Salamanca in the meantime (or well behind it)

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Although this is notionally entry number 2 in the Spain blog , it is actually about my three nights in Salamanca from Friday 7 September through to Sunday night 9 September. Because of the often problems with booking weekend accommodation, especially Friday and Saturdays, I decided to book the three days as a block. Apart from the fact that Salamanca seemed a relatively pleasant place to spend such an amount of time.

Although already the travel arrangements are starting to become hazy, I got the bus over there (about 90 minutes) from Avila - we may or may not ever catch up with that place. The hotel was a reasonable place called the Monterrey - an old 50s style but a reasonable price , although the room was somewhat small. It was on the fifth floor and I actually now remember that I had effectively booked three nights from the hotel website directly as though he had a weekend special of the Friday through Sunday at 10% off. I had looked at their website as it seemed a little unclear from Booking.com, which I usually use as having complete details, as to whether they actually had Internet . The Hotel website appeared to indicate LAN Internet, but in fact the only Internet was available in the foyer on wireless. Given my previous wireless essential condition for travel this was somewhat of a struggle as it makes it difficult to forward book places etc when you are doing this on an ad hoc basis, as I am. I was keen to book the entire weekend as some sort of Virgin (as in Mary of course) started on the Friday and such events tend to attract out of towners.

Anyway at some stage I did find myself having a parade in traditional dress through the streets of local citizens dressed up in costumes. There may be a picture end up here has representation if I can find it. The only real local "folk" event I have seen so far.

I did the two cathedrals - the "new" is much bigger, is relatively unlit, and is also free. The "old " backs onto it and you have to pay 4 euros or whatever for entry, which is relatively standard here for such entry . For that extra price you actually get some lighting of varying intensity on the old side chapels and so on. For some reason you are also not supposed to photograph there (but of course I did take the odd sneaky shot without flash of course). I also went into La Clerecia church which is free -- but it was the end of a wedding which have been taking place so there were a fair few groups of well-dressed people, well compared to the tourists anyway. I also visited the unusual art deco/Art Nouveau Museum which is privately run and has a positive treasure trove of such stuff, as some very good Lalique and other etched etc glassware. It also has a considerable collection of vintage dollies which I did not pay a great deal of attention to!

Below all this is the river, on a bridge where the road signs point to Portugal -- the border is only about 60 km away or so. Back on the old Roman stone bridge which is now pedestrian.

On Sunday there is as per usual virtually nothing open, certainly in terms of shops etc. Although there was a lottery booth open in the street adjacent to the hotel. Not to mention, very handily for my purpose, a Chinese 2 Euro shop equivalent. I was able to buy there, in exactly the sort of thing you would find in such places, a little spiral bound notebook to replace the earlier one I managed to lose - rather annoying as I use it to keep my picture notes etc, not to mention general jottings like costs etc. It was virtually the only shop, other than cafes open, other than the mad crazy Carrefour supermarket up near the station which I walked up to. Given that the queues were about 10 long at each checkout I thought I could probably give that a miss rather than go in just to buy some fruit or yoghurt or something.

I ambled up to the station, which was somewhat further than I thought, and it largely decided me not to take the train, as I will go in another direction by bus to Zamora (the progress is somewhat fluid!). Anyway most of the green public spaces there and back and generally in Salamanca seemed to be populated with semi-permanent beer/wine stalls also serving little snacks. To enter into the spirit of the Sunday afternoon I visited one and had a beer and the pincho feria (daily snack) which seemed to be little chunks of fried pork, eaten with toothpicks, along with a slice of bread. I then moved on to another one and had a little fried chorizo between two slices of bread, along with a cup of sangria. These places function from about noon on for those people who are on a recovery tour from drinking the previous night! Or just general open air Spanish socialising.

On which subject I could barely believe that when I woke up at 6:30 AM on Sunday there was still a hell of a lot of talking outside my window. I am on the fifth floor and had to look out and see what the commotion was. The answer is there were just young people, mostly guys, in groups of four or five simply walking around (home hopefully!). Not a single group but probably at least 10-15 walking around when I looked out the window. They say a lot of the clubs don't even start til midnight and then get going at 4 AM. Last night was Saturday night of course and I am not sure whether it was simply the Virgin Festival sort of weekend or whether because of the number of students here this goes on all the time. There were these temporary beer/wine stalls all over the whole weekend (or permanently in summer?) near or in a square etc.

One meal I had was interesting as an overindulgence at least. A suggested first course was a plate of cheeses . Believe me, I will NEVER do that again unless I have at least two friends to share it with! I should have known from the pricing at almost the same as a main course that it might be large. A huge platter arrived with soft brie type, some blue, about three hard cheeses of various types, not to mention runny quince jammy type dip along with little biscuits. The main course was a relativey sensible relief being a simple squid ink risotto. A couple of glasses of local red took it up to almost €40 (50$), so the simple €10 set menu option I had the previous night, which was adequate, was a budget beater for the students and package tourists.

On my last morning, Monday, before I left in the afternoon on the bus (eventually - I missed one - to Zamora) I got down to the Convent of San Esteban. I had seen this the previous night lit up down by the river so it was interesting to see it during the daytime. Unfortunately I just missed, due to 2pm closing (it's a Spanish siesta thing) the apparently quite nice cloisters of the convent across the road.

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Photos

Salamanca parade - with pippy pipe
these were all grab shots altho this does not look it

Salamanca parade
a nice red outfit

Salamanca parade
get the lil'uns kitted up too

Salamanca parade - the last couple
he looks rather baronial!

Salamanca Cafe Real
on Plaza Mayor - Royal not real, but I liked it for a cafe solo

thin ham
at 160E a kilo!

the House of Shells (la Conchela)
you can see why in relief

New Cathedral (on L) & Clericia (on R)
from my hotel room on 5th floor

Salamanca nite drinking stalls
these were all over - in any square

Plaza Mayor at nite
supposedly the best Plaza Mayor in Spain

Comments

[Huddo]

Cheesed off.
Hi Mike, Yes I have commented on your cheese platter privately! Great shot from your hotel room, loss of notebook? how annoying. Love Huddo.