DAY 92: The Deportation Saga- Part 3

The Driveway on the Boyne to the Mill

The Bridge over the Boyne

We "woke up" in the airport and went to check into our flight. Once our bags were checked, we found a nice cafe to eat breakfast and relax until our flight.

Everything went off without a hitch! By noon we were climbing off the plane in Dublin. We held our breath as we presented our letter from Oliver that stated we were staying with him. The Immigration Officer barely looked at us as he stamped us through. SWEET VICTORY!

Oliver told us in an email to take a bus to Navan (the closest town to his B&B) at which point we could borrow someone's phone to contact him to pick us up. We took a beautiful bus ride just a bit north of Dublin and he picked us up in his tiny red Volkswagon.

Oliver was a very nice old man who knew much about Ireland. He was fun to chat with as we drove to his Bed and Breakfast. Oliver's place was a small stone house that was home to his B&B manager, Star, and to guests only. Oliver lived in a mobile home on the property which was where our room was located. Also on the property was a large old wheat mill- one of its rooms had been restored for use, but the rest was rather derelict. The plan, Star told us, was to renovate the entire mill to be used as an even larger B&B. The whole property was located right next to the Boyne River.

This is the B&B

FUN FACT #61: When Ptolemy first mapped Ireland in the 2nd century, it included the Boyne. That's probably because it is 70 miles long, and was used by the Celts, Vikings, and everyone after them. The Battle of the Boyne in 1690 during the Williamite (Jacobite) War is one of the most important battles in Irish History. This battle was fought in an effort to return Catholic James II to the throne in favor of William of Orange. The Catholic Irish lost, and James returned in exile to Italy, and from this battle forward British rule was solidified in Ireland until the 20th century. James II's son would eventually try the same thing in Scotland with the same results, but that's the story for another time...

When Lizzy and I arrived we were overcome by the unbelievable beauty of the area. The B&B is literally right on the river with a small stone bridge and an old falling down Abbey across the street.

FUN FACT #62: Bective Abbey was built in 1147, but has since fallen into disrepair. It was, however, used to film the 1995 film "Braveheart". In fact, most of Braveheart was actually shot in Ireland, and not Scotland. Why? That's a good question...

The River Boyne and Bective Abbey behind it

Following our disinfection and complete scrub down of our living quarters (which looked like they hadn't been inhabited in quite some time) we unpacked and got used to our new digs.

 That night we showered in what was quite possibly the worst shower of my life. 5 seconds of freezing water + 5 seconds of warm water + 5 seconds of scalding water = WORST SHOWER IN THE HISTORY OF EVER. Fortunately Star informed us afterwards that we were allowed to use her shower in the main house for the rest of our stay which made us extremely happy. We fell asleep with springs poking into our backs, but hey- we made it!

DAY 91: The Deportation Saga Continued

We arrived at our hostel at about 2:30 AM and we immediately set to work. We had briefly Skyped our parents at the Edinburgh Airport to let them know what was going on. Lizzy's mother, god bless her, was unable to sleep and spent the next few hours looking up immigration law in the U.K and Ireland. From what she had found out, WWOOFing was considered working in the U.K. and therefore needed a work Visa. But this was not the case in Ireland.

Okay. Ireland it is! Now we just needed a place to WWOOF. We contacted the lovely woman in Scotland who we were supposed to meet the next day to let her know we would not be coming. She was so kind and tried her best to help, but once refused admittance, there was no going back.

So we posted an S.O.S. on the WWOOF Ireland page hoping that some kind soul would take pity on us and let us work on their farm.

We went to bed after having a very interesting conversation with a drunk Australian in the hallway at 4:00 AM. We pulled ourselves out of bed at 7:00 AM hoping that we had a response from someone.

Sure enough, we had multiple offers to stay on different farms around Ireland. We responded to three and decided that the first person to write us back was the farm we would go to. Minutes later, we had a response from Oliver who owned a Bed and Breakfast in Navan, Ireland just an hour north of Dublin.

