We are officially in Villa del Rio! I’m writing this while sitting on Josue’s old bed, which is covered with memorabilia of his youth. MJ has owned this house for 10 years, so the family is pretty settled here. I think there are plans to move here after Josue graduates (at least for MJ).
This morning was a bit hectic, I tried to pack and return library books and update my blog and return messages and upload pictures all before lunch. Most of it got done, and I was able to grab some lunch and relax before Javier, Eva and Josue picked us up in the minivan (or whatever it is.) Their car uses an ignition card! So cool!
We left Madrid at about 4 pm, and stopped only for gas and for a beverage stop at a sweet stone cervecas in la montanas! It looked so cool as we drove away, the building is built into the hill and is much taller than it seems, from the necessity of building on the side of a mountain. I posted a blurry picture on Facebook, which gives you the general idea of a stone building plopped amongst the trees.
Villa del Rio (village by the river) is small but has tiendas, churches and schools like everywhere else. Most of the houses, MJ’s included, are like double story apartments, with similar casas lined up in one uniform building. I like the house itself, it has many rooms and a back porch area partially roofed, which would be great fun for barbeques and whatnot! And the only cockroach spotted this weekend was already dead so, that’s a plus!
We visited the local olive oil factory, the employees of which didn’t seem to mind us walking around the equipment. Javier showed me where they pour the olives in to be crushed and the conveyor belt that piles the chopped pits in the courtyard (picture on Facebook). The olives are very dark indigo, nearly black, and the juice inside stained Javier’s fingers purple.
After a large family lunch, nosotros (sin Josue) drove to Cordoba, the big historical city nearby. We went to Mezquita Cordoba Mosque, a Moroccan style teteria (delicious teas of different styles and flavors are served, along with sweet North African pasteries) and many souvenir tiendas. We crossed a long bridge where I took about 120 pictures and saw an ultra light touring vehicle soar overhead. It was a good day, full of walking, pictures and browsing.
