Córdoba

After a quiet final night at Hotel Basilio in Granada, we said goodbye early this morning (10 AM!!!!) and hopped on our autobùs to drive to our next destination, Córdoba. On the way, we made a pit stop at a charming store where the owners make their own olive oil from scratch. Many at the store considered the olive oil there the most authentic olive oil you can buy!

An hour later, we arrived in Córdoba, a beautiful city with an incredibly rich architectural history. The epitome of this expansive architectural timeline is the Mezquita-Catedral de Córdoba, which we were fortunate enough to tour during our short visit in Córdoba. The Mezquita(Mosque)-Cathedral hybrid contains structures and design spanning nearly a millennium of architectural shifts. We could stand in certain places inside the mosque-cathedral and literally all of the architectural shifts in one full turn, all the changes absolutely stunning at each angle you turn.

One memorable moment today was our being allowed to sing two songs from our repertoire in the Mosque. We sang Caritas Et Amor and Beautiful River. Yet the memory of that moment was not just the beautiful music that was made in a space in which we were so privileged to sing but the reactions from the crowd. I distinctly remember a woman in the crowd lean her head on her significant other's shoulder, and then he kissed her head. They remained in their embrace through Beautiful River, and I honestly could not stop smiling when I noticed this couple who seemed to have connected intimately not only between each other but with the choir and our music as well.

We also had a few hours to walk the streets of Córdoba surrounding the Mosque-Cathedral, turning down alleyways to find beautiful strips of shops and restaurants that were covered in vibrant colors that framed the top of the Cathedral when you turn back down the alleys.

After our peaceful visit in Córdoba, we boarded our autobús and began the final leg of our trip to Seville where we will stay for the next three days! We are all looking forward to seeing what Seville has in store for us. If the food in Seville is as good as the dinner we had tonight together at the hotel, then Seville definitely looks promising!

-Will Warren

Will Warren just graduated with a double major in Religion and Dance.