Just to make sure, I called Immigration at Dublin Airport. "WWOOFers? Yes of course we accept WWOOFers. Just have a letter from the people you are staying with and you will be all set." THANK YOU IRELAND!

Oliver sent us the letter within the hour and we were all set. Now we just needed plane tickets to Dublin.

With a new spring in our step, we refused to leave Scotland without seeing any of it. So we got dressed and set out to explore. We got a delicious breakfast and walked around the city. We saw Edinburgh Castle and the Cathedral before we had to hop back on the bus for the Edinburgh Airport.

Once back at the Airport, we had to have an Immigration Officer escort us around to check our bags, print our tickets, and give us back our passports. We tried to get them to let us buy plane tickets to Ireland, but they refused. "We have to send you back from where you came from." UGH FINE!

So we got on our plane at 4:00 PM bound for Brussels. We we landed we were greeted with an announcement over the loudspeaker.

"Passengers Deanna Rodolfy and Elizabeth Appleby please see security after exiting the aircraft."

Oooooh Boyyy.

When we got off, there were not one, not two, but THREE security officers waiting there for us.

"Please come with me," said the leader. We followed him as his two buddies walked behind us. They escorted us down a back staircase and outside onto the runway where they planes were. When they opened the door, there was a hallway made of chain link fence leading us directly into an armored van. The fence clearly said, "Don't even think about making a run for it..."

So we got in the van, only to find there were no seats in the middle. There were two seats facing the rear of the van located directly behind the drivers seat. Eight feet away were two other seats facing the front- with literally nothing in between. The Leader sat in the seat behind the drivers seats while his two henchman took the front two seats. So Lizzy and I took the seats in the back. The van clearly said, "No sudden movements please..."

I think this was the first time in the history of ever that Lizzy actually had enough leg room in a car.

We drove for about 5 minutes until we pulled up to another entrance to the airport. We were then escorted from the van inside. Picture this: a large room with two benches, a broken vending machine, two mattresses in the corner with crumpled up blankets, some toys scattered on the floor, and an obviously cold black man bundled up so that we could only see his nose and eyes. We took our seat on the other bench next to him and looked out the windows to see an entire army of Immigration officers watching us with their guns at their belts drinking coffee.

Finally one of the officers came in. He walked over to the black man and shook him awake. "No sleeping," he told him. YIKES.

A few minutes later, we were called into the office. We walked past a few officers into another office where a young woman was sitting at a huge desk. I swear, this desk felt like the one in the Oval Office to me- it was so formidable I almost peed my pants. The woman glared at us over the desk like Professor Umbridge while her eight security officers were standing behind here.

She looked at us and said in a pleasant voice, "So, what happened in Scotland?"

We immediately began our tale, telling her about our refused entry and how we know we shouldn't be back in the Schengen Area because our three months are up, but we plan on WWOOFing in Ireland if they will let us go and that we already spoke to their Immigration and please please PLEASE let us go!

"Do you have the funds to buy tickets to Ireland?"

"Yes..."

"Okay. You're free to go."

"That's it??"

"Yes. You can stay in a hostel in the city if you like. Good luck girls, enjoy your trip."

WHAT THE....

They then sent us through a door that led straight into the baggage area where our packs were waiting for us. We were free.

Lizzy and I were so dumbfounded we could barely move. Finally, reality kicked in, and we realized we needed to buy the next tickets to Dublin, STAT. We spent the next few hours trying to steal WiFi from the airport and book the cheapest flights to Ireland as possible.

10:00 AM was the next available flight and we bought the last two tickets. Suddenly becoming money conscious, we didn't want to take a bus into the city and pay for a hostel. So we bought dinner and piled our luggage onto a cart and found a few benches to sleep on for the night.

Unfortunately, we were not allowed to check in until 7:00am the next day. Which meant that we were outside security and therefore couldn't sleep in a terminal, but in the main entrance to the airport. Where it was cold. And we had a visitor.

