Day 10 – Adiós Salamanca

Both of us awoke before the alarm sounded. Our bags had been packed and were now zipped up ready for the trip back to Madrid. All that was left to do was a quick clean-up of the apartment and we would have time to enjoy our last few hours in Salamanca before our departure. The San Justo Apartments had been a great base for us over the last week.

San Justo Apartments - We were on the third floor far right window

The location could not have been better! The University, Plaza Mayor, and a plethora of restaurants were all within a few steps from the front door. Pre-trip, we had read online that San Justo Plaza could be noisy with students at night when school is in session. However, that was not the case during our visit.

Our View out the front window

We were out the front door and up the hill one more time to the Plaza Mayor for breakfast. Instead of the normal entrance we had been using to the plaza, we chose to enter the plaza as we would have in 1972.

Every morning on the way to school we passed through this entrance. The steps up are well worn from centuries of pedestrian traffic, and some of that wear can be attributed to us as we helped in this aging process.

Standing in the entryway, we reflected feeling blessed that our parents would let us take that trip to Europe forty-seven years ago, and there was a teacher willing to be responsible for a bunch of teenagers to make it happen.

The plaza restaurants were not busy as we entered. Panel trucks of pastries, ham, beer, and assorted other food items were making their deliveries. We chose a restaurant we had eaten at before for our last breakfast. Looking out over the plaza there was only one lone tour group gathered around their guide as the history of the “Plaza Mayor” was told.

Tom was not going to leave Salamanca without having Jamón Ibérico and eggs just one more time. This special ham is truly a treat and something that one does not normally buy in the states. Since you cannot bring meat into the U.S., you have to buy it at a high-end deli or order online. If you would like to try it, here is a link to La Tienda.  The online store also sells this magical meat in smaller amounts.

Knowing it would be a long day, Janet chose what Tom calls a European Power Breakfast.

She first experienced a meal like this in Malta a few years back. Avocado Toast, Baked Beans, and Grilled Tomatoes with a cup of Café con Leche would be the ingredients that someone from the UK would call a proper breakfast.

Saying goodbye to all that was around us, we went back to the apartment and picked up our bags. However, there was one more stop on the way.  Lunch, we would need lunch for the train! The Hacienda Zorita, where we enjoyed our Sunday lunch, has a store right off the Plaza Mayor.

If you look closely in the window on the left side… You would be correct!

Today for lunch we will both be having a Bocadillo. These are sandwiches made with Spanish style baguette, and when in Salamanca usually will have Jamón Ibérico, with or without cheese.

Once again, San Justo’s location paid big dividends. Instead of walking up the hill to the plaza, we walked down the street dragging our suitcases to the Gran Via where there was a taxi stand. The entire walk was less than 100 feet from our front door to sitting in a taxi.



Gran Via 1972 - Still looks the same but much more busy

It was off to the train station.

Our train back to Madrid took a different route than our arrival route. The scenery was still beautiful, but different than what we saw on the way.

We were riding on a local train, so there were more frequent stops along the way.

The time just slipped by as we read, enjoyed the sights, and of course, ate our Bocadillos.

For our final night, we stayed at the Madrid Marriott Auditorium Hotel & Conference Center. This is a massive complex near the airport and offers free shuttle service to the airport. We were told it is the largest hotel in Spain. Probably the largest hotel we have stayed in our travels.

It has a strange car in the lobby we never did figure out, but the one thing it did have was a pool. And if you know Janet, you know she truly loves her pool time.

We had a nice dinner in the Marriott’s Restaurant and reflected on all that we had done and seen in the last week. When the sun rises, we will be heading to the airport for our flight home. Spain, and Salamanca particularly, had treated us well over the last ten days. We look forward to returning to the Iberian Peninsula soon… maybe Portugal or Galicia in Northern Spain next visit.

Thanks for following along - Adios until next trip!

Day 9 – On the road again

Today’s adventure took us north of Salamanca to the city of Zamora. We chose a new mode of transportation for the day, a bus.

The bus station is about a mile from the apartment on San Justo Plaza. There are two types of service to Zamora on a bus. Express uses the main highway and arrives in 50 minutes.

Then there is the local bus which uses secondary roads and stops in small towns along the way. Of course, it takes about 30 minutes longer for the trip.

