?).

Córdoba

Then off to Córdoba, the place where Christopher Columbus got permission and three ships to sail to the Americas from King Ferdinand and Queen Isabelle.  

Synagogue interior

We spent the final hours of the afternoon walking the old Jewish quarter, where the prominent and powerful Jewish families advised royal families, both muslim and christian, until Ferd and Issy kicked them out in 1492.   It is a barrio of narrow twisting streets, with one remaining synagogue built in the early 14th century, now a museum, that is small but fascinating with its Hebrew inscriptions.  It was restored to its existing state in 1889, having been a church, storehouse, and with a number of other uses over the centuries.  Nearby is a statue of the great Jewish philosopher, Maimonedes, who influenced St. Thomas Aquinas, and a square named in his honor.

Maimonedes

Our hotel, the Eurostar Palace is super modern, even to the bathrooms with their double showers and whirlpool baths, and perhaps the most up to date bidet we've seen.  All built for bodily cleanliness.   Clearly bidets are returning to the scene as they have been in every place we've stayed in Spain.  Ben thinks the entire room is designed on a sexual scheme!

 Today to the Córdoba Alcazar and the Mezquita.

Roman Bridge at Night