On the bench over 30 feet away, a homeless man had taken refuge on another bench. And he and his stench became our overnight companions. I awoke to find him cleaning his feet. Fun times...

DAY 90: Embassies and Immigration: A Tale of Deportation

Luis and I woke up at the crack of dawn to get the the United States Embassy as it opened. I kissed the sleepy kids goodbye until February (which was much more difficult than I thought- just wait till May...) and we left in a hurry.

Luis was not allowed into the Embassy with me, so he waited outside while I went through the process of getting a new passport. Once again, SuperHostDad really came through to lend me money to buy a new one. Luis is the man. The Embassy didn't take too long, and within and hour and half I had a new temporary passport that would expire a few weeks after my return to Spain. Perfect.

Right after, Luis and I headed to yet ANOTHER police station. Except this time, I had a nice middle aged balding Spanish man who was unbelievably helpful in allowing me to fill out a report for my stolen purse. Thank you whoever you are. You deserve a medal.

Luis then dropped me and my large hiking pack and small backpack off at Lizzy's apartment and said goodbye. Angela then drove Lizzy and I to the airport and we were off! We had a quick layover in Brussels, Belgium and continued onto Edinburgh without a problem.

NOW HERE IS WHERE S#IT HIT THE FAN.

When we arrived at the Edinburgh Airport, it was about 11:00 PM. I was so tired from the mentally exhausting night and morning before. We got to the immigration booth and the woman asked us for our passports and asked what we were doing to Scotland.

"We are here to WWOOF for a few months."

"WWOOF?"

"Yeah, it's volunteering on organic farms. Have you head of it?"

"Yes, I have. Do you have luggage?"

"Yes, we do..."

"Alright come with me please..."

She escorted Lizzy and I to another room where our luggage was waiting for us. She and her colleague requested to search our bags. Lizzy and I just figured it was a random search or something so we said sure.

Boy did they SEARCH! Lucky for me, my purse was stolen, but the security officer literally read Lizzy's diary in his search through her things. It was pretty unbelievable. So we just stood and answered questions while they went through all of our things.

Finally, they escorted us back to the Immigration booths and let us sit in a small room. There was an electric heater there too keep us warm as the building was not well insulated. To add to the cold, the light in the room was broken. So we had to sit with the door open to let a little bit of light into the room. Kind of sketchy.

At this point, no one had spoken to us yet about what was going on. It was about midnight and there was no one in the Airport. They obviously had no more flights for the night.

Finally, the original Immigration Officer woman came into our dark cold room.

"Ladies, I cannot allow you entry into Scotland."

Lizzy and I literally just looked at each other. Lizzy was speechless. I just looked at the woman.

"Um, why?"

"You do not have the proper Visa to be here."

"We don't need a Visa, we can stay here for 3 months without one."

"Yes, but only if you are traveling and not working."

"But we aren't working, we are volunteering."

"Volunteering is considered working by the U.K. government. You need a Work Visa, which takes 3 months to get."

"But we aren't making money. We are volunteering in return for room and board. There is not fiscal exchange."

"It doesn't matter. Volunteering is working. You need a Work Visa."

"Okay, so what happens now?"

"My colleague is coming to speak to you now about it. Good luck," she said and she left.

12:00 AM: Her colleague returned. A tall Scot with the stupidest mullet I have ever seen. Like I mean this thing had no business in the front or party in the back- it was just straight disgusting. As soon as he walked in, I requested that we leave the creepy dark cold room. He was kind enough to lead us to the benches in front of the immigration booths to sit on. Still cold, but at least I could see his face. Which on second thought only made the mullet that much worse.

"Ladies, what happens now is we deport you."

Lizzy started crying at this point.

"What do you mean deport us? Deport us to where? The U.S.?"

"No, legally, we have to send you back from where you came. That means Brussels."

