To be honest, Yunluo still doesn’t know where this is. He just followed the crowd and was brought here. It’s called Flamenco Carnival!
People in traditional costumes sang and danced in various tents, tasting all kinds of food. When Yunluo and Yan Chenyu wandered with the crowd in the night carnival, they felt the feeling of time and space interweaving, and they could not help but get excited. If Yunluo wore that big skirt, she would also dance to her own melody~
When Yunluo and Yan Chenyu left, the Seville people's carnival was still going on and getting more and more intense. Perhaps, just like the story of Cinderella, the most exciting moment was at midnight. However, as tourists who were staying for a short time, Yunluo and Yan Chenyu had to continue their journey to the next city, Cordoba, early tomorrow morning, so they had to say goodbye to this never-ending stage.
Come to Seville in September and you will see a sea of flowers. Beautiful flowers are blooming on the streets and on the balconies of every household. Women wearing traditional Andalusian costumes hold flowers on their heads. With the arrival of the September Festival, the whole city of Seville turns into a big flower.
Here you can feel not only the beautiful scenery and history, but also the happy atmosphere of the whole city. If you live in Seville for a few days during the September Festival, you will feel that everything in life is so beautiful.
Cordoba, Granada and Seville are known as the three pearls of Andalusia. Compared with the grandeur of Seville and the exoticism of Granada, Cordoba is like a child who has always lived quietly in its own world, so beautiful and low-key. Cordoba is particularly beautiful in spring.
The narrow alleys hide rows of white houses, and every household puts the most gorgeous flowers on the windowsill. This city, which is famous for its garden-style courtyards, is indeed worthy of its reputation. Every alley, every courtyard and even every step in the city creates a dreamlike feeling.
When I came to Cordoba, especially after seeing the Great Mosque, I would mistakenly think that this was a Moorish city. But it was not. As early as the ancient Roman period, it was already a brilliant cultural center. But the towering Great Mosque made other dynasties look dim.
They only stayed in Cordoba for one night, so Yunluo and Yan Chenyu set off from Seville early in the morning and asked the front desk of the youth apartment to call a taxi for them.
It cost less than 11 euros and 15 minutes to get to the Seville train station, which took Yunluo and Yan Chenyu more than two hours to get here. It was still cost-effective for three people to take a taxi. If you take the bus, it will cost 7.8 euros (1.3 euros per person, with one transfer)
But we got up early and arrived late. When Yunluo and Yan Chenyu ran to buy tickets excitedly, the staff told Yunluo and Yan Chenyu that the train to Cordoba would cost more than 40 euros per person, and it was an ave (fast train). Yunluo went! I checked the West Railway website before and it was 11.1 euros per person, and it only took more than an hour from Seville to Cordoba, so there was no need for an express train!
But the 11.1 Euro ordinary train ticket that Yunluo and Yan Chenyu wanted to buy was not available until 1pm. In order to save money, Yunluo and Yan Chenyu could only choose to wait at the train station. It wasted a whole morning in vain, which was a pity. So if you don't have much time, you must check the train schedule in advance and make travel plans.
It was already past two in the afternoon when we arrived in Cordoba. We had to rush to Madrid early tomorrow morning, and the train tickets had already been bought on the West Railway Network. Yunluo and Yan Chenyu only had a pitiful half day to get to know this beautiful city. There was no other way except to cherish every second.
At this time, Yunluo began to look forward to a real free trip. I always believe that the soul of travel is the feeling of wandering. If everything is arranged in advance and cannot be adjusted, the feeling of wandering will be missing, and you will not be able to linger on the unexpected discoveries and surprises that appear during the trip. It is really a trip without soul.
But for budget travelers like Yunluo and Yan Chenyu, and Chinese people with inconvenient passports, it is unrealistic to make decisions on the spur of the moment. Not to mention the huge increase in budget, it is even difficult to leave the country (when applying for a visa, reservations for air tickets, hotels, train tickets, etc. and payment receipts are required materials)
No complaints. Continue to follow Yunluo's memories and wander around Cordoba.
Cordoba Railway Station is built outside the old city. It is a modern building with a simple structure and a metal feel. Fortunately, such a station is built outside the city, otherwise it would be a waste of the almost perfect old city that has been protected. Unexpected discoveries and surprises. It is really a soul-losing trip.
But for budget travelers like Yunluo and Yan Chenyu, and Chinese people with inconvenient passports, it is unrealistic to make decisions on the spur of the moment. Not to mention the huge increase in budget, it is even difficult to leave the country (when applying for a visa, reservations for air tickets, hotels, train tickets, etc. and payment receipts are required materials)
Without complaining, he continued to wander around Cordoba following Yunluo's memories.
The Cordoba train station is built outside the old city. It is a modern building with a simple structure and a metal feel. Fortunately, such a station is built outside the city, otherwise it would be a waste of the almost perfect old city that has been protected.