We opted for the local bus not because it would take us threw the heart of the Toro wine region on our daytrip. No, we simply slept later than planned – but remember we are on vacation. Ann our friend always says you can sleep when you die, but for us that extra 30 minutes was pure bliss. The busses in Spain are clean, comfortable, and prompt. We arrived right on schedule in Zamora with no plan but to see the city. (Loosely translated as lots of walking ahead) 

The old city is walled and sits on a peninsula of land bordered by Duero River.

Through the heart of the historic area is a pedestrian mall lined with shops, small restaurants, and beautiful buildings (churches and art museums).

Zamora’s history is a long and sorted tale from the Romans to the Spanish Civil War. Located on the river and thirty miles from Portugal, it played a key role in almost every conflict in Spanish history including the home of the hero of Spain, El Cid! The city is a place of the new and old. It is the home to modern art movement in Spain as well as having the most Romanesque Style Churches in Spain.

We strolled down the street just taking it all in. One thing we noticed which separates Zamora from Salamanca is the type of stores. In Salamanca, every third or fourth store is an Iberico Ham store, while in Zamora it would be wine. Yep, we had to check out a few.

Not far past the Zamora’s Plaza Mayor we cut down a side street headed to the old Roman Bridge.

Some of the best views of the city are on the other side of the river.

Zamora is also a stop on the Camino de Santiago.

One will see lots of religious pilgrims and also those who take on the trail as a physical challenge.

We also saw them on the side of the road on our bus trip. They walk amongst the tourist and locals with signs marking their path. We were surprised most were alone. Young girls and old men just putting one foot in front of another carrying all that they need for in their expedition of place and self.

Looking across the river the city stands tall and truly has a sense of place. Between the break waters and the wall anyone trying to enter or leave Spain by the Duero river would have to seek permission from the ruler of Zamora.

We cut off the trail and crossed back into the city on the new bridge.

Clearly marked for walkers, bikers, and cars. Spain, like many European countries, makes it easy for the three to co-exist. White for walkers, green for bikes, and the road is safely separated from the two.

Now back within the walls at the end of the peninsula our feet were getting tired and our stomachs were grumbling. Tom was particularly jealous of these two gentlemen that were taking in the beauty of their surroundings… sitting in the shade.

We happened upon a statue of an old man walking, and Janet snapped this shot of Tom hamming it up.

A few moments later we passed an elderly man being helped down the street. Suddenly a woman started talking to Janet in a rapid burst.

Her speech was too fast for us to distinguish what she was saying. We did catch the word photograph, and finally we understood, Ese es señor. She was telling us that the photo just taken of Tom and the man memorialized by the statue had just walked by us. She was very please we took the time to listen and figure out what she was saying. It should be noted that the further one gets from Madrid or Barcelona, the less English they will encounter. In Zamora the amount of English would equal zero.

We stopped in the plaza for a plate of ham and cold beer before walking back to the bus station for our return. We caught the express bus back to Salamanca, and a quick nap was in order.

Arriving in Salamanca we walked straight to the Plaza Mayor to find the last bit of the book fair was being hauled away. Standing in the dead center of the square, we were able to capture the plaza in all its beauty unobstructed.

 

It was good to see people enjoying the plaza. Teenagers had just pulled up in circles laughing and having fun. Artist had set up and were sketching and painting the structure. Couples, young and old, strolled holding hands. The plaza had returned to normalcy we remembered from our past visit.

We decided we should say goodbye to the University and the Cathedral so we walked down Calle Rua for one more look.

The other day we had found the astronaut on the Cathedral, but we learned there was another character to locate. A devil looking figure eating an ice cream cone. The search was on!

Success!

We bumped into a couple we had met earlier in the week from Australia. We shared a bottle wine and some great stories.

They are on an extended visit to Spain starting in Andalusia and slowly working there way to San Sebastian. So jealous! Have fun and we hope they will keep in touch!

We headed back to iPan iVino our first restaurant in Salamanca for our final dinner. Once again it was as good or better than the first time we ate there. Janet was extremely pleased as they had added a dish of vegetables and baby scallops. Salamanca is a meat-eating location! There are vegetables available, of course, on all menus, but they are more a second thought than a feature of most local dishes.

