This past weekend was, for me, the epitome of Spain. Before I got to Spain, I had ideas in my mind of what Spain would look like and be like, and this weekend that all came to life for me. I have seen and experienced other very Spanish things, for lack of a better word, but this weekend just seemed different to me. There was an incredible amount of history and culture, and I love learning about that more than I ever imagined I would.
Igor picked me up at 4:30 on Friday afternoon and we hit the road to go to Santander to pick up his friend Oscar, who joined us on our weekend expedition. After a few café con leche breaks, we arrived in Salamanca at about 10:30. One of Igor’s friends has two pisos (flats/apartments) in Salamanca, but one is just a secondary house that doesn’t get used very much. We were lucky to be able to stay there for free, and it was just on the edge of the historical zone of the town. Perfect! We parked the car there and then started walking to the tapas zone… where else? We finally got there, and there were SO many to chose from. Good thing in Spain the custom is to try them all and go from one to the next to the next to the next… The first place we went to was incredible. Just like in Madrid, you get a free tapa with every round you order. The first tapa we got was ribs. Yes, that was the free dish with the drinks we ordered. They were delicious! But that’s not all, the next tapa was grilled pork pieces on a skewer with some kind of sauce on it. Tasty! We decided that it was time to change, so we moved on to the next place, and then the next. Basically, we ate dinner for free and only paid for drinks. (This system of free tapas follows an imaginary line. In general, if you are in Madrid or anywhere in the southern half of the country, you can count on free tapas. Sometimes the free tapa will be peanuts, but more commonly it will be some kind of sandwich, meet, or potatoes with sauce over them.)
While we were walking around the city Friday night, I think my mouth was hanging open the whole time, and it wasn’t because of the amazing tapas. Everywhere I looked, there was another incredible building, cathedral, school, or plaza. I was compared to an owl many times this weekend because of my wide eyes trying to take everything it and my head turning in all directions quickly so I wouldn’t miss a thing. Igor told me to relax because we would see it all on Saturday tranquilly. The major plaza of Salamanca (Plaza Mayor, 1729, Felipe V) is so cool. If you’ve seen the movie Vantage Point, then you have seen the major plaza of Salamanca (although it is a reproduction in the movie). So cool! It was beautiful at night with all of the lights on. But again, Igor said to just relax because we would see it Saturday. I think he also wanted to go enjoy more fiesta, too. I didn’t object.
Plaza Mayor at night
Saturday morning when we woke up (as in 11:30 because of going to bed so late), it was slightly rainy, and I was nervous that it would ruin the sights. We had a typical breakfast of coffee with churros and set out on our way. It is hard to describe everything that we saw, but I will do my best. The whole afternoon was spent walking and looking at all the different buildings. Our first stop was the cathedral, and all I have to say is… HOLY COW!
There is an old cathedral that was completed in the year 1110. Yes, 1110. Crazy. Usually when they built a new cathedral they would either destroy the old one or build the new one on top of the old one, but that is not the case in Salamanca. They kept the catedral viejo and built the cathedral nuevo right next to it. The construction of the new one was started in 1513 and was completed in 1713. The details on this monstrosity were absolutely incredible. There are so many things pay attention to that you can’t possible see everything. Even the secondary doors blow my mind. Absolutely amazing. We were able to walk through the old cathedral and go to the top of the new one. The view of the city was gorgeous!
From there, we walked to the university. The University of Salamanca was founded in 1218 by King Alfonso IX. It was acknowledged in 1254 by Pope Alexander IV as being one of the four great Universities in the world, along with the universities of Oxford, Paris, and Bologna. A frog is the symbol of the city, and there is an incredible entrance to the university that has un monton of details etched in the rock. There is a large medallion with the Catholic King and Queen, Ferdinand and Isabella. They’re considered the protectors of the university. There is a frog hidden amongst the details, and it is said that if you can spot the frog you will have good luck. It was difficult for me to see, but we found it!
Can you find the frog?
There it is!
