SALAMANCA

Last week my roommate Carly, my co-worker and best friend Matt and I took a trip to Salamanca, a city west of Madrid. We arrived in the evening (just in time for some dinner, and drinks :) ) and we stayed until 4pm the next day---perfect timing to see all the sights! Salamanca is a city famous for its monumental sights such as the University, the grand Plaza Mayor, and the Cathedral. The buildings are clad in sandstone giving the city a golden glow, and therefore has been nicknamed La Ciudad Dorada (the golden city). La Universidad de Salamanca is the oldest university in Spain, and still is accepting students from all over the world. One of the university's old buildings has a carved mural. Inside the intricate design is a frog. For many years students have come to stand before this building because finding and making eye contact with the frog would supposedly bring goodluck and success on exams. It took me a very long time to find it (my friend Matt had to basically point it out), it's a difficult task!!! Although Madrid has an impressive Plaza Mayor, Salamanca's is widely famous as being one of the finest squares in Europe. The Cathedral of Salamanca is actually two, one built under a Romanesque influence and years later under Gothic influences. We got to climb up through the Cathedral, see the city views, and the dazzling heights of the new and old cathedral domes from inside! Later, we visited the museum 'Casa Lis' which is a small collection of Art Deco pieces (a lot of bronze and ivory figurines, dolls, and glassware). After seeing some special art, we headed to the roman bridge that still stands on some of its original pillars. We sat down after a busy day of touring, had a warm delicious meal, and headed to the bus station to begin the journey back to Madrid. From the gran Cathedral to the not-so-impressive sights like la Casa de las Muertes (it's just a house door that has four sculls...made by some guy while mourning his dead uncle), Salamanca was an impressive, fun, beautiful city and we enjoyed every minute of it!

The Lis Museum of Art Deco

The Roman Bridge
Matt, Carly, and I on top of the Cathedral

The Cathedral

Views from the Cathedral

Universidad de Salamanca: quad

My friend Matt posing as an accepted student!

This carved mural below hides the lucky frog: I didn't post a close-up picture in case any of you ever go to Salamanca :)

Casa de las Conchas (House of Shells)

Biblioteca Publica (public library at the house of shells Plaza Mayor

La Catedral

Plaza Mayor

Noviembre

Last year, I was lucky enough to experience a live futbol match alongside these spaniards who live and breathe on their passion for the sport. And of course, it had to be the city's most popular team, Real Madrid. Well, two weeks ago, I got a chance to see Madrid's other futbol team, Atletico de Madrid, play at their stadium. The elementary school where I work, received a number of free tickets for the kids to go to the game with their families. The teachers got offered tickets too, and of course I took advantage of the opportunity to watch the sport I love! The team played a really good game against Marbella, and unfortunately it was a blowout. 6-0, Atletico



November has been an exciting month, and with Thanksgiving just about a week away, we are really feeling the holiday joy!