Showing posts with label Salamanca. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Salamanca. Show all posts

Sunday, March 8, 2009

Salamanca

I went to lovely Salamanca in the south of the autonomous community of Castilla y Leon for a weekend with my friends Isabella (from Germany) and Cesarina (from Italy). We were really lucky and had great weather one of the days, bright sunny skies and temperatures in the 60s; not bad for half a month before the first day of spring.

Salamanca is most famous for its university, which is ancient old (founded in 1218). It's housed within huge gothic palaces, like the one in this picture. The city has a large number of students, many of them coming from all over Europe and the U.S.

We went tapas crazy when we were there, going out once every day during our stay. The picture above is of 'costillas', which are ribs.


Here's a nice view of Salamanca from across the Tormes River. The Romanic bridge is the old entrance to the city, full of Romanic architecture. The big cathedral is actually two churches combined together. The older cathedral on the right is Romaneque, and the larger on the left is newer and Gothic.

Here's a tapa we had called 'jeta', which is similar to something called 'morro', which is literally the face of the pig. Mmmm...

The Plaza Mayor, the 'Main Square', is Salamanca is one of the most beautiful in Spain. It's a hot spot for students and tourists and Salmantinos alike congregate there to take in the sun and the relaxing atmosphere. There are many cafes, restaurants, and shops in the square that used to be a the bullfighting ring. Concerts are other big events are usually held in the Plaza Mayor, which is said to be able to fit 20,000 people.

Here we are, Isabella on the left, Cesarina in the middle, and me on the right. We're on top of the cathedral looking out over the city.


We're sitting in the Plaza Mayor at night.

We shared tapas and tried to order different things. There are potatoes on the left, bread and goat cheese in the middle, and Spanish mushrooms (setas) on the right, accompanied by good old Spanish cervezas (cañas con limon para las chicas).


Here I am standing in front of the towers of the new cathedral.