salamanca y ávila

we went on our second-to-last trip the last few days... it's horrible to think that there are only 10 days left! salamanca and ávila were really really cool though. well, mostly just salamanca. we didn't have enough time there, i feel like. i would willingly go back there, no hesitation. (so far, dad, i would love to go back to sevilla, león y burgos, and salamanca... just FYI.) oh my gosh, the bus ride out there was the most beautiful thing i have ever seen. do you remember that book that we had when i was little about that woman who threw those flower seeds everywhere and they bloomed and made everything totally beautiful around her? that's what this was like: in the middle of these fields, there were beautiful poppies that just were sprouting everywhere, it was amazing. i wanted to stop so badly.

but we got to salamanca and began to explore. our hotel was only about 5 feet from the plaza mayor (which is supposedly one of the most beautiful plazas in all of spain, and is also where they filmed the movie vantage point, which i now need to see because i've been there) which was nice.

we went to the cathedrals there (they have an old and a new one, connected, but different styles) and on the new one, there is a carving of an astronaut. check it out. usually they have carvings of saints or people suffering or something... but here, it's an astronaut. seriously. we also got to climb almost up to the top of the tower and it was really cool.

we then went to visit the ancient universidad de salamanca, which is really really really cool. the BEST THING there: the ancient library they had. i was soooo excited by it, but they had literally this glass cage by the entrance that you couldn't go past or enter. i got a few pictures through this glass cage and enjoyed it nevertheless.

of course, that night, there was a random concert going on in the plaza mayor. we went for about 15 minutes and the band was so horrificly horribly we had to leave.. it was like the sounds i would make if i were being eaten by an alien or something. but then apparently the next band was really good, of course, but i missed it. i was really bummed about that. but it's okay.

the next morning, we went to a few really really cool convents/monasteries in salamanca. and then headed out to ávila and wandered around there all day. the cathedral there was really cool as well (although we couldn't take pictures in there). the city has a wall that used to encase the whole city, although now, most of the city is outside of the walls. we could climb up the walls and stuff though, so that was fun.

and now, we're back in home sweet home in alcalá de henares, at least for the next few days. friday and saturday we're going to cuenca and turuel (i think that's how they're spelled) and then after that, we're basically done. sad to think of!