Salamanca,Spain - May 2014

 Convento de San Estanban

Salamanca was the first city we travelled to after settling in here in Valladolid.  Salamanca is gorgeous.  It is a university town and so there is a young and new vibe mixed with the traditional city, and this gives a very interesting feel to the streets.  The university here was founded in 1218 and is one of Europes first universities.  This city gave me the feelings I hoped to get from Valladolid and didn't experience.  It has the scent of an old European town but a young and more progressive outlook.

The buildings and cathedrals and stunning and made me shed a few tears at the mere sight of them.  I have never seen anything quite so beautiful in all my life.  Wandering the streets I felt transported back in time to a place where peasants roamed the streets and the wealthy were in the castles. It made me feel like I was in Robin Hood Prince of Thieves (the best Kevin Costner movie).  I kept expecting to see people on horseback and women carrying bundles of hay. 

In the courtyard at Universidad Library

We explored as much as we could in the few days we were there but it seems there is always more and everything is so new and exciting for us we get caught up in places for a long time and find ourselves rushing to see more.  We spent a lot of time in The Universidad area and The Cathedral Nueva which was begun in 1513 and had additions made throughout the next two centuries.  Go up the towers it is well worth the many many stairs.  The view is incredible. Just a gorgeous place to visit.  I truly felt the history in the buildings.  I always touch all the walls (Ross says this is why I am always sick) because I want to feel the history.  I just want to know that my hand is on a stone that was chiseled and put into this place hundreds and sometimes over a thousand years ago.  

The views from the tower in the cathedral 

There seemed to be some good nightlife, which makes sense it is a university town.  We spent some time in Plaza Mayor and really enjoyed it.  It has one of the most beautiful Plaza Mayors we have seen so far.  When we were there they had some live music happening and we listened and swayed to the beat while we watched all the smiling faces around us enjoying a beautiful evening.  At night when the Plaza is lit up it was like a fairy tale castle courtyard with its twinkling white lights.

Plaza Mayor

We noticed many bachelor parties happening here and they were all dressed up in costumes.  Actually we see this in a lot of the cities here, like I have said people really like to party. One of our first Spanish instructors told us that bachelor and bachelorette parties here can last three to four days and people usually go away on trips to celebrate.  So it is unlikely the party you see is from the area.  It was an interesting place and with every turn of a corner there was something else to marvel at.  We had a wonderful time exploring for two days.  It was so long ago I would actually love to go back and experience it again.  

 Puente Romano

Palacio de Congessos