Salamanca

This trip was really nice. We went with our whole Stetson/Marist group, our resident director and her brother (who are both in their twenties). They have lived in Madrid for most of their lives and usually have been to the places we travel to before, so they can tell us about what we are seeing. I have definitely preferred traveling with people who can tell me about the place I'm in. I get so much more out of it.

We took the train to Salamanca and got to spend the night there. It's about two and a half hours away from Madrid. It was so nice to get to do that because we were able to see a lot of the city in a more relaxed way than is possible when you only have a few hours. So we got there around noon, checked in to our hotel, and walked around the city before lunch.

We saw this Roman bridge on our way to the spot where we ate - a little park with a neat old church on the property and cats. I can't emphasize the cats part. When we got there we all sat down, got our food out, and started to eat. Then somebody pointed out a cute little kitten who was innocently wandering toward us. "Don't feed it," someone said, but who can resist a meowing kitten eyeing their lunch? After we fed the first one, others appear - probably through some high-pitched communication we were oblivious to. Soon, cute little Figaro's brother, mother, cousin, twin.... I'm not kidding, a LOT of other cats show up too. And when we stopped feeding them they got a little aggressive. Eventually someone threw food in the direction they had come from and we left before they came back for more.

There are many old, beautful buildings in Salamanca. The city is known for its university which, like most of the other buildings here, is made out of limestone. This a gargoyle I thought was cool and in the background you can see the cathedral of the University. The actual city has its own cathedral.

The Plaza Mayor.

It looks very similar to the Plaza Mayor of Madrid. These areas were built in the center of old cities and used to be an area where markets were held. Now there are cafes and restaurants around the perimeters of them and they provide a nice spot for people to meet up. In Madrid, there are appartments in some of the upper floors; and in Salamanca, in the fancier part you can see in the picture, the Plaza Mayor houses the city hall.