We still walked to the hotel. It was not close to the train station, and it would take about 20 minutes to walk. The hotel was in the alley next to the Christian Kings Castle, and it was very hidden. Fortunately, it was not difficult for the experienced Yun Luo and Yan Chenyu to find it. When you find that there is a temporary residence for you in such a beautiful alley, I believe you will be as happy as Yun Luo.
It's called a hotel, but it's actually just a local residence. After shouting for a long time at the so-called front desk, a guy came out slowly to greet Yun Luo and Yan Chenyu. After looking at Yun Luo and Yan Chenyu's reservation form, he directly handed over a bunch of keys. Seeing Yun Luo and Yan Chenyu looking confused, he remembered to take Yun Luo and Yan Chenyu with him.
The "hotel" we stayed in for the night was a standard two-bedroom, one-living room hotel, and it was also the largest hotel on this trip.
Walking out of the alley of the hotel, you can see the huge Christian Kings Castle. Built in the 13th century, it is the palace and fortress of Alfonso X. There are beautiful gardens and fountains in the castle, and it is one of the most beautiful castles in Andalusia. The ticket is not expensive, only 4.5 euros, but Yunluo and Yan Chenyu did not go in. The point of coming to Cordoba is to stroll in the garden-like town.
So I threw the map into my backpack as a souvenir and wandered through the alleys of the old city, without a purpose or direction.
Every old street in Cordoba is well preserved. The streets are not wide and the stone pavement is not so flat. The only thing that is neat and uniform is the flowers on the roadside. It was cloudy that afternoon in Cordoba, otherwise I would have seen a more beautiful scene.
Every alley away from the Grand Mosque was very quiet, and few people walked through it. An idiot like Yun Luo would lose his way immediately after turning a few corners in such an alley.
It is hard to imagine that such a quiet city, which can even be called a small town, carries the glory as far back as ancient Rome and Byzantium. In the 10th century AD, the civilization here had reached its peak. It is said that the population exceeded one million (the current population is 300,000). There are many such alleys in Cordoba. Since it is not well-known, naturally there are fewer tourists who come here to visit.
Yunluo and Yan Chenyu did not go to look for the most famous and beautiful "Flower Street" in the legend. There should be a lot of tourists there, but Yunluo did not like that feeling. Why should they follow in the footsteps of their predecessors to appreciate every place?
Unlike places like the Sagrada Familia and the Alhambra, which are streets where one has to rely on one's own feelings to experience them, Yunluo prefers to follow his own feelings in order to gain a unique sensory experience in life.
There is no mistake in the poem, post, content, and read the book on 6, 9, and bar!
The beautiful courtyards of Cordoba are particularly described: For thousands of years, the lush courtyards of Cordoba have provided a paradise for people to cool off, chat and have fun in the hot summer. This architectural design may have originated in Rome and then been inherited by the Arabs, but they also added fountains in the courtyards.
In the first half of the month, signs with the word "courtyard" can be seen everywhere in the narrow alleys of Cordoba, inviting you to admire the colorful gardens. Many courtyards compete for the Best Courtyard Award in the annual Cordoba Courtyard Competition. The most popular courtyard is near Calle Esanbasilio Street, 400 meters west of the Grand Mosque. Admission is free, but voluntary donations are welcome.
Yunluo and Yan Chenyu also did not follow the instructions on the LP. They just wandered around and stopped at the entrance of a courtyard, and then they saw the flowers blooming like they did in their dreams.
The old town of Cordoba is small and you can reach anywhere by foot. It is easy to get lost in the identical streets and alleys, but if you keep walking, you will reach the foot of the Great Mosque. Therefore, it is difficult to get completely lost in Cordoba because all the roads there seem to lead to the Great Mosque.
The Great Mosque is the biggest landmark in the city and the greatest significance of Cordoba's existence today. Yunluo came here with the initial wish of just seeing the red and white arch.
The wall of the Great Mosque made Yunluo feel for a moment that it was not a religious building at all, but rather a city wall that was difficult to attack but easy to defend. Only a few sealed typical Arabic-style doorways allowed people to discern its origin.
Yunluo and Yan Chenyu walked under the high wall for a long time but could not find the entrance to the Great Mosque. They planned to ask the shop owner, but suddenly turned around and found that such a huge building had a pitifully small entrance. They could only shake their heads and laugh at themselves. Fortunately, they did not stand at the entrance to ask others where the entrance was.
The ticket office is inside the courtyard. I walked through this door with my ticket and the long-awaited arch was right in front of me. Although I have seen many pictures of this arch, I was still stunned when I was there in person.
The Great Mosque of Cordoba is one of the most beautiful buildings left by Muslims in Spain, but for Yunluo, the rows of columns that look like a maze are the most beautiful, bar none. The round arches with shining gold inlays and red and white stripes give people infinite imagination and feelings. (To be continued...)