Thursday, November 15, 2007

A Salamanca Sunday

Sunday, SUNDAY *in best Al Roker voice* (yea, I'm a little tired and getting delusional...)

On Sunday the 'rents and I made the journey to Salamanca by train. The two and a half hour ride with Renfe was nice, as the train was virtually empty and we got to look at the scenery (when the sun wasn't blinding us) and contemplate the age of all the rock walls that wind their way across the countryside. We were pretty gung-ho on renting some scooters to motor around the city, but upon walking outside and getting blasted with what seemed like supercooled air, we decided to sightsee by foot.

One of the cathedrals in Salamanca

And sightseeing we did; cathedrals, cathedrals, cathedrals, oh, and some palaces! The cathedrals were amazing in their gargantuan size, ornateness, and overall grandiosity. One of them (supposedly built around 1500) even had a suspicious carving around the door, which you can see below.

An astronaut?!

We had the chance to climb the towers (don't ask how many steps, or how much it provoked my nascent fear of heights) and see some great artifacts from the churches' archives, which even included an edition of one of Plato's works dating from the 1600's! Of course, we also had to go the Plaza Mayor while in the city, which, I have to say, is cooler than the one in Madrid. Not to mention there was this crazy group of women there, one of whom was dressed up as an old woman in a housecoat with an ample bosom and ample rear-end and another screaming something or another through a megaphone!

Plaza Mayor

All in all, with these adventures as well as some stops in little shops and visits to palaces scattered about the city, it was a pretty great day trip (although with lots and lots of walking...I have the hole in my sock to prove it!) and Salamanca is really a great little town. I definitely recommend it as an excursion if you'll be in Spain (plus, I've heard it has a great night life!).

Favorite sight of the trip:
The golden altar at one of the churches in Salamanca

1 comment:

Jean X. said...

that's a lot of gold right there.
have a great thanksgiving in europe!!