Well I’ve been, yet again, internet problems so this post is coming a little late. I wanted to tell you about the weekend and what I was up to! It was actually a pretty mellow weekend since my previous plans were changed (I completely messed up the dates!). I did manage to hear about a medieval market/festival going on in Cordoba, the biggest city in the province of Cordoba and only about an hour away by bus. Before going I didn’t really know what to expect because I’d never been to a medieval anything and all I knew was what I had seen on TV. So I basically thought everyone would be dressed up and pretending like they were living in the middle ages…but my friends were kind enough to give me a heads up that there would actually be “normal” people there so I wasn’t to worry.
My friend and I got there late afternoon and just started exploring. I actually was starving and did what I KNOW I should never do- eat the first thing I find. I saw some Spanish empanadas (thick pastry dough with different fillings) and thought- I WANT ONE. Well the lady ended up giving me a ½ kilo (1 pound) because that was the “minimum” or something…Although I’m usually able to eat whatever is in front of my face, I’m trying this new thing now where I just eat until I get full and then…just guess…I stop eating. I know it sounds crazy and very un-American but since I’m not in America I figure it’s worth a try. Anyhow it also means my stomach has shrunk so I was only able to eat about a fourth of the empanada (plus I wasn’t in love with the one I bought and started to get sick of it) and just tossed the rest. Yes- sad I know.
So we continued to walk around, taking pictures of all the medieval style stands and disguised workers. We even made it over a “magic” hut where a guy was selling hot white wine and “magic” sangria. Both delicious. The magic sangria, I have to say, was my favorite. The magic man put some dry ice in the drink so it was bubbling and smoking- very cool effect!
We also made our way over to some medieval music, or what I assumed to replicate medieval music. The best part of it was this little kid on his dad’s shoulders and nodding his head to the music…too cute!
So at that point we had almost made it about half way around the market but we still had a ton of stuff to look at. We checked out a lot of the stands, selling jewelry, candles, hats, house decorations, etc. And of course as we were searching around the market, it started to rain. Everyone ran for cover because most people hadn’t brought an umbrella, which I find was a good thing considering
Spanish people + crowded spaces + umbrellas= disaster and tall people (like us) getting poked in the eye
After the rain stopped and we saw no more umbrellas out to harm us, we headed back out in search for some goodies. While walking we saw a man dressed in medieval clothes with a hawk on his arm. He would let it fly onto the roof of a stand nearby and then have it fly back. This worked well until this hawk flew over and on top of a hanging tv (of a bar) and couldn’t seem to get down…this caused a little bit of commotion but after a few minutes he got the bird down- YAY! I later talked with my friends and they said they always have those guys at all the medieval festivals (there are medieval festivals in many towns all over but at different times of the year). We kept looking around at the shops of gifts and gadgets, one guy was even doing glass blowing. We eventually headed back to one shop where we bought some candles and other items- I can’t tell you more because they’re a present for my boyfriend ;)Before we left we headed back to our favorite “magic” man for some hot white wine and before we made it over, we were stopped by a small parade of people heavily dressed up in costumes similar to what you would think would be in a medieval fairy tale. The costumes were actually really impressive and can’t wait to get the photos from my friend (my camera had started spazzing out earlier). We eventually made it to the stand and then had to head out to catch the last bus. We only spent about 4 hours there but I was very tired by the end.
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| just look at this girl's hair... |
Of course my night didn’t end there because it’s Spain, and despite how tired you may be, there are places to go and people to see! I just went out for some tapas and then met up with my other friends for a midnight movie. And my FIRST Spanish movie! Well actually I’ve seen movies in Spanish but only for Spanish classes and all had subtitles (usually in Spanish). I went to see “mas alla de la vida”…translated to “Hereafter”. The movie was really good and I was very proud of myself for going to see it. I understood most everything although it was confusing at times because some parts of the movie were in French and with Spanish subtitles… this just added to the challenge.
The rest of the weekend was relaxing as it will be one of my few relaxing weekend left in Spain. I now have about 4 months left in Spain and of that I only have 4 “free” weekends. The rest all have plans for traveling! So I will be busy, busy, busy! We’ll see how much I update my blog when that starts. Like always I’ll keep you updated on my travels with pics and some postings!
