Day 56 – 3 September 2023 – Salamanca, Spain

An early start as it is moving day, so alarm at 6.30am & on the bus by 8.30am. It is raining as we leave Madrid & the police have closed off the main road we want to travel on so our driver takes a few detours, nearly driving back past our hotel after a few kilometres. It is windy & raining all the way as we drive out of Madrid, it is early Sunday morning & there is not that much traffic.

The drive through the countryside is pleasant, however, the mountains are covered in low clouds so we don’t see much of them. There are a few ploughed fields we see as we drive along & the odd small village with a ruined castle here & there along the way. We stop at the city of Segovia for a tour of the old city. We had a tour here a couple of weeks ago but don’t mind seeing it again. The aqueduct is just as impressive & our local guide has a slightly different explanation of the city & buildings, plus he is very passionate as he is a local & that makes it a little more entertaining. After the tour we stop at a café off the Plaza Major & have lunch with another Australian couple, Castilian soup, thick slices of fresh bread & tapas with a glass of red wine. It was good.

Back on the bus & more of a drive through the countryside & stop for a comfort break outside the old city of Avila. We have a good view of the old city from a vantage point called “Los Cuatro Postes” (the four posts, we are getting good in Spanish, we could understand what the sign said). This is a small simple four posts on a granite plinth, built in 1566 on the site of a former Roman Temple. The Avila city wall is in remarkable condition & there are a few significant buildings inside that dominate the town.

On to Salamanca & the rain continues as we reach our hotel, thankfully the bus parks directly outside. We have time to check in, collect our bags & ready ourselves for the walking tour of old Salamanca with a local guide. We all have umbrellas & coats.  The rain persists for the whole tour. This is another beautiful old city with well-kept buildings. A large part of the old city consists of university & churches, as this city is the only one in Spain with two Cathedrals, butted up next to each other. Our guide is very good, explaining the history of the city, why the university buildings & churches have “Graffiti” on them, written in bull blood.

We finish the tour in the Plaza Major & she explains why the balconies & windows surrounding the square have nothing on them. She points out a few places to eat that she recommends & we find one that has some seats upstairs in a cosy room with two other Australian couples. We have a good chat, some good food, some red wine & some sangria. Tereza & I share another paella with seafood & chicken. The waiter surprised us by bringing some Limon cello to finish our meal.  It is still raining as we walk back to the hotel & we manage to find our way. Another good, though wet day.