Loved it! Out of the four cities visited: Madrid, Segovia, Salamanca and Toledo…………..Salamanca was the winner. It’s the glamorous supermodel of the four. It is so stunningly beautiful.
It’s nice and compact, feels quite affluent, buzzing with life (as it has a large student population), very clean, not too busy and has one gorgeous building after another. Every way you turn it is breath-taking, by day and by night. It also feels incredibly safe as a solo female traveller, the people are really friendly.
Because there is quite a lot to see in Salamanca I stayed for two nights and had two full days to look around and that was about the right amount of time to see the main sights.
I stayed in the Salamanca Suite Studios in the Plaza Libertad, a very pretty, little green square, literally just around the corner from the main Plaza Major in Salamanca. The accommodation was perfect: fantastic location, reasonably priced, quiet at night, comfy bed, the best shower ever, a little kitchenette and a very friendly and helpful reception. It was perfect for me.
You can get to Salamanca from Madrid by train or by bus. Either is good. I went on the train and came back on the bus as the train was full. Bus is slightly easier as the bus station in Madrid is easier to get to than Chamartín train station, but it’s a bit more expensive and a little slower than the train, so it just depends on your preference really. Both the train and bus stations in Salamanca are an easy walk into town. Salamanca is a little further away from Madrid than Toledo and Segovia, it’s around 1 hour 40 minutes on the train and 2 hours on the bus. I had a lovely couple of hours reading my book on the way there and on the way back I was placed next to a lovely young man who was on his way from Salamanca to Madrid to meet his friends to watch Athletico Madrid. It was really useful as he was a bit of a chatterbox and did not speak a word of English, so he had the full inquisition in my very best Spanish, a bit like the inquisition my boys get after a long absence. I found out where he was from, details on brothers and sisters, what he studied, where he worked, his parents have a holiday home on the coast of Asturias in a little town I am going to, and in the end he was giving me a guided tour of Asturias from his phone picture gallery and proudly showing me pictures of his shiny bike and him in the Picos de Europa, and recommending where I should go on my next trip. I was very pleased with myself at having extracted all that information in Spanish! He only burst into laughter a couple of times and pointed out my errors politely! I dread to think what I may have said!😂
I had a lovely little walk from the station on my arrival, past some interesting street art in the new town, and quickly found myself at my hotel. I checked in and went in search of food, I was so hungry and it was getting late.
Sometimes I just need a burger! Not very Spanish, I know, but when I’m really hungry sometimes I crave one. If you are in need of a burger while in Salamanca this is the place to go! The restaurant is called Brooks and it is on one corner of the Plaza Libertad. It serves burgers and beer, and the burgers are to die for. I had the Campera Burger – in addition to the perfectly cooked homemade burger, it had molten provolone cheese, chimichurri mayo, rocket, red onion, creole chorizo, grilled vine tomato, all served in a toasted brioche bun with hand cut skin on fries. Oh my, it was gorgeous. In the menu they also recommend which of their beers go best with your burger. I went for the recommended Leffe Tripel, a strong and full bodied Belgian beer which I like to drink at home in the UK, and it was the perfect pairing. Just what I needed.
An early night beckoned, ready to get up early and explore the next day.
The old town of Salamanca is simply stunning and has been a UNESCO world heritage site since 1988.
The first stop the following morning was the main square in Salamanca. Is is easily the most beautiful Plaza Mayor I have ever seen, and possibly the most beautiful in Spain in my opinion. It is so opulent. It is Spanish baroque in style. It is arched all around the perimeter and underneath the arches sit cafes, jewellery stores, ice cream parlours and restaurants. The buildings in the square, and in fact, in most of the old town, are constructed from sandstone and give the whole town a golden glow in the sunlight. It is the perfect place to watch the world go by and is very much a gathering place for the people who live there.
It was the perfect place for breakfast. If you want a reasonably priced café con leche and pastry for breakfast I can recommend café Las Torres. A huge custard ‘Raqueta’, freshly squeezed orange juice and delicious coffee, all for 5 euros.
By day the square is stunning, but you must go and see it by night. The whole square is lit up and it is the most beautiful sight, just like you have walked into a fairy tale.
