Salamanca, Spain - Home of the oldest university in the country, capital city to the region of Castile and Leon, and definitely a place to forget yourself, has some of the most evocative and inspirational architecture in Spain, and a nightlife that will make you flip. I had the pleasure of a weekend experience in the capital city while visiting my cousin Emily.
You have two options in reaching Salamanca from Logroño: One is taking a bus to Burgos, then catching an alternate one from there (different ticket as well) towards Salamanca, then repeating this process to return. The second is to take a train straight from Logroño to Salamanca that leaves you with more money in your pocket, less chaotic Burgos bus station drama, and less travel time. You get three guesses and the first two don't count regarding which form of transportation I took. The suns' last rays were lost before I arrived in Salamanca.
tapas
Me and Em
Almir and myself
In between the nights, I had the pleasure of seeing a tatoo convention, the beautiful cathedral, university, casa de conchas, roman bridge, and plaza mayor. The 18th century plaza mayor was amazing during both day and night, and I even saw it in the snow during my last night there. The 16th century cathedral was monstrous and gothically decorated with flying buttresses and ornamental drip castle deluxe fantasy spires. The university had a beautiful facade with a tiny frog on a skull that apparently symbolizes good luck for Salamancans. The casa de conchas is something that I just completely didn't read about, but here is my guess about its significance: since the shell (concha) is used to represent the Camino de Santiago here in Spain, I believe this house to have been a monastery used to house and teach those on the righteous path. How's that sound? The Roman Bridge was long and rocky, as was made of rocks. The tattoo convention stained my mind with ideas and images possibly suitable for my body, but none were realized.Cathedral Casa de Conchas
Plaza Mayor
Tattoo Convention
birdland
^
old friends
Friends Conor Mchugh and Dave Mchugh came from the U.S., while Lily Mchugh came from the Andalusian city of Sevilla where she studies, so we had a grand time gallivanting around the town and touring the night scene on my last night. I'd not seen close friends such as these since Jack came and visited in late 2009, and it was really a treat to give a good hug to those close to me. Emilys' friend Kenya, who was hilarious and from Greensboro, had her brother and parents to visit, so the company was plenty and merry. Royal blue skies dotted with clouds during the day, and bone-cutting cold at night made Salamanca all the more appetizing somehow. We went to cool bars like Birdland - a jazz bar dedicated to Birdland Jazz Bar in NYC, where famous musicians like Miles Davis and Dizzy Gillespie played, parks all over the city, and I also met Emily's host family. We had a finger-lickin'-good-yall lunch with them, and I later listened to the family dispute over family things awkwardly from the the couch. I would love to return sometime to Salamanca, it was a city to remember (or not)
Emily's host family
Lose yourself there soon.*Listening to : Up against the wall - Peter, Bjorn and John
2 comments:
Interesting about the shells. Actually,there is a synagogue in Toledo (actually turned into a mosque) that if I recall correctly has shells in it. I was watching Rick Steves' special about Spain and he explained the significance (it'd be awesome if I could remember!!!) This is it.
http://www.sacred-destinations.com/spain/toledo-sinagoga-de-santa-maria-la-blanca.htm
im so glad you had fun!!
you completely made up all that shit about the casa de las conchas and its all untrue.
werd life.
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