Castle Biddies

So I was without internet for our whole stay in Cordoba, so the blogging thing was not going on, but Cordoba was really nice. It is a really sleepy, quiet city, but we still had fun and made the most of it. I roomed with Jade in our hotel, which was really nice and we got along great living together, which is a good sign. I also got to use my beer ordering skills, which is one of the four phrases I had before coming to Spain, and shortly after got to use another when I ordered a coffee to go (para llevar).

Going out in Cordoba was actually hilarious. Yesterday, we (Jade, Charity, Rayna, Lyvia, and I) went out after it had been raining all day, and ended up getting pretty lost trying to find the club where the whole group was planning on going later. Instead, we found a group of four girls smoking and hiding from the increasingly intense rain. They told us they were headed to the club and we decided we could just follow them there. This became all nine of us darting through the pouring rain, ducking under awnings for cover, and running while crouching down like spies, all while laughing hysterically. It was outrageous and spectacular. A truly great moment. When we got there it was the wrong club and the girls had some sort of trouble getting in because they were apparently much younger than we had gathered.

Bar selfie with my roommate.

That club was fun for a bit, but Jade and I had higher hopes for the other place. Lyvia, Rayna, and Charity chose to stay at that club and dance, Jade and I left. We found the other club, and went in. It was much more fun, and the crowd was a better demographic (a.k.a. not borderline too-young-to-be-there). We had fun, saw the rest of the group, and danced. We also got to see some shirtless male dancers. I think it was Ladies Night at the club. There was a screen that said something about Friday being ladies night, and there were roses, fruit skewers, and a chocolate fountain. We did not partake of these goodies, but we did watch some hilariously choreographed dancers in a sort of Magic Mike/One Direction combo-shot. Here's a pic of the more chiseled one.

Black pants, suspenders, white collar and cuffs, and a black bow tie. Hilarious.

After that we went to one of the only food places open because Jade was starving. On the way, we ran into Peter from Macalester, who tagged along. I ordered something called a tortilla because it was only one euro. What I got was basically potato on bread with ketchup. Yes, potato, on a roll. That's starch on carbs. It was awesome.

Turns out in Spain "tortilla" is a really common dish that is made from potato, onion, and egg, fried together. It was so good. I am salivating just thinking about it. Too bad I don't have a sweet Instagram food pick for accompaniment.

Me and Freud in the Square in Cordoba, with my café para llevar.

Today we left Cordoba for Seville, and on the was stopped at a freaking AWESOME CASTLE!!! YEAH! A CASTLE!!! It was sweet. Everyone agreed it was by far the best stop of the trip thus far.

Castillo de Almodóvar, so cool!!
[I recommend googling it for higher quality images]

At one point I was taking a picture of one of the towers when Carter, one of the other students, walked by. I thought he might like a picture, so I offered, and he consented. However, one girl decided to photo-bomb, and then an entire group came walking by. I therefore decided they could be in the picture and yelled "line up Castle Biddies!" so that they would stop and smile at the camera. Hence the title of this blog post.

The resulting photograph.

It was spectacular, and now we are in Seville, a bigger city, full of life. Jade and I went to find some lunch, and stumbled upon a tiny cervezas and tapas café. The man who ran it operated the whole thing by himself out of a tiny closet next to the bar. He cooked on two pans, one over a single gas burner, the other sitting on the flat surface of a George Foreman Grill, turned hotplate. He told us what to get, which we later learned is the same thing he recommended to everyone else, I said okay, not sure of quite what I was going to get. I ended up with a pork cutlet sandwich on a roll, dripping in oil, and doused in salt. It was so delicious. It was not, however, the most filling, and Jade, not satiated by her plate of eggs and beans, suggested we go to the supermarket and pick up some food.

We ended up eating picnic style in our hotel room, devouring baby greens, grape tomatoes, bread, cheese, and I also had some turkey. It made for a fun and very satisfying lunch.

Afterwards we had a meeting where we were assigned to our "host mom" Palomar, who is a single, young professional woman. She is apparently an amazing cook, and we each get our own bedroom. Her apartment is a 10-15 minute metro ride from the school, which does not sound too bad. Jade and I are stoked. She seems like exactly what we wanted in a host family.

Me and Hemingway at the castle!

It is now Saturday night, and we are in our biggest city yet. I am too achy and exhausted to go out, but not too concerned about it. I'm rooming with Jade and Charity here. It is a little cramped, and another one of the SU Madrid seminars (Imperium) is in the same hotel with us. Jade is already asleep, because she is sick, and Charity was dying to dance, so I'm not sure where she ran off to.

This hotel is the nicest one so far, it is completely great, and the wifi is free. We have a quiz tomorrow on Toledo and Cordoba, so I am not lacking for things to do, including catch up on some much needed sleep. Plus a week from today, I will be in Madrid. A bigger and better city, with very promising night life.

Buenas noches!