Wherever you turn in Salamanca there will be a beautiful building. The wide sweeping streets are lined with them, but one of the most stunning façades has to be that of the new cathedral. It is so ornate and elaborate. If you look closely at the carved stonework around the door you’ll see some new additions following a 1992 restoration. There’s an astronaut, an ice cream eating dragon, a monkey and various other curiosities.
There is a new cathedral and an old cathedral. They are both together and the ticket to look around gets you into both. The new cathedral is not that new and dates back to between 1533 and 1733. It is gothic and baroque in style and is quite beautiful. The ceilings are so high and the placement of the windows in the ceiling are such, that the light illuminates the high vaulted ceiling and baroque painted cupola perfectly. The old cathedral is a bit of a disappointment compared to the new, but you might as well have a quick look while you are there.
In front of the Cathedral is a pretty little square which separates the Cathedral from the University, the Plaza de Anaya. There are normally a number of students hanging around and it’s the perfect place to put your feet up for a minute with a cool beer after trudging around the town.
I came out of the cathedral and suddenly realised that I gone a full 48 hours without an ice cream! Yes, I know it was February but the sun was shining and in my opinion you can eat ice cream 365 days a year, it’s not just for summer! If you want an ice-cream make your way back to the Plaza Mayor and under one of the arches you will find Heladeria Bico de Xeado. This could be my favourite shop in Spain!😂 It was such a difficult decision. Do I want Turron? Do I want Chocolate Orange? Or do I want one of the many other tempting flavours they have on offer? I just could not decide so I had both: Turron and Chocolate Orange………and while we are at it lets go large in a chocolate coated cone! I just can’t help myself.
After stuffing myself full of ice cream I thought I had better walk it off a bit so spent a good couple of hours just wandering and admiring the beautiful facades of all the golden sandstone buildings. A very interesting one is the ‘Casa de las Conchas’ or ‘House of Shells’. This is a very unusual and pretty building completely covered in sandstone shells, symbol of the Order of Santiago. It currently houses the public library. Apparently there is hidden treasure behind one of the shells, but I did not find it!
Opposite the ‘House of the Shells’ is ‘La Clerecia’, a very beautiful building now part of the Pontifical University of Salamanca. If you wander down the street at the side of the ‘House of the Shells’ you walk past the ‘Colegio de Espana para Extranjeros’, where I might have been better spending the day 😂, and eventually come to another pretty little square surrounded by the Monterrey Palace, a lovely building with a lot of history.
Wandering the streets, there are some beautiful shops for those of you that like to shop for gifts or just to treat yourself. I am drawn to the turron and chocolate shops and bought some little sweet treats for my two sons. I also had a little chuckle at the diversity of the Spanish general store. In Business Studies and Economics this is a true model of diversification and covering all bases of the consumer market. It is the one stop shop for your snacks, your coffee, drinks and water, perhaps a gift or something exciting to spice up that night in at home! 😆 Yes, I did go in and have a look because having a degree in business and marketing I was most intrigued as to how they had applied the 7 P’s of the marketing mix to the wide selection on offer.😂
Opposite the new Cathedral is the University. If you walk around the University onto the Calle Libreros you come to the Puerta de Salamanca door. Somewhere amongst all the ornate carved stonework is the Salamanca Frog. Legend has it that if you can spot the tiny frog carved into the intricate stone façade you are sure to have great academic success and pass your exams without a problem. Could I find it? No! I spent ages looking for it. Not wanting my academic future to be jinxed I undertook a transaction with the elderly beggar at the door. I gave him the money for his next coffee in exchange for him revealing the location of the frog! Does that count if I paid someone to show it me?!? I’m not sure. I reckon he makes a fortune as there is no way you’d spot it if you did not know where it was.
I needed another little sit down and a snack so I wandered back to the main square to the bakery because I wanted to try something I had seen in the window that looked like a pie……………..and I love a pie! Well, it’s sort of a bit like a UK pasty but it’s called an Hornazo. It’s not bread and it’s not pastry, it’s sort of an in-between, stuffed with pork loin, spicy chorizo, and hard-boiled eggs. It has quite an interesting history. Apparently at Lent the prostitutes of the city were banished to the other side of the river. Hornazo’s were eaten on Easter Monday by students on the banks of the river to celebrate their return. I very much enjoyed mine sat in the sunshine in the square.
