Salamanca

Next stop on our adventure was Salamanca. We were up early to catch our first train which turned out to be very easy. This time you had to put your bag through security which was new to us when traveling on trains in Europe. Luckily Steve was checking the board for the platform number otherwise we wouldn’t have known about going through security.

We were staying in the old town and decided to walk the 15 minutes. We soon realised my bag needed an upgrade. The bumpy paths made it very hard to push with the dodgy wheels.

We were too early to check in so we left our bags and went off to explore before our 12 pm tour.

Just around the corner was Plaza Mayor. It is a huge area with outdoor restaurant seating all around. So we chose one of the many restaurants and had coffee, churros and a pastry.

Salamanca is well known for its university. It is the oldest active university in Spain and the world and dates back to 1218. Students from all over the world come to study.

We decided to do a tour with a local this time which was fantastic! It was nice to not only see the sites but to do it with a local. It was more personal.

We met our guide Deborah under the clock in Plaza Mayor. Deborah is a student at the University so knew the city well and took us to places where we didn’t see any of the other tour groups.

We left Plaza Mayor and came across a quote by Cervantes.

Miguel de Cervantes was a Spanish writer best known for his novel Don Quixote. His biographical history is very interesting. The quote from Cervantes is for the students of the University.

First stop, Casa de la Conchas or The House of Shells has over 300 scallop shell carvings all over it. It was built sometime in the 15th century for the chancellor. The shell was the symbol of the military order of Santiago. It is now the public library.

Next on our walk we climbed Scala Coeli towers for a good view of the city. There were lots of steps! We had the option of going up further to the bell tower but didn’t need the extra steps. The towers were designed to bring believers closer to heaven. The many stairs we climbed are also known as the Stairway to Heaven.

The old town of Salamanca is like many of old towns we’ve been to. However, Salamanca is well known for its plateresque architecture which is seen in the beautiful ornate designs in many of the buildings around the city. The name Plateresque comes from platero, meaning silversmith, because the intricate, ornamental architecture looks like a silversmiths work.

It’s not surprising that in 1988 Salamanca was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO due to its historical and architectural heritage.

The new part of the cathedral had an astronaut carving. It was added to represent the 20th century when it was built. One of the other buildings of the university had a frog. Frogs are Salamancas symbol like cicadas were in Nice.

The small cobblestone streets wind everywhere and are full of tapas bars and restaurants and shops selling the famous Spanish Iberian ham. I don’t know how you would know which one to go to because they all looked the same. 

Like most towns there was a large market. And guess what? More Iberian ham! Along with many stalls of seafood and cheese.

Deborah took us around to many different buildings and parts in the city. There were so many I can’t remember them all!

In one of the buildings of the university Deborah showed us the mural The Sky Over Salamanca. It is a reconstruction of the painting which was found in The House of Shells. It was painted originally to use at the university for the teaching of astronomy and astrology.

There are so many buildings in the university and we couldn’t see them all but we did go into the Faculty of Physiology building. On the walls in the courtyard there were symbols that the PhD graduates buy once they have completed their studies. They had the name and year of graduation. Deborah is doing her PhD so we asked if she would put her name on the wall but she said it was quite expensive to do it.

We went to the Convent of Saint Esteban (Saint Stephen) but didn’t go in. But the outside was amazing! It is another example of the plateresque style of architecture.

Salamanca is also known for its two cathedrals. There is an old part (built in the 12th century)and a new part (built in the 16th century) which are joined together. The new part of the cathedral was added because the city had grown so much due to the university. It was restored in 1993 which is when the astronaut was added.

At the end of the tour Deborah recommended a tapas restaurant for us. It was called Don Quixote. It was a set price 3 course menu where you choose your starter, main and desert. In the price it included a carafe of house red wine, water and bread. A bargain for a uni student! Can’t say I enjoyed it.

Deborah also told us about hornazo which is a is basically a Spanish meat pie filled with pork, chorizo and egg. Unfortunately we didn’t get around to tasting one. Deborah said they were very salty so maybe a good thing?

After our 3 hour, 10 km walking tour and some tapas for lunch we were stuffed!! We went back to the hotel to check in and had a little siesta. We’re adapting well to Spanish time.

After our little siesta we went back out into Plaza Mayor for dinner. But we were both tired after an early train, the tour and 3 days of eating and drinking in Madrid so we opted for a Maccas cheeseburger and bed. It was soooo good!!