Zamora

June 29, 2018: Today was Molly's 8th birthday. We started with cake for breakfast from a pastry shop in Salamanca. James took off to pick up the car from the garage fixing the window. The girls and I completed a little challenge book the tourism office had for kids. You go around to some of the very ornate doors/building facades and try to find certain animals. We had fun doing that and it was the perfect amount of time. We checked out of our hotel and drove to Zamora. They are celebrating a week long festival right now. There were carnivals, street markets and parades. We wandered around and checked things out. During siesta we headed down the long pedestrian street to the palace at the end and looked out over the water. We finished the day with a bullfight. Julia and Molly really wanted to go. Casey was less enthusiastic. I encouraged her to give it a try and told her we could leave if she didn't enjoy it. We got seats in the sun up high. The shade seats were packed as were about half of the sunny seats. Some people went all out, as if it were a NFL tailgate. You can bring in all the food and drink you want. The guys next to us came in matching shirts with a cooler and an entire pig leg with the contraption that holds them for slicing. You see these legs in all the stores and they use them to slice the cured hams. Delicious! I love people watching at the bullfights. So many very old people having a great time right alongside younger generations. We saw 6 fights. Casey did not watch the end when they kill the bull. At the end she appreciated having gone and we were able to have a good conversation about it. We headed back to the car and got milkshakes for Molly's birthday. Our hotel was outside of Zamora in a totally random spot. They upgraded us to suites because it was all they had left. The room is over the top. Gold trim work everywhere, thick, long velvet curtains, painted ceilings etc...Molly was overjoyed with the giant bed with curtains. A queen's bed for her birthday!