The early evening was spent reading my book and having a little siesta which turned into quite a long siesta as I dropped into a deep sleep which I must have needed. The bed was oh so comfy. I was awoken by such a commotion outside. Dusk was starting to fall and little did I know that the trees in the square outside my window were home to thousands of roosting starlings who had just completed their evening murmuration and landed outside, quite a noise.
But quite well timed, as they were my alarm clock to have a quick shower, get my playing out clothes on and go for a few drinks in the bar across the square on the corner of Plaza de Libertad. It had a nice vibe, some cracking tunes (as we would say in Yorkshire), and friendly staff who mixed an amazing G&T. And they had so many gins to choose from, all lined up on a shelf, including my favourite summer time gin…….Gin Mare. I love Gin Mare………you can taste the summer, wild herbs and the sea! Ok, it’s February and I’m in Salamanca but close your eyes while sipping a Gin Mare and tonic and you could be anywhere. I only had a couple of G&T’s as I always forget when in Spain that when you ask for a gin and tonic you do actually get what seems like half a bottle of gin. So two large gin and tonics saw me all nice, warm and fuzzy, but still able to wobble across the square to my room.
The following day the sun was shining brightly and it was the perfect day to be outside. Salamanca looks lovely in the sunshine. The lady in the hotel reception told me it looked really nice from the other side of the river. She pointed me in the direction of the city walls and and the Puerto Romano, old roman bridge. It’s a lovely slow stroll over to the other side of the roman bridge and she was right, it is a lovely point from which to look back and survey the cityscape.
On the way back I revisited a lovely little garden which I’d been to the day before. It sits atop the city wall and is so peaceful. It’s called the Huerto De Calixto & Melibea. It’s a tiny little garden tucked away through an archway. There are lovely views over the city walls down to the river. The planting in there is beautiful and all the spring flowers were starting to poke through the ground. There is a little tinkling fountain and lovely shady seating. The perfect place to have a little reflect, read a book, or just to relax. It gets it’s name as it is supposed to be based on the secret meeting place of Calixto & Melibea, the main characters in the well known Spanish masterpiece ‘La Celestina’, a tale of a passionate love affair that ends in tragedy.
On the way to the garden you can call to look at the Cueva de Salamanca. Here are the remains of a former crypt where, according to legend, the devil would teach black magic classes. You can only get so far in at the moment though as access is blocked due to the unsafe structure. Worth a little look though to read the information plaques.
After a morning soaking up the outdoors and atmosphere of the city on this lovely sunny day, it was only a couple of hours to my return bus to Madrid. One last place to visit for lunch…………..the market! We all know how I love a good market feed. It means I can try numerous different things. The market is situated just off the main square, down some steps to a lower level. It has some lovely Art Deco stained glass feature windows and architecturally if you like Art Deco you will love the market building itself. Inside it has all the stalls you would expect……….meat, fish, cheese, sausages. I bought some bits and bobs for my lunch which were so delicious I forgot to take a photo!
So that’s your little mini tour of Salamanca. Definitely overlooked on the tourism radar compared to the bigger Spanish cities, but twice as nice. But I guess that’s what I liked about it. It wasn’t full of tourists! It had a happy, chilled, laid back vibe about it. I felt relaxed and comfortable there and could have stayed longer, doing nothing much other than watch the world go by and reading my book. It’s a must do place if you are in this part of Spain.
I still have Toledo to tell you about……….and now Paris and a Marathon too……………….so watch this space! Marathon recovery is well underway and this week has involved, in addition to work, a little bit of orienteering………..more on that later…………..a glorious Yorkshire sunset on my evening wanderings and all sorts of little adventures.
But today I have spent the day with one of my very favourite friends……………..Spencer! It wasn’t Spencer I went to see it was his Mum who is a very dear friend of mine who is not so well at the moment. But it gave me the opportunity to have lots of doggy cuddles. In short, if you know me well you will know I have always wanted a dog but never been allowed to have one. I’d spend 24 hours in the company of a dog rather than a human on any day of the week! 😂 Anyway, I love Spencer and Spencer loves me as I am an endless source of tummy rubs and ear tickles. It took three attempts at a selfie today as he felt the need to lick my ear mid pose and I’m ticklish, but here we are, third time lucky! 😍
