Day 9 and 10 - Sevilla - Cortijo El Esparragal - Cordoba

On Monday we headed out to a cortijo, what is similar to a ranch ar hacienda.  We had a tour of its operations, it own Roman ruins, which included some spring that were used as baths as far back as the 2nd century.  When we returned to the main house, three chefs taught us how to make two famous Andalusian soups: Salmorejo and Ajo Blanco.  We broke into two teams and the chefs acted as judges.  After eating our soups we were served a neverending array of tapas and dessert.

Tuesday was dedicated to Cordoba, once intelectual capital of Europe.  We had a tour of a Saphardic Jewish home and Sinagogue (one of three medieval synogagues left in Spain) were we learned much about Jewish life in Spain leading up to the Spanish inquisition.  We then went to a museum of medieval torture and of course the main event, the once mosque now cathedral.  The students were also served a nice array of Tapas typical of Cordoba.