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!