We then went to the Convento de San Esteban. Construction began in 1524-1610. Christopher Columbus did some important planning and thinking in this exact location, living here for a short time.
After that, we walked by the muralla, the part of the wall that used to surround the entire city, and we went to an old Roman bridge. It was built in the year 89. Yes, a year that is in the double digits. And I walked on it. It is still very much intact and incredible!
There is a novel very important in Spanish literature that is similar to Romeo and Juliet, but I can’t remember the name, but Salamanca is where it is set and written. We went to the park where the main characters shared their first kiss, fell in love, and so on. Apparently it is very important to the story, and I’m sad I can’t remember many details about it. I will have to look into this… and read the book!
We spent the afternoon/evening just relaxing in the Plaza Mayor. The people watching there was great. Igor and Oscar made fun of me for enjoying it so much. Once again- an owl. It is typical here, for a bachelor or bachelorette party, to get dressed up in some costume with all your friends and just do crazy things. That made for some great people watching! From there, we began our evening. We met up with some of Igor’s friends and started the hop- place to place to place. One of Igor’s friends has a lot of connections in Salamanca, so we were able to go into a discoteca (dance club) that used to be a monastery and was built hundreds of years ago. …Spaniards. From there, we were invited up to the piso of a friend, and we met up with a band of university students who play European folklore music typical of the area, and they dress in typical, old clothing. La tuna is the word for the band. It is a tradition more than five centuries old. Well, of course we didn’t only chat with them in the street and listen to their music, they were invited up to join the fiesta! … Spaniards. I love Spain! It was a fun and crazy night, and it ended at 6am. I think we all would have liked for it to continue, but we had places to be and things to see the next day.
In the Plaza Mayor at about 5am. Check out all the people, and it was considered empty.
After an awful, early greeting from the alarm clock, we packed up and got on the road to Segovia. We got there and headed towards the Alcázar of Segovia (the Castle of Segovia). It was originally built as a fortress but has served as a royal palace, a state prison, a Royal Artillery College and a military academy. Construction started in 1120. Isabel and Ferdinand reigned here from 1474-1502, and it was during that time that Christopher Columbus went to them and asked for the ships to find India. He didn’t tell them of his theory about the world being round for fear of being though of as crazy and being able to realize his dream. I stood in front of the thrones in the receiving area. My feet were in the same exact position, SAME EXACT POSITION!, as those of Christopher Columbus. I stood in the exact spot where my life began, according to Igor, and it’s true in a way. If one little detail might have been different in those moments Columbus was there, things would have been different for the world. Wow! Incredible. Period. We also saw a cathedral there, which it was neat, but then we headed for something even more mind-boggling.
The same spot!!!
It is not knows exactly when construction of this monument began or ended, but experts believe that the Roman Aqueduct was built the second half of the first century. (People say that Spain is more Roman that Rome is.) It is still completely as it was when it was built. Water does not pass through it, but it could if it was necessary. The amazing thing is that the stones aren’t held together by cement or anything like that, it is just stone on top of stone on top of stone… and it’s still standing as it was 2,000 years ago. This thing is huge, and it stretches for about 6km, more than 3 miles. How could people build something like that 2,000 years ago!?! There aren’t even words.
We stopped on our way home at the incredible Catedral de Burgos (a Gothic-style cathedral). Construction began in 1221. It is starting to crumble and the rocks are “sick” and there wasn’t money to pay to conserve it. The US offered to buy it and preserve it, but they planned on taking it piece by piece back to the States. What a stupid idea!?! It was around that time that Spain became part of the European Union and they said that they would pay to conserve it. I’m glad! It is way cooler in Burgos that it would be anywhere back in the States!
We finally made it back to Bilbao at about 11pm on Sunday night. What an incredible weekend. I absolutely loved everything about it. The whole time I was there, I was thinking, “This is Spain!” The culture. The architecture. The customs. The people. The fiesta. The history. It’s in Salamanca. I kept thinking, “If I come live here next year to teach, I will come to Salamanca.” The funny thing is that I have said that in every new place I’ve been to. I love Spain!
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