"Wait, so you are sending us to Brussels? But we aren't allowed back in the Schengen Area, our three months are up!"

"That's not our problem. You are Brussels problem. They were the last people to send you here, so we legally have to send you back there."

"Oh my God."

"But first, we need to interview you and take your fingerprints."

At the sound of "fingerprints" Lizzy snaps up, "Uh, say what?

"It is protocol to take fingerprints of you because you were refused entry."

"But we're teachers... Will this show up on a back ground check back in the United States? Will we not be able to get jobs because of this??" Lizzy asked.

"Everything should be fine. We just need your fingerprints and we need to interview you separately in order to make sure your statements are the same."

At this point, I remembered my family was coming. "But we have plans to come back here over the holidays. Will we be allowed entry then as a limited time visitor?"

"If you have documents stating where you are staying and flights in and out of London, I don't see how that would be a problem. Every entry is looked at separately. As long as you two tell the truth, everything should be fine."

I was so cried out from the night before, I told Lizzy she needed to take the reigns on this one. I was so angry I had to get myself in check before I pulled a Deanna and said something snarky to the wrong person. We both calmed ourselves down and went in to have our fingerprints done.

1:00 AM: When he told me fingerprints, I assumed it would be the electronic way I had done it twice before as a teacher. Scotland is a bit behind on the times I suppose, because I felt like a hardened criminal as they inked each of my fingers and pressed them into the paper. Then they took my photograph (I prefer to think of it as a mugshot). And then we got interrogated! Yay!

We were each interviewed separately to tell our version of events. At one point, Lizzy's Interrogator tried to tell her we were living in Spain illegally and we weren't allowed to go back there. Lizzy then put her in her place. "We have spoken to the Spanish Consulate in the United States, the American Embassy in Spain and Immigration in Madrid. They all agree that we are allowed to live in Spain for three months without a Visa as an Au Pair. Go look it up." She did. And we were right. Take that!

2:00 AM: Finally, after the Immigration Officer had done her research, they emerged to ask if we had a place to stay for the night. We told them about the hostel we had booked. They said we could go spend the night in Edinburgh, but we had to return by 1pm the next day for our 4pm flight back to Brussels. They took our passports from us and pointed us in the direction of the bus. We took a bus to our hostel.

DAYS 87-89: Getting (Un)Ready

After Kief left, Lizzy and I began packing for our WWOOFing experience. 

To reiterate why we had to leave, Because our attempts to get a long term Visa to stay in Spain for 9 months failed miserably, we were required to leave the Schengen Area (mainland Europe) after a 3 months stay. Once we have exited this area for 3 months, we may reenter for another 3 months before the process begins again. Essentially, as an American, you are only legally allowed to be in Europe without a Visa for 6 months out of the year, each separated into 3 month increments. Because Lizzy and I are desperately poor, we were looking for options to stay in Europe for the three month time period between November 20th and February 18th. Luckily for us, the U.K. and Ireland are not part of the Schengen Area, so it would be legal for us to stay there for 3 months until our return to Spain, which is exactly what we planned to do. We have many friends who have WWOOFed and had an amazing experience, so we decided to give it a try.WWOOF stands for Willing Workers on Organic Farms.  Once you sign up with the WWOOF website of the country of your choice, you can then look up different farms to find a place to stay and work for free. Essentially, you work a certain number of hours daily gardening, farming, or other activities in exchange for food and housing. It's kind of like indentured servitude... but it's a great way to get to see the world and learn new things on a budget.

During the middle of our three months in Ireland and the U.K. my amazing and wonderful family would be coming to visit us in London for a week over Christmas! So in addition to packing to live and work on cold farms for 3 months, we also needed slightly fancier clothes (like going to Christmas mass in, etc.) So packing was not easy!

