<my musings>
Have you ever arrived in a completely new environment and felt immediately at home and relaxed? Me neither. Until we traveled to Salamanca, Spain.
What is it about Salamanca? It’s not the activities, although we are both impressed by the Art Deco Museum just around the corner from our hotel. Nor is it the historical cathedrals, I’ve seen plenty of those. Maybe a historical tour of Salamanca could work, following a guide with a flag or umbrella like ducklings. We see a few of these, but we feel the yearning to explore on our own. In the age of Google, there is something precious in the “not knowing”, embracing the wonder of it all.
</my musings>
We take a six hour bus from Porto to Salamanca. Six hours. At one point, I’m not certain exactly where we are, the driver stops and tells us we all need to disembark for 30 minutes. We have no idea why, but leave the bus, sidestepping a random sleeping dog, and enter the convenience store/restaurant with the other passengers. All that we get are a soda and some pretzels. Why are the pretzels so good here? We had the same pretzels when we were in Greece. I want these at home. After the mandatory exodus we file back onto the bus for the final leg of the trip.
Once in Salamanca we easily hail a taxi who delivers us to our hotel. The Sercotel Puerta de la Catedral is one of the best hotels we’ve seen this trip. The rooms are clean and spacious, they provide an excellent breakfast for only €10.5 and they are centrally located. Our balcony overlooks Plaza Juan XXIII where we can see the cathedral and several historic monuments.
I’m feeling a deep love for Salamanca on day one! It’s only a 5 minute walk to the beautiful Plaza Mayor. Along with most everyone in town, we are drawn to the Plaza each evening. We sit at an outdoor cafe, drinking coffee and people watching. Here I find the best flavor gelato: Lotus Cookie. Not as pretty as my I gelato in Porto, but much tastier. Yum! Shortly after sunset, about 10 PM, the lights of the Plaza Mayor blink on, resulting in spontaneous shouts of joy and applause. It is quite dramatic.
We visit the Art Deco museum and it’s much more than we expect. We both especially enjoy the collections of Rene Lalique, a prominent jeweler of the early 1900s who also created exquisite intricate glass vases, bottles, and other works. So many gorgeous sculptures and figures. It’s all beautiful. Except the display of dolls, which creep me out just a bit. That evening strolling about, we make our way to the front of the Art Deco museum to see how beautiful it is lit up at night.
Wandering the town, we walk through the University of Salamanca then down and across the Roman bridge, which rewards us with a beautiful look at old town from across the river. On our way back, we spot the “space man” in a section of the cathedral doorway. No, it wasn’t a precise premonition. In 1992 during updates, an artist was given permission to add some modern touches. Thus, ground control to Major Tom.
We find an excellent restaurant for lunch. Doze, located just off Rua Mayor on the way to Plaza Mayor, is another tidy cafe with outdoor seating. Our waiter is Andres, an artist from Argentina. He shares his ambition to save enough to build a studio to work and teach printmaking back in Argentina. A kindred spirit with whom we hope to stay in contact. He serves us a delicious chicken dish and we make reservations for dinner later that evening.
Our last evening, we return to Plaza Mayor and enjoy another gelato along with everyone else. No one seems to be in a hurry. It’s a much needed exhale for us. (Hoping this video uploads….)
Our taxi drops us at the Salamanca train station and we board the train to travel to Segovia, although the train is ultimately heading to Madrid. When our stop comes, we head to the exit but the door won’t open! We push all the buttons available, but the door doesn’t budge. After a panicky two minutes, the train takes off. Now what? The conductor arrives and explains that since only 6 passengers were to depart in Segovia, she elected to make the stop short and not open all the doors. Still doesn’t make sense to me. She says the complaint department in Madrid will issue us tickets back to Segovia.
When we enter the room, it’s like the worst DMV you’ve ever seen. Tom gets a ticket and we wait about 20 minutes with several dozen other unhappy travelers. Finally we get our ticket. The train delivers us to the Segovia train station which, for some reason, is in the middle of a cow pasture. We get a taxi to our lodging and put our feet up. We have a view of the cathedral from our balcony, but it’s still not the same vibe as Salamanca.
It’s Friday in Segovia and it also happens to be the annual weekend of the Roma Market sprawling under the ancient Roman Aquaduct, bringing an additional 40,000 to town. Some strange, steampunk carnival rides are erected and dozens of booths with the same fare and trinkets that are sold the world over. Anyone need a refrigerator magnet?
After a walk to the other end of town we see the Segovia Alcazar, like a Disney castle built on a cliff with spectacular views of the surrounding valleys and snow tipped mountains.
The best thing about our visit to Segovia is getting to meet two couples from the UK staying in the same hotel. On our last morning, we have a lively conversation with Martin & Tracy and Nigel & Helen. Thanks again to Helen for showing me how to use the espresso machine!
Next up is Toledo. Martin says we must visit the Torture Museum. 😳
Video worked for me. Spectacular! Thanks.
Given the extraordinary sights and places you’ve visited, I can understand that by now your bar is pretty high and while even the sun setting behind a cathedral can give you the “Ahs” a train station in a cow pasture would be a letdown! Maybe it’s time to return to normalcy 🙂 We are looking forward to having you back in our mundane world!
The train station in a cow pasture was a hilarious moment and notched in memory as securely as the beautiful moments. Gotta roll with it. But we are both ready to roll on back and reconnect with home. The mundane sounds perfect right now. 🥰