Salamanca

June 28, 2018: We spent the day exploring Salamanca. We love this city. We had our now usual start to the day which is very unlike us. The kids didn't wake up until 9:30 so by the time we formulated a plan we were out of the hotel by 10:30am. We found a grocery store to buy yogurt, fruit and donuts and ate them on a bench in Plaza Mayor. We found some maps in the tourist office and went wandering. For a rather small town they have several huge cathedrals. James and Casey paid entrance to one while Molly Julia and I went touring. We just wandered and let things come to us. We found a beautiful secret garden with a view over the city walls, watched an old man paint, explored a lookout tower, and played hopscotch or other games on the multi colored/patterned streets. We met back up with James and Casey a few hours later and headed to the main market place. We sampled lots of salami and chorizo and watched one guy filet a giant fish from start to finish. We bought some delicious meat and then hit the store again for baguettes, fruit and chips and had a sandwich picnic. We went into our hotel for some down time. It is cooler in Salamanca because we are at 800 meters, but things still shut down from 2-4 and we were tired. We went back out to look around that afternoon with the highlight being an old Roman bridge. We also touched the sandstone walls of some of the original buildings and it is amazing that they are still standing when you feel how easily they come away in your hands. Lastly, we went to the main tourist spot, an incredibly ornate door at the University, to try and spot the hidden frog on the facade. Julia was the only one to spot it and will apparently have good luck for a year. We had another picnic dinner in Plaza Mayor, watched the first half of the soccer match and then went back to the hotel earlier than usual. All in, this is a great spot.