Hola!
Katy, you were absolutely right! Salamanca is truly a beautiful city, and we sincerely thank you for your recommendation to visit.
But to start from the beginning…up at 6:30 am this morning, and into what was left of our clean clothes (doing laundry definitely means a change of Levi’s at the very least!) As we were approaching the laundromat we saw the metal screen in front of the door going up, and the lights were on. Also, we were the only ones there, which is always nice! (It did occur to me that it might be overrun by pilgrims heading to Compostela, but no such issues occurred.)
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| Monastery across the street |
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| Convent across the street |
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| Looking down at our hotel lobby |
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| I just love towers... |
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| Entering Plaza Mayor |
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| One of the Plaza sides |
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| Me enjoying a glass of white wine! |
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| R enjoying a glass of red wine! |
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| A little bit of gelato... |
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| House of shells |
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| Cathedral(s) |
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| Side Chapel |
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| Beautiful organ |
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| Central Cupola |
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| Another beautiful chapel |
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| Very old Frescoes |
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| Part of the old Cathedral |
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| Main altar of the Old Cathedral |
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| Yes, I had to drive up THIS! |
Laundry washed and dried and we were heading back to the hotel a little after 9:30 am. Having so much that needed laundering enabled me to totally repack both of our bags, and we were ready to leave about 10 am. However, things somehow managed to get complicated, as the hotel’s computers froze, and it took them a while to figure out how to charge us. Eventually things came back on, and we headed out of Burgos about 10:30 am. We hadn’t even stopped to get something for breakfast, but at Robert’s suggestion, we stopped at a McDonald’s and were able to get Big Mac’s and fries … yes, for breakfast! I know … there is absolutely no hope for us whatsoever!
In all, it took about 2½ hours to get to Salamanca. Traffic was fairly light most of the way, and the scenery was nothing really special. Lots of open farm land, waiting for spring to arrive so planting can begin. Like Burgos, Salamanca is located on a high plateau, meaning that nights can get REALLY cold around here. When we went to the laundromat this morning, our weather app said it was 37°F and it certainly felt like it. Here in Salamanca, I think it said 29°for tonight! (Oops – just checked my weather app again, and I was wrong. It’s supposed to go down to 28°instead! Brrrrrrr!)
Salamanca itself is a lovely small city, and Emmy, our GPS guided us directly to the hotel – NH Palacio de Castellanos– in the center of the city. The problem came when we needed to find the hotel’s parking! First, I pulled up in front of the hotel – a former Palacio– and Robert got out to see about checking us in and getting us parked. Robert came out with a man from reception, who carried our two heavy cases up the flight of steps to the hotel. Then, Robert got back into the car with a map. Easy, right? All I had to do was turn right at the second street, and head around to the back of the hotel. So … I got to the second street and it was more like a staircase, with trees! Figured that was definitely wrong, so drove right past it … but that was a mistake; that was the street. I had to drive up the street over the stairs and around the trees. Great … so, first, as I had missed the turning, I had to drive clean out of old town and across the river to a roundabout so that I could take it back in the way I had come. This time, I was ready, and attacked that street/stairs, etc. with a very firm foot. We got to the top (somehow), and then a right turn. Fortunately, no one was coming from the other direction, or I don’t know what I would have done. The man at the front desk met us in the rear courtyard and promised to park the car in the underground garage. Hope we see it again someday…
Then in to check in, and fortunately, our room was ready! We are in room 205, on the second floor with a stunning view from our little balcony to the convent and monastery across the street! Our room isn’t really big, but it is nicely laid out. Unfortunately, it doesn’t have a bathtub, but I can live with that for the next day or two. Guess I don’t have any choice! However, the desk area had all sorts of stuff that we have now moved into the closet. There was a kettle and a teapot, as well as lots of extras from the mini-bar. Once we got rid of those, and moved a few other bits and pieces around, we were able to settle in quite comfortably. Lovely hotel!
Once we had recouped a bit, we decided to walk to the Plaza Mayor which has the reputation of being the loveliest plaza in all of Europe, let alone Spain. It took us probably 10 minutes to get there, and it is truly lovely. Lots of little café’s all around the edges, and we picked one that looked like it might be a little bit sheltered from the wind. There is definitely a cold breeze blowing through. I ordered a glass of white wine, and Robert ordered a glass of red … which we then had to repeat, as we were enjoying the sunshine and watching the people go by. Right next door to the restaurant we were sitting at just happened to be a very good gelateria – and they had very good stracciatella! From there, we proceeded down Rua Mayor to the Cathedrals. Yes, I said Cathedrals. There are two – the old and the new, and they are actually built side by side. The old cathedral was started in the 12thcentury and completed in the 14th. Construction of the new cathedral began in 1513; it was consecrated in 1733. Usually in those times, the old cathedral would be razed and the new one built on its site, but not in Salamanca, hence the side-by-side, connected churches.
Fortunately, they were a bit warmer than the Cathedral (singular) in Burgos, and there were many fewer stops. However, the audio guides worked well, and included some wonderful music. Again, it seems like it was all about the chapels! One after the other, incredibly ornate and decorated. Many fewer people than in Burgos, and we mostly had the place to ourselves. Robert took lots of photographs, but truly, some of these chapels had to be seen to be believed, as no photograph can really do them justice! The Gothic architecture is awesome.
We finished with the Cathedrals about 5:15-ish, and fortunately, our hotel is only about a 10 minute walk away. We are debating where to head for dinner tonight, and what we want to eat. We really haven’t had tapas in a few weeks; got away from them in Portugal, so figuring that may be the way to go. R now reading and napping, and I hope to get this finished, so that we’ll be able to find a place for dinner at 7 so that I can get to bed at an early hour!
We’re thinking that we may take the car out of town to Avila and possibly Segovia tomorrow, but that may have to wait until Wednesday. We’ll just have to see what we feel like in the morning! More about dinner to follow!
Lots of love until then!
m
xxx
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