The night before we left was Wednesday, and Lizzy and I each had everything packed and ready to go. Pilar and Luis wanted to take me out to dinner with the kids to say goodbye, which was so sweet. We went to a restaurant, where I put my purse under my chair. Five minutes later, I noticed it was missing. I looked all around, checked under the kids seats, everywhere. NOTHING. SOME A$$ STOLE IT. (pardon my French)

How I felt like dealing with the Spanish Police Department

Keep in mind, I was leaving the next day. Therefore, I had EVERYTHING in that purse. So. stupid. My wallet, identifications, passport, iPod, iPhone, and perhaps most significantly to me were my Dad;s sunglasses which he gave me for graduation. Needless to say, I was so upset. Couldn't function so upset. The kids were so confused about what had happened while Luis tried to talk to a manager to look at the video surveillance, so which they told him only the police could look at. I called my parents to ask them to cancel my cards for me. We got back to the flat and I immediately set out to change all my passwords that they might be able to access on my phone.

10 minutes after I got home, my Dad skyped me holding up my brand new debit card to the screen. Can you say SuperDad?? Luis then took me to a police station to put a report in on the purse and what was inside.


We arrived at the police station to find the officers sitting at the security booth eating Chinese food and watching XFactor. GREEEATTT. They sent us inside the building to a man sitting a desk to report my purse stolen. This man then explained to Luis that they were too busy to take my report tonight and to go to another station or some back tomorrow. REALLY? I think Simon Cowell and your General Tso's chicken can wait 10 minutes to let the sobbing girl write her name and address down for you. BUT APPARENTLY NOT.

So we left. And SuperHostDad took me to another police station. To find these officers of the law sitting outside and smoking while Luis discussed my situation to the officer in charge. This kind man told me I could not report something stolen if I did not have ID. To which I explained that I don't have ID because it was stolen. He pretty much told me the Spanish version of "Tough luck honey." At this point, Luis said we could keep going to the next police station, but I was so emotionally exhausted, I said lets just do it tomorrow.

We got back to the flat to find the kids asleep and Pilar waiting with a nice cup of tea for me. We watched "The Quiet Man"- A personal favorite and one of Pilar's as well. It was a nice way for me to calm down and get ready for the embassy to get an emergency passport the next day.

Day 86: Granada Caves, Hikes and the end of Marisa's Spanish Getaway

Streets of Granada

Alleys of Granada

We woke up at the crack of dawn and set out on a walk around Granada city. One of my close friends
from high school studied abroad in Granada the previous year and had some great suggestions for us.

One of the things on the list was to take a walk up to the Sacromonte Caves above the city.

FUN FACT #60: I have not been able to find too much about these caves, other than they date back to possibly Roman times. In the 1590s, when the Moriscos (those of Moorish descent) were expelled from Granada by Ferdinand and Isabella, they took refuge in the caves in the hills above Granada. Since the 1960s, these caves became re-inhabited and sort of taken over by "hippy" types.

View of the Alhambra from the Caves

The city itself was dead as it was only 8am on a Sunday, so we walked through as the sun came up and hit the beautiful Alhambra buildings. We made our way over to the caves, which happen to reside just above some really gorgeous houses that have an amazing view of the Alhambra and Granada below.

Houses built into the mountain. The Caves were located just above these.

Although everything inside us told us to go further up the hill and explore the caves, we were not exactly keen on waking up anyone who might be living there. So we explored a bit and made our way back to the hostel. We got some breakfast and some Subway for the road (our sandwich artist had lived in Vermont for a few years! So cool!).

The small town we find to go hiking near.

We had a vague idea where we needed to go to go hiking, but not an actual location. As classic Vermonters, we looked out the window, said "I see mountains! Let's go there." We found a cute little town just outside of Granada that had some amazing views of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. The three of us got out of the car and set off on a path through olive trees along a mountain ridge with beautiful snow capped mountain views. It was an amazing afternoon. 

Olive Trees on our walk

After a while, we decided we should probably try to find our way back to Madrid (we did have to return the car after all...) So we packed back up and hit the road back to the city. 

