On to Salamanca
Trip Start
Nov 03, 2008
1
3
4
Trip End
Ongoing
Salamanca, Castile-León, Spain and Canary Islands
Monday, November 17, 2008
The buildings in the old town area centered around Calle Rua Mayor are extremely impressive and visible from many points in the city.
St. Stephen's Convent (Convento de Sán Esteván) has a magnificent Gothic archway entrance that can mesmerize by its sheer size and beauty. I especially liked the adjoining cloister house with the 3 bells lined up on top.
On the way to Calle San Pablo the Keymaster Tower is a masterpiece of medieval architectures.
The old cathedral right next to the Faculty of Translation is impressive and gigantic. It has hundreds of notched figures on the façade that are exquisite in its design. If you look attentively you may find an astronaut (!). Seriously made me wonder if this was (1) a more recent addition, (2) someone from the future who paid a visit to the town when they were builiding the church, or (3) an alien, after all the astronaut's face does look VERY strange. If anyone knows the answer to this, PLEASE comment.
Following Calle Rua Mayor we arrive both at PUC with its beautiful tall and small circular towers. Here, by the entrance to the University is where you can find the famous Salamancan symbol of a cranium with a frog on its fore. According to my friend, the frog symbolizes the feminine and luxury, and its placement atop a cranium seating on a book at the entrance to the University is a medieval reminder to the mostly male student populace of then to concentrate on studying and not on more mundane pleasures. Salamanca was after all training ground for royal cortisans who came here for a practice spell as prostitutes to practice their "skills" with hormone-raging students before returning to the court better suited to "entertain" the royals and nobility.
A stone throw's away from PUC church is the Casa de Las Conchas (House of Shells). A beautiful building decorated with hundres of stone shells on the façade.
Finally, at the end of calle Rua lies the Plaza Mayor. A beautiful grand squrae with over 270 balcony windows that function as the prefecture, student housing, and restaurants.
Salamanca has many, many other beautiful sights and attractions. It is a joy to simply meander through the narrow streets in the downtown area and stumble upon evocative and charming constructions mostly dating back to the Middle Ages and the early Renaissance.
I was meant to stay here for only 3-4 days, but seeing as I was having such a great time with my friend and thoroughly enjoying this beautiful town I ended up extending my stay to about 10 days, which were really worth it
Thanks, Ana, for being a wonderful hostess!