We finished our dinner with another Pedro Ximenez dessert wine. This was a young one… only a 1987.

Once again, we shared this glass of liquid gold and toasted our return to this beautiful city. Walking back to our apartment after a wonderful dinner, we did so with reluctance knowing that in the morning we would be leaving our special place.

Day 8 – A day in the country

Out the door first thing, we headed up the never-ending hill to pick up our rent-a-car. Avis opens at 9 and we wanted to get our adventure started. Today we would be heading to La Alberca, a small town in the mountains where things change slowly. A manual transmission blue diesel Renault was assigned to us for the day.

Tom was not concerned about the car being a manual because he drives a Fiat stick shift at home. After a trip to Malta a few years ago we decided we needed a small manual transmission car just for days like today. With the GPS set to English and our destination plugged into the car, Tom eased out into a major street in downtown and immediately stalled out the car. A precarious start, but we were on our way.

The GPS took us though the country roads to La Alberca. The sheer expansiveness of this part of Spain is mind blowing. As you can see the traffic is not too heavy either.

We had visited this town in the summer of 1972 on a day trip. Tourists are not supposed to drive into town so free parking is offered just a short walk away. The streets are very narrow and as we walked in, a Coke truck headed to the main plaza for a delivery.

A sharp turn in the road made it tricky for the truck driver!

Arriving in the plaza, the well was as we remembered with crystal water.

This is where the festival had taken place. We went to the tourist office and showed the pictures taken below using Tom’s phone.



July - 1972

The lady who worked in the tourist office was very excited and quickly left the office.  Returning with a gentleman that identified one the girls as his daughter. I think they knew most of the people in the photo. They were most interested in the shot of the la Guardia Civil carrying a weapon. She said, the children of the town had never seen a picture of armed police in La Alberca. Tom has sent her the pictures and promised to look for more when he returned home. She said, thank you and told him his Spanish was very bad and he needed to practice.

We wandered the streets of the town taking special note of their construction.

These homes have stood the test of time for centuries, not years.

Many had beautiful flower arrangements in the windows.

The pig in a small square by the church must be the only one safe in this region from becoming ham.

Leaving La Alberca, we headed to Villanueva del Conde in search of Bodega Cámbrico.
In the Salamanca region, there is wine made from the grape named Rufete. This fruit creates a wine much like a burgundy, but adds a level of spice. To reach Bodega Cámbrico we traveled through the mountains on small country roads.

In the distance, roughly 6 miles away we could see Peña de Francia towering over the area.

However, those 6 miles were mostly straight up, and Tom did not want to meet a tour bus on these winding country roads.

Rounding a curve, Janet thought she had found heaven. Wild lavender surrounded large boulders, with other wild flowers inter-mixed.

We stopped and enjoyed the views and the nature around us.

There were no markings for the winery as we travelled down extremely narrow roads and the GPS was clueless. After two stops for directions, we found a farmer on the side of the road who got us going in the right direction, and explained we had to park and walk into the winery.

The path was covered with beautiful foliage and flowers. Reaching the winery, we found it locked and no one on the grounds.

Oh well back on the road again.

It was approaching 3 o‘clock and the lunch bell was ringing in our stomachs. We headed to the small town of Béjar for a bite to eat. This is when Tom really wished he understood international signage. We ended up lost at the top of the hill with 3 one way roads all going the opposite direction. With some guidance from a resident we backed down the hill and made a very tight three point turn. Following the sign to parking we escaped our conundrum.

We left Béjar proper and sat on the other side of the river and enjoyed being out the confusion while we ate.

Returning the car unscratched and full of diesel we walked the alleys of Salamanca stretching our legs. There was a lot of car time today, but the sights and experiences will not be forgotten.

Dinner would be at the restaurant that replaced el Candil. The dinner was good, but the salad and the dessert were the highlight!

A salad was a meal within itself, and a dessert that was amazing! A pistachio sponge cake with a filling and pistachio ice cream.

The cotton candy and crème de mint decoration took away from the dessert, but we had no problem eating around them.

Approaching 11 o’clock and stuffed, we took a walk to once again enjoy the sights. The Plaza Mayor is almost clean and allowed me to snap this shot.

The cathedral lit up stands tall over the city.

We are so happy that we have returned – Salamanca is still a special place!