Sierra Nevada Moutains

The next morning, Kief took the metro back to the airport to head home. Only more adventures ahead for her as she was to take a road trip out to Colorado to start her new job. GOOD LUCK KIEF!

From left to right: Me, Kief, and Lizzy

DAY 85: The Alhambra and Granada

Fountain in Generalife

We woke up at the crack of dawn and hit the road bound for Granada. And when I say the crack of dawn, I mean we actually drove through the mountains as the sun rose. It took us about 2 and a half hours to get there, and the ride in was absolutely breathtaking.

FUN FACT #57: Granada has a population of about 475,000 people and is nestled in the Sierra Nevada Mountains of Andalusia. At an elevation of only 740 meters above sea level and is only about an hours drive from the Mediterranean.

This is my kind of city. With deep rich history and beautiful buildings, it's Granada's natural scenery that set it apart from the rest of Spain for me. The snow capped mountains surrounding the valley it resides in were truly amazing to look at.


Our biggest draw to Granada (as it is for most people who visit) was the Alhambra.

View of the Fortress and City from Generalife

FUN FACT #58: The Alhambra is a palace and fortress complex in Granada. It housed the sultans and leaders of the Arabs until it was taken over by the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V and continued to house him and his family.

I could go on and on about the history of The Alhambra, but I'll spare you and try to give you just the best bits. There are three parts
of The Alhambra- the fortress, the palace, and the Generalife. The fortress was a castle built to protect not only the sultan and his family, but the greater city of Granada as well. It's position on a hill overlooking the city made it useful for this purpose. Along with the fortress was the main palace fit for the sultan and his consorts and family. These happened the be the most beautiful of them all. Generalife was the area in which there were vast gardens and fountains which we equally as gorgeous.

Fountain of Lions in the Palace

Me in the Palace pillars. 

Lizzy had been to the Alhambra previously when she visited Spain over the summer. So while Lizzy took a much needed nap in the car, (she had been driving a lot during the past few days) Kief and I toured the Alhambra.

First we took a tour of Generalife with our stupid and dorky
headphone devices that explained every room and garden we walked through. The tour company that we booked our tickets through gave us each a touch phone that allowed us to look at the pictures of each room and select when we wanted to listen to their commentary. Although we looked pretty dumb, it was better than some people who had to hold telephone looking devices circa 1995 up to their ears all day. Kief's phone kept malfunctioning and would burst into Bach's classical music every 10 minutes. Annoying as this was, we couldn't avoid the "classic pun" of "IT'S BACH!" and giggling our way through the gardens.

View looking back on the Fortress and the city. Those maze looking walls were formerly soldier barracks.

After the gardens, we continued on to view the Fortress. The was pretty cool as we learned a bit about the soldiers and their lives as they defended the Alhambra. That, and the view wasn't bad either.

FUN FACT #59: When the Holy Roman Emperor conquered the city in 1492 (when Columbus sailed the ocean blue!) he decided build another building within the Alhambra that he could live in. Like the other 400 up there didn't fit his style... Anyways, he had this monstrous building erected that sticks out like a sore thumb from the rest of them and didn't even finish it or live in it. COOL BRO. It wasn't completed until the 20th century, and now houses a museum.

Holy Roman Emperor Charles V's Palace view from the inside.

When we finished with the fortress, we walked around the Palace of Charles V. Although the building is really cool, it seemed a bit strange amidst all of the Muslim influenced buildings in the area. The building itself is the giant circle that feels a bit like a bull fighting ring. When you stand in the center of the yard, you can whisper and hear the well beneath you echo back your words.

We quickly walked through the museum and then took a nap on the rock wall alongside the building for 20 minutes before our tickets allowed us into the Palace. This place was so COOL! All of the ceilings looked like they had stalactites hanging from them, and they were all painted. Back in the 1200s, everything was painted bright and vibrantly, but now most of the colors have faded unfortunately. Kief and I walked around and enjoyed the architecture while trying to avoid being seen in people's selfie stick photos.

