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Published: November 7th 2009
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Toledo was a great start to our Iberian visit. We left there on Thursday morning for Salamanca. Roads so far have been pretty easy, with more 4-lane than I expected and quicker travel. Our route took us through Avila, which boasts the largest intact city wall in Europe. We chose to visit the cathedral, and it was very interesting. Although it is, stylistically, a messy hodge-podge of styles spanning 6 or 7 centuries, the intact portions dating to the 1200s provide a useful example of how lavishly decorated the Gothic cathedrals were. I can't show any photos, since cameras were forbidden, but virtually of the stonework was painted in multiple colors with gold accents. We thoroughly enjoyed our visit, in part due to the absence of many other tourists. Avila was pretty cold (about 40F), and has the look of a major tourist destination that is closed for the winter. We stopped at a restaurant for lunch, sharing plates of meats and melted cheese into which we dipped crunchy breadsticks. Delicious.
We stopped outside of town to get a few pictures of the famed walls, then headed on to Salamanca. We arrived well before dark and found a hotel. Salamanca
is one of Europe's (the world's?) oldest university towns, as well as being an important commercial city. It's medieval spires, towers, and churches dominate the skyline and loom on a high hill. We were fortunate enough to obtain a room in the old part of town (the hotel is actually built within the ruins of St. Polo's church) and we enjoyed walking around a bit as we sought out the evening's tapas. We stopped by a bar that looked promising, but the boys found the music selections lame and the patrons seemed to be more into standing around than they were into dancing, so we headed back to our room.
On Friday, we set off to see as many of the sights as we could. Again, there are few tourists this time of year, and even fewer Americans, so we were able to get in quickly everywhere we went and never had to jostle our way into seeing things. The university has a wonderful medieval look and feel, but is also busy with the latest crop of students. It is a big school, such that there are pretty large areas where there are no modern buildings visible. It isn't
hard to imagine student life 500 years ago--probably not that different other than cell phones.
The stone carvings are perhaps the most impressive element in Salamanca's architecture, very complex and grand in scale. We visited a number of churches and monasteries. We speculate whether the gold that is so prevalent around the altars was brought to Spain from the Americas, decide most likely it was. DeSoto is actually buried in the Dominican priory here, and there is an exhibit about the Dominicans in the Americas.
As with Toledo, there is a lot of enjoyment to be had just taking in the atmosphere while walking around the streets. We wandered around, encountering gardens, back alleys, and ever-changing views of the landmark buildings. We also enjoyed a tour of Salamanca's twin cathedrals (13th and 16th century) that took us up a tower and onto various platforms that afforded spectacular views of the city and the two churches from above, as well as providing a lesson on just how the huge buildings were constructed.
We returned to our room to rest a bit (I guess we are already getting accustomed to the siesta). Andrew researched what else we might want
to visit, and discovered that we had neglected one of the major sights, the Plaza Mayor. We headed off in that direction for the evening. The Plaza is the traditional civic and cultural center of Salamanca, including City Hall along with numerous cafes and shops. Since it was Friday night, it was thronged with Salamancans out to see and be seen, and we spent an hour or so just strolling around the area. We stopped at a cerveceria on a side street for some food and beer (fantastic calamari). We returned to the Plaza in time to see performances by groups from the various colleges in the University. Apparently, there is a long-standing tradition requiring the colleges to send representatives to serenade city officials. The groups all dress in medieval costumes and perform with great energy and enthusiasm. We figured they probably made several stops for refreshment on their way to the performance. It was a great finish to our night.
Saturday, we head for Portugal.
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Ursula
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Salamanca
Wow a picture of me from my dreams, oh to be that thin again, oh well. We have never been to Spain but your pictures really make us want to go. I am having the best time on this trip. Thanks for the free ride.