View out the window of one of the palace windows- taken with my iphone

When we finished, we rejoined Lizzy back and the car and ate our picnic lunch in the parking lot. Then we continued on to find our hostel- which was almost as difficult as it had been in Cordoba, only this time we didn't get stuck between buildings. Fortunately, we finally made our way and found that our room was all ours! No extra guests!! What is this magic!?!?!

That night we walked around Granada in pursuit of drinks and tapas (which is what Granada is famous for). For every drink you buy, they bring you an appetizer! It was so great. We found a quiet little bar and Lizzy taught us some games from when she was a kid. We returned back to the hostel to keep playing and then hit the hay. It was a great day!

Myself and Kief on top of the Fortress walls overlooking Granada!

DAY 84: Road Trip to Cordoba!!

check out dat HUGE bull!

 Early on this Friday morning we picked up our rental car and set out for Cordoba!!

It was about a 4-5 hour drive, but the landscape was absolutely beautiful. We had only made one CD, which we listened to like 3 times on the way down, but it was still pretty fun. We pulled off the highway on this gorgeous piece of land to have our picnic lunch and take pictures of the bull and set back on the road.

FUN FACT #55: Along most of Spain's highways, one can see giant billboard outlines of a bull. The Osbourne Bulls were originally used to advertise Brandy starting in 1956. In 1994, a law was passed that prohibited all road side advertisements, but the Osbourne Bull had become an icon. The people asked that the bulls stay, although all writing in reference to the Osbourne Company was painted over. So to this day, the 46 foot tall black silhouettes of bulls can be seen all over Spain.

Inside Mezquita!

We continued to drive on to Cordoba to see the famous Mezquita. For any of you who don't know, I had been to Mezquita previously, but Lizzy and Kief really wanted to see it. To shorten my long explanation of the history of this place that I gave earlier in my blog, it is essentially a church that was taken over by the Arabs and built into a Mosque which was then taken back by the Christians to become a Cathedral again. For more information and pictures, look under September- Day 7: Mezquita.

The three of us had a lot of fun running around in the columns of Mezquita. When we finished, we took a walk out onto the Roman Bridge of Cordoba and around the city before getting back in the car to try to find our hostel.

FUN FACT #56: The Roman Bridge of Cordoba was built in the 1st Century BCE. It leads across the river directly to the Cathedral-Mosque of Cordoba.

Us on the Bridge facing the outside of Mezquita

I have never driven a car in Spain. And after this trip, I will never want to in the future.

Us on the Bridge facing the river

It took us about 3 hours to try to find our hostel. We were using the crappy maps on our phones to try to finagle our way through the back side streets of Cordoba. And let me just say- things did not go well.

We found our way to a fork with a sign directly in the middle marking that it was a dead end. With a 50/50% chance of going down a dead end road, we picked the wrong one. While Lizzy did her very best to try to get ourselves our of this curved and very narrow street, we weren't ending up anywhere. Unfortunately, I do not know how to drive a stick shift and Kief was not insured on the car, so Lizzy was the only one of us who should have been driving. But after 45 minutes of being unable to move and clogging up the street (as this street was so narrow, no one walking could get around us!) two gentlemen kindly offered their services. One gave directionals while the other drove, and they managed to get us out of the dead end. PRAISE THE LAWD!!

Selfie inside Mezquita!

After an hour and a half of being stuck in side streets, we decided we needed wifi. We managed our way out of the worst of it and continued to drive around for 30 minutes looking for a McDonald's. Again, PRAISE BE THE LAWD! We were able to find one. But once found, we faced with the stupidity of our actions as we would have been better off staying in the car park we started in next to Mezquita. So we made our way back to the Cathedral-Mosque, parked the car, and carried our stuff to the hostel.

We made dinner and drank a much deserved glass of wine before hitting the hay. We had another long trip to take in the morning- next stop GRANADA!